John Martyn was born on September 11th, 1948, and he grew up in urban Glasgow. The eclectic and innovative guitar stylings of Davey Graham became his first and most significant influence. John started playing acoustic guitar at age fifteen, practicing constantly in order to „become“ Davey Graham. He was introduced into the Scottish folk-scene in 1965 and left Scotland for London two years later. The city’s nightlife is in full bloom, with John becoming a regular in clubs like „Les Cousins“ on Greek Street in Soho. He is living the bohemian life – a life with no material luxuries but plenty of good times. Martyn is nineteen years old at the time and has already developed a blinding guitar technique. Consequently, it doesn’t take long for him to get noticed. Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records, signs John for his influential label and Martyn starts his recording career with two folky solo albums for the label. Shortly afterwards, he meets singer Beverley Kutner, they marry and also establish a working relationship in music. But there is internal friction soon, as John’s incessant creativity is being limited by the duo format. His gentle partner retreats from performing, giving her husband center stage. With his fifth album „Bless The Weather“ (1971), John Martyn gets down to business and records a string of albums for Island that are pushing the boundaries, highlighted by „Solid Air“ and „Inside Out“, both released in 1973. At the same time John Martyn is turning into an artist who is all about expression. He listens to a lot of jazz, uses his voice like an instrument, and creates a new sound entirely his own – fusing folk, blues and jazz in inimitable fashion. Martyn writes and playes entirely from the heart, writing songs that reflect his sometimes conflicting emotionality in unadulterated manner. He is expressing pure emotion in a direct kind of way.