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The Latest Breaking News from John Martyn

“Brand X was great fun to play with – not so much fun to listen to”: Phil Collins’ adventures outside Genesis with Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and others made him so big he had to apologise

Wherever you looked in the 80s and 90s, there he was as a session man, producer or solo artist. But it wasn’t ego – it was down to his passion for music

Louder

“My friend told me if I go to a folk club I have to know how to play Angi. When I played it, they said they haven’t heard it in 10 years!” How seven years of busking and Nick Drake’s influence were the making of England's new folk guitar hero Chris Brain

For fans of Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bert Jansch and AnneBriggs, Chris Brain's bucolic folk sound is driven by his technically formidable but delicate fingerstyle approach – and some of it was recorded in his shed

Guitar World

Talkin’ ’bout seeing Tracy Chapman live

Letters: David Morgan remembers the singer-songwriter as the opening act at a John Martyn concert, and Trevor Brewster reminds us of her presence at the start ofan Amnesty International tour

The Guardian - UK

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“Lionisation is too late when you’re dead… I’ve often thought of faking my own death and watching the record companies drum up all the stuff they can”: A fight, a show then a drink with John Martyn

All the evidence you need to be convinced the hard-living singer-songwriter was as progressive as they come

Louder

“I don’t have many rock’n’roll stories for you – that was always someone else’s job”: Phil Collins was pranked by George Harrison, outdrunk by John Martyn, blown away by Robert Fripp and well-behaved with Eric Clapton

He may not always have been life and soul of the party, but he’s been the heartbeat behind songs across a huge range of genres – to his lasting pride

Louder

A beginner's guide to progressive folk in 10 acts - it's not all 'hey nonny nonny', y'know

Folk and folk rock bands are responsible for some of the most progressive music ever made. Not only that, but they influenced the rock world as we know it

Louder

“Peter Gabriel got all the credibility, and I got the money – ha!” Phil Collins on his role as Genesis’ class clown and their only contact with the outside world

How the “junior member” broke into the band’s songwriting clique, his embarrassment over his solo success, and how the Sex Pistols influenced his choice of record label

Louder

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“The last thing I wanted to make was a beautiful but soulless DADGAD album… I wanted bits of spit and sawdust, scuff notes here and there”: Jamie Dickson on the tragedy and joy of his acoustic folk debut – and a Martin deal that felt too good to be true

Withershins is required listening for anyone yearning for the fingerstyle folk heyday of Jansch et al, and for an anecdote to boilerplate DADGAD

Guitar World

"My girlfriend had to leave the room when I played the album": The 10 records that changed Fish's life

Former Marillion frontman Fish takes a trip to the past to explore the records that shaped his path through music

Louder

“He stopped using the Strats and from then on played a Gibson Les Paul. These were retired, stolen, sold off”: Folk and blues guitar icon John Martyn's guitar gear is up for auction – including two 1954 Gibson Les Paul Goldtops

The John Martyn-synonymous Echoplex is also part of the auction

Guitar World

Sean Khan: Sean Khan Presents the Modern Jazz and Folk Ensemble review – classics reinvigorated

A collective of genre-straddling talents give new life to songs by Nick Drake, John Martyn and Sandy Denny

The Guardian - UK

‘They said I was worse than the Sex Pistols!’: folk legend Linda Thompson on trashing dressing rooms and losing her voice

Her struggles with spasmodic dysphonia has led her to write an album for a bevy of other stars to sing. She talks about trauma, ageing and stealing an audience member’s car

The Guardian - UK

“I don’t know that much about folk music, except that most of it bores me to tears”: the incredible life of Michael Chapman, the greatest singer-songwriter the world never knew about

The life and times of Michael Chapman, the cult singer and guitarist beloved of David Bowie, Elton John and Sonic Youth

Louder

“When I drank, I was going to be the best drinker in the bar, or take the most drugs or whatever. When I did give up the drink I was going to be the best at that:” The bottom-end drive that made Danny Thompson’s name

Rejecting criticism from those who wondered why he bothered playing folk music, the always-in-demand bassist’s attitude led to experiences with John Martyn, Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Tim Buckley and many others

Louder

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Guitar World

“The inability to play music or access words was quite frightening, but it was interesting… It became a focal point to write around”: Ben Howard feared the worst after suffering two mini-strokes. He returned with his most adventurous album yet

Inspired by John Martyn, Echoplexes and open C tunings, the UK guitar maverick describes his playing as a “car crash of whatever suits me and whatever use I can get out of it” – but even he couldn’t have anticipated just how weird things would get…

MusicRadar

5 songs guitarists need to hear by... John Martyn

Brilliant, inventive, troubled, there was never a folk guitar player like Martyn, whose appetite for experimentation created a sound that resonated far beyond guitar culture

The Guardian - UK

‘It felt like a falling apart’: Ben Howard on returning to music after two strokes

When he suffered two mini-strokes last year, Ben Howard felt like ‘the world was pouring in’. But the experience has fuelled his most fluid, experimental album yet

Glasgow Live

Recalling lost Glasgow music shop McCormack's that helped form countless local bands

Few vanished Glasgow businesses are as fondly recalled as McCormack's, the legendary music shop that had the city hitting all the right notes and helped put together countless local bands.

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The Guardian - UK

Dining across the divide: ‘We could both see how Brexit has hastened the debate around a united Ireland’

They disagree strongly on Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn – but can these self-confessed lefties find common ground over dinner?

What Hi-Fi?

16 of the best-sounding vinyl records

Enough of dodgy presses, these records should get the best possible sound from your turntable.

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