Editing Martin Carthy

{{Short description|English singer and guitarist (born 1941)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name              = Martin Carthy
| honorific_suffix  = [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]]
| image             = Martin Carthy.JPG
| caption           = Performing with [[The Imagined Village]]<br />at [[Camp Bestival]], July 2008
| image_size        = 
| background        = solo_singer
| birth_name        = Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy
| alias             = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1941|5|21}}
| birth_place       = [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire]], England
| death_place       = 
| origin            = London, England
| instrument        = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|[[mandolin]]|[[banjo]]|[[Appalachian dulcimer|dulcimer]]|[[Organ (music)|organ]]}}
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Folk Music of England|English folk]]|[[folk baroque]]|[[British folk rock]]}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Singer|musician|songwriter|record producer}}
| years_active      = 1960–present
| label             = {{hlist|[[Topic Records|Topic]]|[[Fontana Records|Fontana]]|[[Philips Records|Philips]]|[[Deram Records|Deram]]|[[B&C Records|B&C]]}}
| associated_acts   = [[Waterson:Carthy]]<br />[[Blue Murder (folk)|Blue Murder]]<br />[[The Watersons]]<br />[[Steeleye Span]]<br />[[Albion Country Band]]<br />[[Brass Monkey (band)|Brass Monkey]]<br />[[The Imagined Village]]<br />[[Dave Swarbrick]]
| website           = 
| module            = {{Infobox person
| embed      = yes
| spouse     = {{marriage|[[Norma Waterson]]|1972|2022|reason=her death}}
| children = [[Eliza Carthy]]
| relatives  = {{unbulleted list|[[Mike Waterson]]<br />(brother-in-law)|[[Lal Waterson]]<br />(sister-in-law)}}}}
}}

'''Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy''' [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in [[English folk music]], inspiring contemporaries such as [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Paul Simon]], as well as later artists such as [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]], since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the [[British folk revival|folk revival]] in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s.

==Early life==
Carthy was born in [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire]], England,<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=236}}</ref> and grew up in [[Hampstead]], North West London. His mother was an active socialist and his father, from a family of [[River Thames]] [[lightermen]], went to grammar school and became a [[trade unionist]] and a [[councillor]] for [[Stepney]] at the age of 21. Martin's father had played [[fiddle]] and guitar as a young man but Martin was unaware of this connection to his folk music heritage until much later in life. His vocal and musical training began when he became a chorister at the [[Savoy Chapel|Queen's Chapel of The Savoy]].<ref name="Wilks">{{Cite web|last=Wilks|first=Jon|date=28 February 2018|title=The Martin Carthy Interview|url=https://tradfolk.co/music/music-interviews/martin-carthy/|access-date=9 February 2022|website=Tradfolk|language=en-GB}}</ref>

He picked up his father's old guitar for the first time after hearing "[[Rock Island Line]]" by [[Lonnie Donegan]]. He has cited his first major folk music influences as [[Big Bill Broonzy]]<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Tradfolk|first=Jon|last=Wilks|date=24 September 2023|title=Not-so-rapid-fire questions with Martin Carthy|url=https://tradfolk.co/customs/customs-interviews/not-so-rapid-fire-questions-with-martin-carthy/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://folklondon.co.uk/2021/05/martin-carthy-at-80-trial-and-error-ive-built-an-entire-career-on-it/ | title=Martin Carthy at 80: 'Trial and error? I've built an entire career on it' | date=26 May 2021 }}</ref> and the syncopated guitar style of [[Elizabeth Cotten]].{{cn|date=January 2025}} Carthy performed his first professional engagement at the age of 16 at The Loft, a coffee bar in Primrose Gardens.<ref name="desert">Interview on BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs'' broadcast 13 January 2013</ref> Although his father wanted him to go to university to study classics, Carthy left school at 17 and worked behind the scenes as a prompter at the open-air theatre in [[Regent's Park]], then as an assistant stage manager (ASM) on a tour of ''[[The Merry Widow]]'', and then at [[Stephen Joseph Theatre|Theatre in the Round]] in [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Martin|last=Carthy|title=Martin Carthy:  A Guitar in Folk Music|date=1987|publisher=New Punchbowl Music|location=Petersham, Surrey, UK|page=5}}</ref> He became a resident at the [[Troubadour (London nightclub)|Troubadour]] folk club in [[Earl's Court]] in the early 1960s after his friend Robin Hall persuaded him to visit and listen to the piper Seamus Ennis.<ref name="Wilks"/> Carthy joined Redd Sullivan's Thameside Four in 1961 as a [[skiffle]] guitarist and singer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/martin.carthy/biography.html|title=Martin Carthy: Biography|website=mainlynorfolk.info}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/redd-sullivan-mn0001392245|title=Redd Sullivan &#124; Biography & History|website=AllMusic}}</ref>

In the early 1960s, Carthy visited [[Ewan MacColl|Ewan MacColl's]] Ballads & Blues club to watch a friend, the singer [[Roy Guest]]. The main performer that night was [[Sam Larner]]. Carthy has since described how Larner's performance of "[[Henry Martin (song)|Lofty Tall Ship]]" altered his perception of how a traditional folk song could be sung, and how it was a key moment in his own development as an artist.<ref name="Wilks"/>

When American singer [[Bob Dylan]] arrived in London for the first time in 1962 to perform in ''[[Madhouse on Castle Street]]'', he visited Martin Carthy at the Troubadour, The King & Queen, and The Singers Club.<ref name="Wilks"/> He learned the traditional song "[[Scarborough Fair (ballad)|Scarborough Fair]]" from Carthy, which he later developed into his own song "[[Girl from the North Country]]".

In 1963 (possibly to 1964) on one or probably multiple occasions he recorded or contributed to 14 songs in front of a live television audience for the UK regional television folk and blues music series [[Hullabaloo (British TV series)|Hullabaloo]], presented by the Scottish folksinger [[Rory McEwen (artist)|Rory McEwen]]; these sessions were released on DVD in 2020.<ref name="mainlynorfolk">{{cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/records/hullabaloo.html|title=Hullabaloo|website=Mainly Norfolk|access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref>

==Musical career==
[[File:Maddy Prior, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson (26631662262).jpg|thumb|194x194px|Martin Carthy with [[Maddy Prior]] and [[Norma Waterson]]]]
Carthy is a mostly solo performer of traditional songs in a very distinctive style, accompanying himself on his [[C.F. Martin & Company|Martin]] 000-18 acoustic guitar; his style is marked by the use of alternative tunings (notably CGCDGA), and a strongly percussive picking style that emphasises the melody.

In 1964, Carthy joined Marian Mackenzie, Ralph Trainer and [[Leon Rosselson]] in the group [[The Three City Four]]. The group concentrated on contemporary songs, including some of Rosselson's own, and made two albums – the first for [[Decca Records|Decca]] and a second, ''Smoke and Dust (Where the Heart Should Have Been)'', for [[CBS]]. The 1965 eponymous debut ''The Three City Four'' featured Carthy singing lead vocals on two tracks – [[Sydney Carter]]'s "Telephone Song" and Rosselson's own "History Lesson".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mainlynorfolk.info/leon.rosselson/records/threecityfour.html |title=The Three City Four |website=Mainlynorfolk.info |date=8 November 2013 |access-date=11 January 2014}}</ref> [[Roy Bailey (folk singer)|Roy Bailey]] would replace Carthy when he later left the group.

Carthy's debut solo album, ''[[Martin Carthy (album)|Martin Carthy]]'', was released in 1965, and also featured [[Dave Swarbrick]] playing [[fiddle]] on some tracks, although he was not mentioned in the album's sleeve notes. Carthy's arrangement of the traditional ballad "[[Scarborough Fair (ballad)|Scarborough Fair]]" was adapted, without acknowledgement, by [[Paul Simon]] on the [[Simon and Garfunkel]] album recording ''[[Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme]]'' in 1966. This caused a rift between the pair which was not resolved until Simon invited Carthy to sing the song with him on-stage at the [[Hammersmith Apollo]] in 2000.<ref name="desert"/><ref name="apollo">{{cite web |url=https://vimeo.com/371277124 |title=Martin Carthy - Paul Simon - Hammersmith Apollo - 25 Oct 2000 |website=vimeo.com |access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref>

==Musical collaborations==
He has also been involved with many musical collaborations.  He has sung with [[The Watersons]] since 1972; was twice a member of [[British folk rock]] group [[Steeleye Span]]; was a member of the [[Albion Country Band]] 1973 line-up, with members from the [[Fairport Convention]] family and [[John Kirkpatrick (folk musician)|John Kirkpatrick]], that recorded the ''[[Battle of the Field]]'' album; and was part of the innovative [[Brass Monkey (band)|Brass Monkey]] ensemble, which mixed a range of [[brass instruments]] with Carthy's guitar and [[mandolin]] and [[John Kirkpatrick (folk musician)|John Kirkpatrick]]'s [[accordion]], [[diatonic button accordion|melodeon]] and [[concertina]]. Carthy was also a member of The Imagined Village for all three of their albums (2007–2012).

For many years Carthy enjoyed a creative partnership with fiddle player [[Dave Swarbrick]]; more recently, [[Waterson:Carthy]] has provided the forum for his successful musical partnership with wife [[Norma Waterson]] and their daughter [[Eliza Carthy]].

Carthy has inspired contemporaries such as [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Paul Simon]],<ref name="urlSignOnSanDiego.com | The San Diego Union-Tribune | San Diego Green Guide">{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego/access/49630255.html?dids=49630255:49630255&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+10%2C+2000&author=GEORGE+VARGA&pub=The+San+Diego+Union+-+Tribune&desc=The+unknown+folkie+&#124;+Despite+his+small+following%2C+Martin+Carthy+has+left+an+indelible+mark+on+the+genre&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629050549/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego/access/49630255.html?dids%3D49630255%3A49630255%26FMT%3DABS%26FMTS%3DABS%3AFT%26type%3Dcurrent%26date%3DFeb%2B10%2C%2B2000%26author%3DGEORGE%2BVARGA%26pub%3DThe%2BSan%2BDiego%2BUnion%2B%2D%2BTribune%26desc%3DThe%2Bunknown%2Bfolkie%2B%7C%2BDespite%2Bhis%2Bsmall%2Bfollowing%2C%2BMartin%2BCarthy%2Bhas%2Bleft%2Ban%2Bindelible%2Bmark%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bgenre%26pqatl%3Dgoogle#124;+Despite+his+small+following%2C+Martin+Carthy+has+left+an+indelible+mark+on+the+genre&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 June 2011 |title=SignOnSanDiego.com &#124; The San Diego Union-Tribune &#124; San Diego Green Guide |work= The San Diego Union|access-date=1 November 2010 |first=George |last=Varga |date=10 February 2000}}</ref> as well as later artists such as [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]].

==Personal life==
Carthy has lived for many years in [[Robin Hood's Bay]], [[North Yorkshire]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.folkonfoot.com/episodes/eliza-carthy-(and-family)-in-robin-hood's-bay |title=Eliza Carthy (and Family) in Robin Hood's Bay |website=Folk on Foot |access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
In June 1998 he was appointed an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in the Queen's [[Birthday Honours]]. He was named Folk Singer of the Year at the [[BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards]] in 2002, and again in 2005 when he also won the award for Best Traditional Track for "[[The Famous Flower of Serving-Men]]". In the 2007 Folk Awards Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick won Best Duo. In 2008 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the [[University of Central Lancashire]]. In 2014 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

==Discography==
===Original/studio albums (solo, with Dave Swarbrick or with Eliza Carthy)===
{{div col}}
* ''[[Martin Carthy (album)|Martin Carthy]]'' (1965) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''Second Album'' (1966) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''[[Byker Hill (album)|Byker Hill]]'' (1967) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''But Two Came By'' (1968) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''Prince Heathen'' (1969) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''[[Landfall (album)|Landfall]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Shearwater (album)|Shearwater]]'' (1972 / 2005 with extra tracks)
* ''[[Sweet Wivelsfield]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Crown of Horn ]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Because It's There]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Out of the Cut]]'' (1982)
* ''Right of Passage'' (1988)
* ''Life and Limb'' (1990) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''Skin and Bone'' (1992) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''Signs of Life'' (1998)
* ''Waiting for Angels'' (2004)
* ''Straws in the Wind'' (2006) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''The Moral of the Elephant'' (2014) with Eliza Carthy
{{div col end}}

===Compilations and live albums===
* ''This Is... Martin Carthy: The Bonny Black Hare and other songs'' (1971) with Dave Swarbrick [six tracks from ''Byker Hill'' and six tracks from ''But Two Came By'']
* ''Selections'' (1971) with Dave Swarbrick [six tracks from ''Byker Hill''; three tracks from ''No Songs'' EP, 1967; three tracks from ''But Two Came By'']
* ''Selections'' (1972), New Zealand and Australia only
* ''Round Up'' (circa early 1970s) with Dave Swarbrick [second side of ''Martin Carthy'' and first side of ''Second Album'']
* ''Brigg Fair'' (circa early 1970s) with Dave Swarbrick [reissue of ''Byker Hill'']
* ''Tales of Long Ago'' (circa early 1970s) with Dave Swarbrick [reissue of ''But Two Came By'']
* ''The Collection'' (1993)
* ''Rigs of the Time: The Best Of Martin Carthy'' (1993)
* ''The Kershaw Sessions'' (1994) [recorded for BBC Radio, 1987 and 1988]
* ''A Collection'' (1999)
* ''Both Ears and the Tail'' (2000, live recording from 1966) with Dave Swarbrick
* ''The Carthy Chronicles'' (2001), 4-CD 83-track box set
* ''The Definitive Collection'' (2003)
* ''Martin Carthy at Ruskin Mill'' (2005) [very limited release – only 200 copies]
* ''The January Man: Live In Belfast 1978'' (2011)
* ''Walnut Creek: Live Recordings, 1989–1996'' (2011)
* ''Essential Martin Carthy'' (2011)
*''The Folk Vault: Martin Carthy, Live in Whitby 1984'' (2013)

===Releases on other formats===
* ''No Songs'' (7-inch vinyl EP 1967) with Dave Swarbrick
* "The Bonny Lass of Anglesey" b/w "Palaces of Gold" (7-inch vinyl single 1976)
* ''100 Not Out'' (1992), longform video with Dave Swarbrick
* ''British Fingerstyle Guitar'' (instructional VHS video released 1993, reissued on DVD 2006)
* ''Guitar Maestros'' (DVD 2006)

===As a member of [[Steeleye Span]]===
* ''[[Please to See the King]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Storm Force Ten]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Live at Last (Steeleye Span album)|Live at Last]]'' (1978)
* ''The Journey (Live at The Forum, London, 1995)'' (1999)

===With [[Ashley Hutchings]], the [[Albion Country Band]] and the [[Albion Band]]===
* ''[[Battle of the Field]]'' (1976, recorded 1973)
* ''[[Son of Morris On]] (1976)
* ''[[Rise Up Like the Sun]]'' (1978), <small>as guest</small>
* ''Lark Rise To Candleford'' (1980)
* ''The BBC Sessions'' (1998) (tracks 1–4 recorded 1973)

===As a member of [[The Watersons]] and [[Waterson:Carthy]]===
[[File:mcarthy nwaterson.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson at a [[Waterson–Carthy]] performance in [[Cranleigh]], April 2006.]]
* Lal & Mike Waterson: ''[[Bright Phoebus]]'' (1972)
* The Watersons: ''For Pence and Spicy Ale'' (1975)
* The Watersons: ''Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy'' (1977)
* The Watersons: ''Green Fields'' (1981)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''Waterson:Carthy'' (1994)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''Common Tongue'' (1996)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''Broken Ground'' (1999)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''A Dark Light'' (2002)
* The Watersons: ''The Definitive Collection'' (2003)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''Fishes & Fine Yellow Sand'' (2004)
* The Watersons: ''Mighty River of Song'' (2004) 4-CD & DVD box set of Watersons and related recordings
* The Watersons: ''A Yorkshire Christmas'' (2005)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''The Definitive Collection'' (2005)
* Waterson:Carthy: ''[[Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man]]'' (2006)
* Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy with the Gift Band: ''Anchor'' (2018)

===As a member of [[Brass Monkey (band)|Brass Monkey]]===
{{div col}}
* ''Brass Monkey'' (1984)
* ''See How It Runs'' (1986)
* ''The Complete Brass Monkey'' (1993) compilation of the previous two albums
* ''Sound and Rumour'' (1999)
* ''Going and Staying'' (2001)
* ''Flame of Fire'' (2004)
* ''The Definitive Collection'' (2005)
* ''Head of Steam'' (2009)
{{div col end}}

===As a member of [[Blue Murder (folk)|Blue Murder]]===
* ''[[No One Stands Alone (Blue Murder album)|No One Stands Alone]]'' (2002)

===Other notable releases===
{{div col}}
* ''Thamesiders & Davy Graham'' (1963) 7-inch EP
* Three City Four: ''Three City Four'' (1965)
* Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy & [[Diz Disley]]: ''Rags, Reels & Airs'' (1967)
* [[Hedy West]], ''Serves 'Em Fine'' (1967) (as accompanist)
* Various Artists: ''Bright Phoebus: Songs by Lal & Mike Waterson'' (1972)
* John Kirkpatrick: ''Plain Capers'' (1976)
* [[Yuletracks]] (1986)
* Band of Hope: ''Rhythm And Reds'' (1994)
* [[Chris Wood (folk musician)|Wood]], [[Roger Wilson (folk musician)|Wilson]], Carthy: ''Wood, Wilson, Carthy'' (1998)
* Dave Swarbrick: ''Swarb!'' (2003) 4-CD box set career retrospective with numerous Carthy tracks
* Martins4: ''Guitar Nights presents the Four Martins'' (2003) released on CD and DVD (DVD has additional tracks)
* Various Artists: ''The Imagined Village'' (2007)
* The Imagined Village: ''Empire & Love'' (2010)
* The Imagined Village: ''Bending The Dark'' (2012)
* Three City Four: ''Smoke & Dust'' (2010), compilation of tracks from two 1960s albums.
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://mainlynorfolk.info/martin.carthy/ Mainly Norfolk's unofficial website]
* [https://mainlynorfolk.info/martin.carthy/records/rigsofthetime.html#notes John Crosby's 1993 Martin Carthy biography on Mainly Norfolk]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artist/b5jw/ BBC Folk database]{{fv|date=February 2025}}
* [http://www.slipcue.com/music/international/celtic/artists/carthy.html discography on Slipcue e-zine]
* {{Discogs artist|Martin Carthy}}
* {{IMDb name|4533428}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00233z9/bbc-four-sessions-martin-carthy-and-friends "Martin Carthy and Friends"] at ''BBC Four Sessions'', [[Union Chapel, Islington]], 30 April 2002

{{Steeleye Span}}
{{Albion Band}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carthy, Martin}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:English folk guitarists]]
[[Category:English male guitarists]]
[[Category:English folk singers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:British fingerstyle guitarists]]
[[Category:People from Hampstead]]
[[Category:Entertainers from Hatfield, Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Steeleye Span members]]
[[Category:People from Robin Hood's Bay]]
[[Category:English folk rock musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Waterson–Carthy members]]
[[Category:The Albion Band members]]
[[Category:The Watersons members]]
[[Category:Blue Murder (folk group) members]]
[[Category:Brass Monkey (band) members]]
[[Category:Topic Records artists]]
[[Category:Fontana Records artists]]
[[Category:Deram Records artists]]
[[Category:Philips Records artists]]
[[Category:People educated at St Olave's Grammar School]]
[[Category:Singers from the London Borough of Camden]]