Rumour has that Rod Felton made an album for Pye Records in the 70's.There are tapes but nothing has surfaced so far. We believe it was through Barry Murray and Harry Simmonds – managers and producers of Mungo Jerry, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack etc.
However, a number of people have uploaded live tracks on Soundcloud or YouTube or sent copies to me for this site. So I've created this hub page for those 20 odd tracks. They remain on the original sites but are linked here to make a kind of double album. If anyone else has any tracks they have uploaded of Rod's or want to send them to us for this page, please do so. You can send them here hobozine@googlemail.com
Thanks to those who have uploaded or supplied material linked or added to this page and they are Marko Krnjulap, Dave Cooper (of Dando Shaft), Russell Smith of Bam Bam Music Productions, John Silver of The Falcon Hotel, Bromyard. Norman Wheatley of Gentlefolk Radio and Pete Clemons and Jan Felton. New as of February 19th 2017 - a 12 track CD now on Vimeo kindly supplied by Jan Felton via Pete Clemons. 12 Tracks - Curly* - No Doubt about it (Live) - I Want to be free (ska)- I Want to get there my way - Here with Me - Interplanetary Trucker (Live) - Your Love's Good for me* - Lady baby gypsy queen* - Love is (Taken by Surprise) (double tracked vocals) - Liberty Bell* - My Old Man* - Really don't believe she's true* (with fiddles).
The Mountain Ash Band were an electric folk band, in the style of perhaps of Steeleye Span, based in The Hermit - became a collectors piece in Progressive Music circles. and, for the purposes of this particular site, they do have a strong Coventry connection.
Ilkley in 1975 and their one and only limited edition album -
Coventry Connection In June 1973, while we were printing the very first issue of Hobo - Coventry Music and Arts Magazine,Colin Cripps and Lynda Hardcastle (later of the Mountain Ash Band, were preparing The Willenhall Free Press for print also at the Left Centre bookshop in, Lower Ford Street, Coventry. The centre had a community Offset Litho which had been donated to the centre by Edward Thompson, author of Making of the Working Class, who at the time was a Professor of historyWarwick University. Colin and Lyn were musicians, magazine editors and, I discovered live quite near to me in Willenhall, so naturally we became good friends and Colin and Lyn participated in the Hobo Workshop gigs at Holyhead Youth Centre (where the Specials and Selecter later began). They lived in a flat in Ivy Walk with their son and held regular soirees with poets, musicians and like minded people. Colin Cripps, who later authored the book Popular Music in the 20thC - Cambridge University Press 1988. Colin was an undergraduate at Warwick University, studying Literature at the time and they were both involved with a Community campaigning magazine The Willenhall Free Press and other forms of community activism. One of the poets, from Ivy Walk was Ray King (Not to be confused with Ray King of the Ray King Soul band - also from Coventry). Ray went on to write the lyrics for the Mountain Ash Band's album - The Hermit. Colin and Lyn left Coventry in 1975 after Colin graduated and moved to Ilkley where they formed the Mountain Ash Band. Ultimately Colin was originally from Cambridge and Lynda from, I think, Filey in North Yorkshire. Lynda Hardcastle went on to sing with Grace Notes, featuring Maggie Boyle and Helen Hockenhull.
at The MP3's for the Videos were supplied by Colin Cripps and were first featured on the Hobo Vox / Typepad site in 2007 and Colins background notes are still on that site - here http://coventrymusichistory.typepad.com/blog/2007/05/introduction-to-the-hermit-mountain-ash-band.html
Line up of the Mountain Ash Band
Colin Cripps (Guitar / Research and original concept, music for songs) –
Ray King (Lyrics)
Sean Mansley (Narration)
Lynda Hardcastle (Vocals and Recorder)
Alan Rose (Vocals and Whistle)
Martin Carter (Vocals and Guitar)
Geoff Bowen (Fiddle and Recorder)
Graham Jones ( Bass, Vocals and Recorder)
Kevin Slingsby (Drums).
Production and arrangements including traditional tunes by Mountain Ash Band.
The album was recorded on 13th and 14th December 1975 by Look Records at September Sound Studios, Golcar, Huddersfield, West Yorks. Mastering and sound on songs David Whitely. Sound on Narration George Parks, edited by Robert Whitely. Sleeve design and artwork Kevin Slingsby. Witches Bane Music.
Tracks Side One (The is also a narrative before each track)
Birth
Journeys
Stone on Stone.
Side Two
A Long Winter
Who Knows
I'll Sing For My Supper
The Outcast / Rebirth.
Bonus Tracks.
Colin Cripps supplied a few bonus tracks that were played live after the Hermit project as part of another project or from their next project 'wind over the borderland'. English Birds is an instrumental that never made it to the final album. You can hear these tracks directly here by clicking on them. English Birds Leading Lady / November The Patient's Song
Two of the bonus tracks have already found their way to youtube - Leading lady and November - so here they are are on youtube -
The Lyrics - by Ray King.
Ray King - Lyricist
Colin Cripps says "When Ray King, a friend from Willenhall, visited I told him the folk tale and he tuned in immediately and came up with a great set of lyrics. They had no verse and chorus structure because Ray was a poet not a songwriter, but there was enough to work with."
"Job Senior was a hermit. There are many ways of being a hermit. It was only for a short time towards his later years that Job lived on Ilkley Moor away from other people. For most of his life Job was a hermit in a crowd. The facts of his life, as far as they are known, are narrated on this album. The songs are not an attempt at story telling; more a series of glimpses of his world as we imagine it would have been seen by Job at the crisis points of his life." From the album cover. The Lyrics sheet that came with the album -
Note; You may need to save the lyric sheet graphics and enlarge them via the scroll button on your computer in order to read them.
Some links to background on The Hermit tale and Job Senior
Pete Willow has created a new folk Connection blog to keep you all up to date with the latest happenings on the folk and acoustic scene in Coventry and Warwickshire. Great initiative and much needed in the area.
NOTE - the site mentioned here has been superseded by Pete Willow's CVfolk site
The other day I got an email from Lot Lorien, a Bulgarian folk band now resident in Coventry. Further more they sent me a copy of their CD Elsewhere and it's musical alchemy! NEWS UPDATE - Coventry singer / Songwriter / Venue Organiser has joined Lot Lorien. You'll find an updated biography of the band below. September 4th 2014 http://www.lot-lorien.com/ The beautiful Tolkien style cover of their album Elsewhere. The album is a joy to listen to with elements of Pentangle, Everything but the Girl, All About Eve and Bulgarian traditional music.
All you need to know about the band is on their website but here is the biography of the band -
Lot Lorien
Lot
Lorien is a British progressive-folk band, combining in a modern way
the traditions of British and Bulgarian folklore with classical
music, jazz and progressive rock. Some of the main influences can be
found among great musicians and bands like Theodosii Spassov,
Fairport Convention, Dando Shaft, Pentangle, Rush, Steeleye Span,
etc.
The band, initially Bulgarian, first came into existence in 1996,
when the founders - Kiril Georgiev (guitars, lyrics, compositions)
and Zlatomir Valchev (drums, percussion) were joined by Petar Pavlov
(bass). After number of experiments and line-up changes the band were joined by Bora Petkova (vocals), Galina Koycheva (violin) and Nelly
Gancheva (cello, for few concerts).
Being ardent fans of English fiction writer John R. R. Tolkien, the
band members were inspired to choose their name by Tolkien’s
Middle-earth works (the place where the stories of "Hobbit"
and "Lord of the Rings" unfold). Lothlorien is the
fairytale woods kingdom of the Galadhrim elves where time seems to
have stopped and every stranger entering this land forgets all
worries and pending threats. Inspired by this standstill of time, Lot
Lorien (they choose to spell the name as two separate words) begin to
create music evocative of fairytale images that prompt the listener
to forget their mundane worries.
Early years
Lot Lorien’s first serious performances started in 1998. Joined by
Alexander Kinov (sound engineer, technician) and Yasen Kazandjiev
(manager), the band made its first concert in Varna on February 14th
1998. The date is accepted as the official birthday of Lot Lorien.
With the course of time, the band’s specific sound and style started to evolve and take shape with the great contribution of band’s
songwriter Kiril Georgiev and the non-standard use of instruments:
acoustic guitar, violin and gentle female voice were successfully
combined with synthesizer, bass guitar, drums and different folk
instruments like tapan, tabla, djembe, darbouka, didgeridoo. Unique
handmade instruments crafted by the band members themselves also found a place in the compositions.
In 2000 the band started touring abroad and was warmly accepted by
international audience and promoters.
After numerous successful concerts and demo records (some of them
broadcast on the air), it was time for the band’s first album "Eastern
Wind". The album was recorded in the summer of 2002 in
Balkanton studio (Sofia/Bulgaria) with the legendary sound engineer
Deyan Timnev and with the special support of Rudolf Carrera - founder
of Falcata-Galia Recordings and president of Carrera Linn Cultural
Exchange (USA). Renowned young opera singer Ina Kancheva was guest
performer in one of the compositions included in this album.
New events and shows followed, and the creation of new compositions. At the
beginning, Lot Lorien were experiencing strong influence from
classical music and English folklore and later their style and sound were enhanced by inspirations of jazz, progressive rock and Bulgarian
folklore.
Theodosii Spassov
2003 started with one of the most interesting collaborations of the band
with the great musician Theodosii Spassov *. The first result of this
collaboration was the participation at the Mobimak Balkan Square 2003
festival in Ohrid, Macedonia where Lot Lorien played their rearranged
compositions with the serious contribution by the great Bulgarian
musician. This and the following shows enjoyed great success. The
concert in Ohrid was recorded and part of it was later released under
the title "Live in Ohrid", the second
album in the band’s discography. * Theodosii Spassov plays
kaval - chromatic end-blown flute
traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bulgaria, etc.
Unlike the transverse flute, the kaval is fully open at both ends,
and is played by blowing on the sharpened edge of one end. The kaval
has 8 playing holes (7 in front and 1 in the back for the thumb) and
usually four more unfingered intonation holes near the bottom of the
kaval. The name kaval may once have been referred to various Balkan
duct and rim-blown flutes, accounting for the present day diversity
of the term’s usage.
In 2003 Lot Lorien also became a member of IOV - a UNESCO affiliated
International Folk Arts Organization.
Gradually the band started touring abroad more frequently, presenting
its original compositions and interpretations on Bulgarian folklore
tunes. By that time some music videos were created by the famous
Bulgarian director Todor Chapkanov – friend of the band. The first
music video was for the song "Mari Mariiko"
- based on folklore song from the Strandja mountain region of
Bulgaria.
"Lot Lorien"
The end of 2005 set the beginning of an ambitious project of working
title "Lot Lorien and Friends". The band
purchased their own professional equipment and established a home
studio, which provided them with creative freedom for
experimentation. At the end of 2006, an album including 12
compositions was a fact: recorded and mixed in the band’s studio.
Featuring in this album were numerous guest musicians whom Lot Lorien
had met and worked with in Bulgaria and abroad: Roman Stolyar
(Russia): flute; Latif Bolat (Turkey/USA): vocals; Nikolay Yordanov:
flute; Dragni Dragnev: bagpipe and kaval; Petya Dragneva: folk
singing; Maryana Cvetanova-Milanova and Dilyana Cvetanova: violin;
Christian Nedelchev: rebeck; Snajen Kovachev: vocals; 84-year old
Kiro Dikov from village Brodilovo: vocal; Georgi Konstantinov:
lyrics; Rey Gonzales: lyrics. The album was released at the beginning
of 2007 under the title "Lot Lorien". One
of the most interesting collaborations included in this album is the
song "Ballad for The Lost", based on
improvisations with certain ideas and gradually upgraded with
numerous instruments, including small string orchestra, bagpipe and
tabla (used for the first time in band’s composition). The "icing
on the cake" is Latif Bolat, a long-time friend of the band and
renowned Turkish composer/musician living in the USA, famous for his
collaboration with George Lukas on the soundtrack of "Young
Indiana Jones". Latif and Bora (vocals) produced an interesting
multi-language vocal dialogue: Bulgarian lyrics by Lyuben Karavelov
and Turkish lyrics by Turkish medieval poet Yunus Emre. Tunes from
Turkish folk song are incorporated at the beginning and the end of
the composition. This song becomes one of the award winners in the
contest for intercultural dialogue "Other songs" of
Euromedcafe (held under the auspices of the Directorate for External
Relations at the European Commission, Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean
Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue and Fondazzione Mediterraneo).
In 2007 Lot Lorien decided to join "You Are Not Alone"
initiative to support the Bulgarian nurses retained in Libya. Apart
from a series of concerts in connection with this initiative, with
the support of Stefan Sofiansky and the Union of Free Democrats, Lot
Lorien released a special edition of their latest album of which each
member of the European Parliament received a copy.
In 2008, after a couple of concerts, the band split with its
long time manager Yasen Kazandjiev. At the end of this year the band
celebrated its 10th anniversary with a grand concert in Varna Opera
House where the musicians present their recent and earlier
compositions and create a conceptual multimedia and special lighting
for each song.
In 2009 Lot Lorien continued their work with composing and arranging
songs for their next album. They had some participations as well,
one of which was at the prestigious Spirit of Burgas festival, rated
among Europe’s 10 best summer festivals for 2009.
Changes
2010 was year of dramatic changes for the band: Bora and Galina stepped out but their withdrawal was compensated by Yordan Danev, a virtuoso
accordionist who joined the group - a perfect team player and inspired
composer and arranger. Yordan Danev contributes to the band’s richer
and more diversified sound. Of course, the band would be incomplete
without suitable vocals and after a long search, at the end of 2010,
Lot Lorien were happy and proud to welcome Gergana Velikova, a young
singer who instantaneously fused in the band with remarkable vocal
range and technique. With Yordan and Gergana on board, Lot Lorien were
active once again and started preparations for their successive album
and concert performances.
On February 14th 2011, the band’s 13th anniversary, the new members were officially announced and a new webpage and video was launched.
Тhe video was created by the team of the young movie director Stoyan
Yankov after the instrumental composition "Different faces"
from Lot Lorien’s forthcoming album "Elsewhere".
It is the beginning of a new great collaboration.
The main engagement for the band during 2011 was creating and
finishing the compositions for the forthcoming fourth album. At the
end of the year 11 compositions were recorded.
At the beginning of 2012, the band started mixing the album. During
the summer of 2012 Lot Lorien won the audience’s prize at Golden
Spring Festival – a competition for new Bulgarian pop and rock
song, produced by the Bulgarian National Radio.
The new album "Elsewhere" was mastered at
the end of the summer and after a competition made by the band, the
visual design was created by Dilyana Delcheva – journalist at Metal
Hammer magazine for Bulgaria and professional designer for bands like
Sonata Arctica, Dreamtale, Absinthium, Gothmog, Leviathan, Amaseffer,
etc.
At the middle of September, the band participated at the Festival for
new pop and rock song Sofia 2012, where they won the audience’s
prize, after voting with SMS messages. The earnings from the SMS
messages were meant to support the National charity campaign "Let's
be better" which is initiated by the municipality of Sofia for
building of a Center for treatment and rehabilitation of people
injured in accidents and people in "awakening coma". Lot
Lorien won the prize with "Gypsy song" –
composition from the new album, which had its video released soon
after that. The video was created by Stoyan Yankov’s crew again. At
the end of September the band started a small tour to promote
"Elsewhere" around Bulgaria.
In May 2013 Lot Lorien won "Varna" reward (Music category)
- prestigious reward given by the Municipality of Varna for great
achievements in the fields of culture and education.
A few months later Gergana left Bulgaria and she was replaced by
Hristiana Dynkova - young, charismatic and very talented singer,
winner of many international rewards and student at the Bulgarian
Music Academy - Sofia/Bulgaria. With Hristiana on board, Lot Lorien
released one new song and won two prizes at the International Music
Festival Discovery 2014.
British career
The summer of 2014 marked a serious change. It was time for a new
beginning in the band's career - Kiril,/songwriters
in the West Midlands, well known for her enigmatic voice and
charisma...
New singer - Justine Watson
Zlatomir and Alexander move
to Coventry / United Kingdom. The area is well known with its music
traditions and connection with folk bands like Pentangle, Dando
Shaft, Fairport Convention, etc - some of them are recognized as a huge
influence on Lot Lorien. Soon after their arrival, the musicians were
joined by Justine Watson - one of the best folk-singers
...
To be continued...
Selected rewards
2007
- Award winner in the contest for intercultural dialogue "Other
songs" of Euromedcafe (held under the auspices of the
Directorate for External Relations at the European Commission, Anna
Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue and
Fondazzione Mediterraneo);
2010
- Nomination for "Varna" reward / category "Music";
2012
- The listener’s reward - 43-th competition for new pop and rock
music "Golden spring" 2012 - Bulgarian National Radio /
Horizont program;
2012
- The audience’s reward - Sofia 2012 Festival for pop and rock
music;
2012
- On top of the weekly music chart by the Bulgarian National Radio,
03.10.2012;
2013
- "Varna" reward / "Music" category. Official and
prestigious reward by the municipality of Varna (Lot Lorien's home
town) for the original album "Elsewhere", created in 2012;
2014
- "Music Innovation Prize" - XXIII Discovery International
music festival - Varna / Bulgaria;
2014
- Winner of the Discovery International Radio Voting in Ukraine -
XXIII Discovery International music festival - Varna / Bulgaria;
Here is Lot Lorien Video with Coventry singer Sean O'Connor
Below with the current line up based in Leamington Spa.
Jake Wilson – (ex Fairport Convention) vocals / vocal arrangements Lot Lorien: Adam Jurewicz – Spanish guitar / arrangement Kiril Georgiev – Steel-strings guitar /arrangement Lyrics: traditional Original music: Kiril Georgiev Recorded and Mixed by Adam Jurewicz at Red Diamond Recordings, Royal Leamington Spa, UK (2016/2017)
"Beverley Martyn has led an incredible life: a beautiful woman and talented
singer-songwriter she was also muse, friend or partner to some of the greatest recording artists of the past forty years....Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, Nick Drake and of course her husband John Martyn. Along the way she played at the Monterey Festival in 1967...." Below - Beverley on the cover of Bert JanschIt Don't Bother me album 1965 (thanks to Dave Cooper for that information)
"Beverley Martyn (born Beverley Kutner on 24 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and
Beverley Martyn in the 1970's
guitarist. Beverley was born near Coventry. While still a student, she was picked to front The Levee Breakers, a jug band featuring Mac McGann and Johnny Joyce, who played the folk circuit in south east England. At the age of 16 she recorded her first single. "Babe I'm Leaving You", which was released on the Parlophone label in 1965. Martyn was then signed as a solo artist to the Deram Records label. In 1966 she released a single, "Happy New Year" (b-side "Where The Good Times Are"), written by Randy Newman, on which she was accompanied by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Andy White. "Happy New Year" was chosen, together with "I Love My Dog" by Cat Stevens, to launch Deram as the progressive branch of Decca Records. She also recorded an unreleased single in the same year, "Picking Up The Sunshine" / "Gin House Blues". These last two tracks also featured John Renbourn and Mike Lease. During this period she was taught the guitar by the folk guitarist Bert Jansch who also encouraged her songwriting. Her follow-up single "Museum", written by Donovan was released in 1967, produced by Denny Cordell.
Closely involved with the folk scene at the time, she met Paul Simon who invited her to New York where she contributed to the track "Fakin' It" on the Simon & Garfunkel album Bookends on which she says in the middle of the song: "Good morning, Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day." She later appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival on 16 June 1967, as did Simon & Garfunkel.
In 1969 she met John Martyn, whom she later married. As a duo they issued two albums, Stormbringer!
and The Road to Ruin both of which were released on Island Records. Following The Road to Ruin, Island persuaded John Martyn to resume his career as a solo artist because they believed that there was more public interest in solo singer/songwriters.Although she was spending more time with her children, Martyn continued to contribute to her husband's solo projects until the breakdown of their marriage. The couple divorced during the making of John Martyn's album Grace and Danger in 1980 and she retired from music for years.
In the 1990s, with her children now grown, she was invited to join Loudon Wainwright III on his European tour. In 1998 she resumed her recording career with the release of the album No Frills.
In 2004 Martyn's song "Primrose Hill" about the simple joys of domesticity, which she wrote and sang on Road To Ruin, was sampled by Fat Boy Slim for the track "North West Three" on his 2004 album Palookaville.
At various times, Martyn has worked with Levon Helm, Jimmy Page, Dave Pegg, Richard Thompson,
John Renbourn, Ralph McTell, Davy Graham and Sandy Denny. She appeared in the photograph on the album sleeve of Bert Jansch's 1965 album It Don't Bother Me; where she can be seen lounging in the background. On 3 December 2013 she performed the song "Levee Breaks" with her band at the concert A Celebration Of Bert Jansch at London's Royal Festival Hall alongside Robert Plant, Donovan and various members of Pentangle, amongst others. The concert was broadcast by BBC4 in the UK on 28 March 2014 under the name The Genius of Bert Jansch: Folk Blues and Beyond.
Martyn released a new album in 2014 entitled The Phoenix and The Turtle. The album features a previously unrecorded Nick Drake and Martyn song, "Reckless Jane". The album features bass by Matt Malley (Counting Crows), drums by Victor Bisetti (Los Lobos), acoustic guitars by Mark Pavey, electric guitars by Jakob Nebel and Michael Watts with strings by Owain Roberts."
Discography Singles
"Babe, I'm Leaving You" (McGann) / "Wild About My Lovin'" (Trad. Arr. Joyce) (June 1965 with the Levee Breakers)
"Happy New Year" (Newman) / "Where The Good Times Are" (Martyn) (September 1966 as "Beverley")
"Picking Up The Sunshine" / "Gin House" (1966 as "Beverley"; unreleased)
"Museum" (Leitch) / "A Quick One For Sanity" (by "D. Cordell Tea Time Ensemble") (July 1967 as "Beverley") Albums
Stormbringer! (February 1970 with John Martyn)
The Road to Ruin (November 1970 with John Martyn)
No Frills (1998)
The Phoenix and the Turtle (2014)
Below is a link to an interesting and recent interview with Beverley Martyn
In this cutting from a Coventry paper in the mid 60's (via The Broadgate Gnome A to Z of Coventry Bands), Beverley says "My band will be the best in England" and her early records had the likes of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones on, long before Led Zeppelin came along and Nicky Hopkins. "Good artistic pop records can be made and I am trying to prove this." Her early association with Donovan resulted in her recording Donovan's Museum in 1967. Perhaps her two lines in Paul Simon's song Fakin' It "Good morning Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day" was a reference to Donovan Leitch.
Another cutting, also from The Broadgate Gnome A to z Site
Beverley's sister ran the Hub Boutique in Coventry and the above article by the Coventry Standard in 1967 was conducted in a Coventry Precinct cafe not long after her return from San Francisco during which she recorded with Paul Simon and appeared at Monterey and appreciated by the Monkees.
Pete Willow, writing in Folks magazine (Coventry folk magazine Jan/Feb 1979) covered the history of the Coventry folk scene (his articles and magazines posted on this blog), included another cutting -
The Daily Sketch (Aug 23rd 1966) ran an article headed 'Now Beverley has the key to the top' which
read: " If there was an award for sheer will to win in the pop business it would this year to an 18 year old singer billed simply as Beverley. Just a year ago she came to London and Demmy Cordell, who makes discs for Georgie Fame and the Moody Blues, heard her sing in a club. Cordell told me: "I offered her a recording contract. She is the only person, other than Georgie and the Moodies, I've wanted to record. "But Beverley told him: 'I'm going away - I'll see you when i think I'm ready'..Beverley went back to her home in Coventry with a guitar - which Denny Laine of the Moody Blues had given her - and learned to play. Now she is rated by Jimmy Page of the Yardbirds, as ' the best girl guitarist' he's heard."
Pete Willow comments - "Here is a typical selection of other cuttings about the lady, proving the press moves in mysterious way: She's an 18 year old Chelsea-looking brunette from Coventry who has just cut her
first record. The title is 'Happy new year' (Deram)." " Beverley......wore a cool black satin pajama suit - with enormous flapping trousers - at London airport yesterday. To keep away the chill winter breezes she wore a snug fox fur on top. Beverley was flying to Munich to make a broadcast and make promote her new record....""She admires Donovan's interpretations and was particularly thrilled when, in a London club recently, he stepped from the audience and offered to accompany her on guitar." "Beverley...claims that at 20 she has at last found her real self thanks to the Love Thy neighbour hippies of San Francisco. Beverley has just returned from Hippie-land after taking part in the Monterey pop Festival."
It seemed for a while that Beverly was in the limelight of press attention and attracting a lot of interest in the
national folk/rock scene. When she married and worked with John Martyn, interest in her from the music media fell and lost much of its previous intensity. The sleeve notes on John and Beverley's album Stormbringer simply refer to the fact that she once worked for a jug band in Coventry. Mentioning no names."
A few memories from Dave Cooper of Dando Shaft
"Bev and John had a basement flat in West Hampstead. I had a brief meeting there with Nick Drake in '71. Bev had been mates with Ted Kaye of Dando Shaft in Coventry. She was the perfect Hippy Chic icon, stunning, and a great voice. Bev is also on the cover of Bert Jansch's 1965 album "It Don't Bother Me" Glad she succeeded in releasing "The Phoenix And The Turtle" earlier this year.
As fairytale as Beverley's musical career appears, she tells a more reveals a more disturbing side to her life in her biography published in 2011 - Sweet Honesty -
"Sweet Honesty - The Beverley Martyn Story ... as told to Jaki da Costa. Beverley was a rising star in
the 1960s' British folk/rock music scene when she met and married singer/songwriter John Martyn, who died in 2009. For years she kept silent about the abusive relationship they shared. Here she tells her story in her own words, taking us from her childhood in post-war Coventry through the making of classic albums "Stormbringer!" and "Road to Ruin" to today, where she survives as a woman beaten but not bowed and still a gifted musician in her own right." Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Honesty-Beverley-Martyn-Story/dp/1907211888
You can read some sample chapters on the Amazon kindle version on the above site too. Another review on Amazon -
"Beverley Martyn has led an incredible life: a beautiful woman and talented singer-songwriter she was also muse, friend or partner to some of the greatest recording artists of the past forty years....Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, Nick Drake and of course her husband John Martyn. Along the way she played at the Monterey Festival in 1967 and also endured ten years of marriage with an abusive husband that eventually led her to have a breakdown, near destitute and in a mental hospital."
The Music - Early singles from the mid 1960's -
Tomorrow Time
Beverley Martyn - Picking Up the Sunshine Monterey Pop Festival 1967
This is Donovan's version of his song which Beverley covered.
Beverley Martyn appears on this Simon and Garfunkle track as the voice that says "Good morning Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day" and possibly some backing vocals.
A song she wrote with Nick Drake which was unfinished.
Beverley talks about the song she wrote with Nick Drake here
these tracks are on the site as yet but will be. The site is still in progress but already a lotof material on the site.The link is here
Rumour has that Rod Felton made an album for Pye Records in the 70's.There are tapes but nothing has surfaced so far. We believe it was through Barry Murray and Harry Simmonds – managers and producers of Mungo Jerry, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack etc.
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