SMALL HOURS: THE LONG NIGHT OF JOHN MARTYN

Graeme Thomson

TMad dog days: the tortuous life of a sublime talent.

his highly readable biography begins with a 2005 interview in which the author notes such symbols of the singer’s fall from grace as “a plump pink abscess poking out from under his shirt” and problems with his prosthetic leg. Martyn is, when we come in, a long way down from “the golden glow” of his 70s heyday.

The narrative becomes more conventional as Martyn moves through the 60s folk scene. He co-opts jazz, the fuzzbox and the Echoplex, being touted as a unique artist and an incomparable voice. The break-up of his marriage exacerbates excessive selfdestructive tendencies. From there on, Martyn stumbles through a stuttering career and jinxed personal life.

Beverley Martyn, Richard Thompson, and Bert Jansch are among the interviewees offering insights into a Shakespearean saga which presents as tragedy. But when Danny Thompson is asked if Martyn “squandered his gifts”, he firmly answers,“No – you are who you are, you can’t pretend to be anything else”. Martyn had a surplus of demons, but his best music hosts his many angels.