as the politically naive Bernie who is trying to bring up a family against a background of IRA shootings and homes, which are constantly raided by the army. John’s emotive voice and lyrics make a telling contribution to a very disturbing and moving film. Over The Hill was also used in the film soundtrack to Scrapple in 1999. Solid Air was well received and has recently been remastered and re-released by Island Records. John’s popularity and reputation was growing fast and he toured America supporting Free and Traffic.
John says “It felt natural” at the beginning of Fine Lines, on the album Inside Out, which was released in October 1973. It was recorded over a few days in the early hours of the morning satisfying John’s need for spontaneity, this echoplex extravaganza and very experimental album is a celebration of love which John described as “everything I ever wanted to do in music… it’s my inside coming out.”
Sunday’s Child released in January 1975 was described by John as, “the family album, very happy, purely romantic.” An album of contrasts from Root Love to the traditional Spencer The Rover (later dedicated to John’s son Spenser who was born in May) and My Baby Girl which was written for John’s daughter Mhairi. Lay It All Down and You Can Discover ooze emotion; unfortunately, there was no room for Ellie Rae a delightful song John performed on tour during 1974. John toured extensively to promote Sunday’s Child and was joined by Danny Thompson and John Stevens on drums, with Paul Kossoff making a guest appearance for the last few songs of some gigs. Kossoff was struggling with drug addiction and John tried hard to help him, inviting him to stay in the family home in Hastings in an attempt to try to keep him dry. The gig at Leeds University, on 13 February 1975 was recorded with a view to releasing a live album, but Island Records weren’t keen and so John produced, designed and marketed his own album Live At Leeds. John sold the limited edition of 10,000 by mail order and from his own front door in Hastings! It’s now a collector’s item. Even John doesn’t have a copy of the original. ‘I sold them all… I was the first of the record independents.’ The album epitomises a typical concert charged with atmosphere, incredible music and of course, banter! Kossoff did not feature on the original release and fans had to wait until 1998 for the album to be released on CD with 5 additional tracks featuring Kossoff.
September and November 1975 saw John touring again and by the end of the year he was totally exhausted. He decided to take a sabbatical and using all his savings he visited Jamaica where he met Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Encouraged by Perry he soon started playing again in sessions and appeared on Burning Spears’ Man In The Hills. The sabbatical continued through most of 1976, “I honestly believe I would have gone completely round the bend had I not gone and done that.” Paul Kossoff died in March 1976 and John wrote Dead On Arrival about the loss of his friend, a song that he performed later that year, but as yet remains unreleased, as does One For The Road, which John performed on the same tour. 1976 also saw John record a single with John Stevens Away called Anni on which John took lead vocal and guitar.
Island then released a compilation of earlier, more acoustic material, So Far So Good, which featured a live version of I’d Rather Be The Devil. The album won John a gold disc at Montreux.
John’s time in Jamaica clearly influenced his next album, One World, which sold well charting at number 54 and became a true favourite with the critics and fans alike. In the summer of 1977, Chris Blackwell asked producer Phil Brown to work with John, and the Island Records mobile studio was set up on Saturday 16 July 1977 and One World was recorded in three weeks in the courtyard of a house in Theale, Berkshire. The house was in the middle of a lake and equipment was set up on each side of the lake so that it picked up the sound of water lapping, and a distant ‘strangled’ sound on the guitar which was perfect for lead solos. Most of the recording was carried out between 3am and 6am and these quiet hours before dawn created the most magical atmosphere for recording, resulting in two of John’s most popular songs One World and Small Hours. An album of contrasting music from Big Muff, which was co-written by dub master Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, to the enchanting Couldn’t Love You More and the echoplex extravaganza Small Hours. “Guaranteed to chill your spine.” – said Melody Maker.
1978 saw the release of In Search of Anna, a film produced by Esben Storm which tells the story of a newly released convict trying to pull his life together, who returns home to find that his girlfriend, Anna, has vanished. John wrote the theme tune Anna (which was based on Small Hours) and some of the incidental music. Dealer and Certain Surprise also featured in the film along with other music by AC/DC of all people!
John played rhythm and lead guitar on Neil Ardley’s Harmony of Spheres in 1979 and played on television on a South Bank Show special about the album, but it was December 1980 before John’s next album Grace And Danger was released. John’s marriage with Beverley had finally broken down and the album is a collection of very powerful, personal and painful songs. John Giblin played bass with Phil Collins on drums and backing vocals, John and Phil were both going through divorces at the same time and this strengthened their friendship. The album was delayed for a year by Chris Blackwell, who was a close friend of John and Beverley’s, and who found it too openly disturbing to release. John later said that it was “probably the most specific piece of autobiography I’ve written. Some people keep diaries, I make records.” Two of the songs were also used in films. Save Some (For Me) in The Morning After in 1986 about a woman who wakes up with a hangover and no memory of how she ended up in bed with a dead man! Sweet Little Mystery in Mad Dogs and Englishmen in 1995 a thriller about an aristocratic Englishwoman who is addicted to heroin. By this time John had become bored with the limitations of the acoustic guitar and solo performances and started to concentrate on electric guitar with a full band setting for his music.
John was now living in Moscow, a hamlet in Scotland and was looking after his ill father. He left Island to sign up with Warner Brothers. John and Phil Collins had become close friends and he produced John’s next album Glorious Fool. Released in September 1981 with its satirical title track dedicated to Ronald Reagan, the album charted for seven weeks, reaching No.25. Amsterdam was written for a friend who had fallen in love with a hooker, Don’t You Go, is an anti-war song and a new version of Couldn’t Love You More saw Eric Clapton on guitar. Melody Maker reviewed the album “The accolade genius doesn’t often apply in popular music.” And, “Only Tim Buckley ever dumped this much sex on to vinyl.” John embarked on a massive tour and Alan Thomson joined the band on bass guitar.
Well Kept Secret was released in September 1982 and reached the top 20 in the album chart. During the recording John accidentally impaled himself on a fence near his home in Scotland and punctured a lung. “The songs are warm and intelligent and a majority of Well Kept Secret is pacier and louder than he’s ever been on one album before…it’s a good record, a class record.” Said New Musical Express. John’s trademarks of sensuality and emotion are present particularly on Never Let Me Go, with Ronnie Scott on tenor sax, Could’ve Been Me and Hung Up. John and his band 
embarked on a thirty-date UK tour. To coincide with the release of Well Kept Secret, Island released The Electric John Martyn on 12 October 1982. The tracks included the US mixes of Dancing, Certain Surprise and Dealer (from the American version of One World), the single version of Sweet Little Mystery and the 12 inch dub version of Johnny Too Bad.
In 1982 the BBC released video John Martyn In Vision containing live performances from their archives from 1973 to 1981. John then left Warner Brothers and was without a recording contract. In November 1983, John who had recently married Annie Furlong, released Philentropy. “I had some tapes of a Brighton Dome gig and a Bristol gig and I just thought I’d make a live album out of it.” Philentropy is considered by many to be one of John’s best live albums. “A faithful memento of Martyn at his live best – jazzy, sharply recorded, Philentropy stretches Martyn’s voice from poisonous howl to besotted slur – low key but ever so seductive.” – Melody Maker.
