John Martyn

John Martyn

Folk singer John Martyn has died at the age of 60. Martyn became renowned in London's folk scene in the late 60s for his prodigious guitar-playing, and soon developed his songwriting skills after meeting wife Beverley, another singer. John's 1973 album Solid Air is often seen as his masterpiece, combining folk with jazz and blues styles in a similar way to other critical faves Astral Weeks and Happy Sad, by Van Morrison and Tim Buckley. With further albums he experimented with jazz, reggae and rock, but Martyn's life and career were always affected by his heavy drinking lifestyle. A traumatic split from his wife brought the highly emotional Grace and Danger (1980), and health problems continued to trouble him. In his later years he developed Diabetes and had a leg amputated, ensuring his last live performances were given from a wheelchair. A month before his death, John Martyn received an OBE award from Queen Elizabeth II for services to music. On Thursday, his official website was updated with the message: "With heavy heart and an unbearable sense of loss we must announce that John died this morning."