He was continually developing his musical style and by 1970 was creating original sounds by playing acoustic guitar through a fuzz box, phase shifter and echoplex, resulting in a haunting fading echo effect.
He made one of the great albums of the 70s in 1973 when Solid Air was released and which contained a number of great songs including 'May you never' which I have played on my Monday show and which was covered by Eric Clapton on his Slowhand album. Martyn continued to release innovative albums throughout the 1970s.
In 1979, John's marriage to his wife Beverley broke up and , in his own words 'I hit the self-destruct button'. He took to drink and drugs and severely damaged his health but produced a cathartic album called Grace and Danger on which Phil Collins played drums. At first his record company, Island, would not release it saying it was deeply and painfully personal but eventually he got his way and said it was the greatest album he had ever made.
By the 1990s, Martyn had picked up on hip-hop and had blended the phrasing into this own unique style on an album called And.
By now he was struggling with serious health problems including a burst pancreas, and later, in 2003 his right leg was amputated. Seriously overweight now and not well he continued to play and tour and was awarded the BBC 's Lifetime Achievement award for his services to music in 2008.
Though his death can hardly be called a shock, it is very sad for those who love music and innovative musicians. The last word should be left to Eric Clapton who said 'John was just so far ahead of everything, it's almost inconceivable'.
