John's Diary 1980s
"Every record I've made - bad, good, or indifferent - is totally autobiographical. I can look back when I hear a record and recall exactly what was going on. That's how I write. That's the only way I can write ! Some people keep diaries, I make records."
John and Beverley's marriage finally broke down and John hit the self destruct button, "You name it, I soaked myself in it...it was a dark period in my life."
- Some People Are Crazy (J. Martyn)
- Grace And Danger (J. Martyn)
- Lookin' On (J. Martyn)
- Johnny Too Bad (Slickers)
- Sweet Little Mystery (J. Martyn)
- Hurt In Your Heart (J. Martyn)
- Baby Please Come Home (J. Martyn)
- Save Some (For Me) (J. Martyn)
- Our Love (J. Martyn, B. Martyn)
Grace and Danger was released in October 1980 having been held up for a year by Island boss Chris Blackwell who was a close friend of John and Beverley's and who found it too openly disturbing to release. Only after extreme pressure from John was it finally released and John got the exorcism that he needed. In the late 1980's John would cite this album as his favourite. The album features Phil Collins and John Giblin. Giblin's harmonic bass playing was in the style of Weather Report's late (and great) Jaco Pastorius, a band and style John had long admired. Relying increasingly on his Gibson S.G. electric guitar, John's playing was highly inventive and beguilingly. With John's distinctive vocal delivery and painfully honest lyrics, Grace and Danger became a stunning exposition of confusion, heartache, love and remorse. John later said that it was "probably the most specific piece of autobiography I've written. Some people keep diaries, I make records."
"At times the blending of Martyn's voice and guitar, John Giblin's beautiful bass and Phil Collins immaculate drumming is simply breathtaking." - Melody Maker
John said, "I was in a dreadful emotional state over that record...I was hardly in control of my own actions. The reason they finally released it was because I freaked: Please get it out! I don't give a damn about how sad it makes you feel - it's what I'm about: direct communication of emotion."
"Grace and Danger was very cathartic, and really hurt, I was really in love with that woman."
Island released Johnny Too Bad/Johnny Too Bad (Instrumental) and Johnny Too Bad/Johnny Too Bad (Version) as singles. In March 1981 a 12 inch extended dub version of Johnny Too Bad was released with an extended version of Big Muff on the reverse. In May 1981 Sweet Little Mystery/Johnny Too Bad was released as a single.
Grace And Danger Deluxe (12th February 2007)
CD1
1. Some People are Crazy
2. Grace and Danger
3. Lookin' On
4. Johnny Too Bad
5. Sweet Little Mystery
6. Hurt in Your Heart
7. Baby Please Come Home
8. Save Some (For Me)
9. Our Love
Previously unreleased bonus tracks:
10. Sweet Little Mystery
11. Lookin' On
BBC TV “Old Grey Whistle Test” live performance – Recorded 10th January 1981
12. Some People Are Crazy
13. Grace and Danger
14. Save Some (For Me)
CD2
1. Small Hat
2. Johnny Too Bad (first version)
3. Running Up the Harbour
Recorded at Basing Street studios 29th March 1979 – Mixed at Basing Street studios 9th June 1979
Previously unreleased
4. Sweet Little Mystery (first version)
5. Dead on Arrival
6. Some People Are Crazy (first version)
Mixed at Basing Street studios 4th June 1979 - Previously unreleased
7. Baby Please Come Home (first version)
8. Grace and Danger (first version)
9. Hurt in Your Heart (The Instrumental)
10. After Tomorrow Night
11. Our Love (first version)
12. Lilo Blondino
Mixed at Basing Street studios 9th June 1979 - Previously unreleased
13. Johnny Too Bad (dub mix)
Released as promotional 12-inch single in March 1981 – Previously unreleased on CD
- Couldn't Love You More (J. Martyn)
- Amsterdam (J. Martyn)
- Hold On My Heart (J. Martyn)
- Perfect Hustler (J. Martyn)
- Hearts And Keys (J. Martyn)
- Glorious Fool (J. Martyn)
- Never Say Never (J. Martyn)
- Pascanel (Get Back Home) (J. Martyn)
- Didn't Do That (J. Martyn)
- Please Fall In Love With Me (J. Martyn)
- Don't You Go (J. Martyn)
Glorious Fool was released in September 1981after John had moved to WEA, who offered him a better deal. The album was produced by Phil Collins, who had recently split up from his wife and the two assisted one another.
"We were both going through divorces at the same time, so we just got on. It was great fun, you know, like Heartbreak Hotel, taking turns on the phone...'Darling please'...all that...Everyone's the same!"
Collins played the drums again. The album, with its satirical title track dedicated to Ronald Reagan, was a serious bid for the mainstream big time and it charted for seven weeks, reaching No.25. John and Phil Collins produced some new sounds, particularly on the anti-war anthem Don't You Go, where John's voice is backed by a solitary piano and a sustained blow by Collins on the vocoder. John's guitar was hardly audible and his vocals were swamped by synthesisers on a number of tracks.
Eric Clapton, who had played guitar on Couldn't Love You More, recorded a version of May You Never for his Slowhand album. Rumour has it that John receives more royalties from this cover version than all of his own albums put together, which John laughingly says is "probably true."
"The accolade genius doesn't often apply in popular music." - Steve Sutherland, Melody Maker
"Only Tim Buckley ever dumped this much sex on to vinyl." -Steve Sutherland, Melody Maker
"Produced by Phil Collins with appearances from him and even Eric Clapton, Glorious Fool is a brilliantly blatant bid for the long deserved big time." - Melody Maker
John rarely played the acoustic guitar now in his gigs and some fans found this hard to come to terms with. John embarked on a massive 32 date UK tour with Alan Thomson (bass), Max Middleton (keyboards), Danny Cummings (percussion) and Jeff Allen (drums). In August 1981 WEA released Please Fall In Love With Me/Don't You Go as a single.
- Could've Been Me (J. Martyn)
- You Might Need A Man (J. Martyn)
- Hung Up (J. Martyn)
- Gun Money (J. Martyn)
- Never Let Me Go (Joe Scott)
- Love Up (J. Martyn)
- Changes Her Mind (J. Martyn)
- Hiss On The Tape (J. Martyn)
- Back With A Vengeance (J. Martyn)
- Livin' Alone (J. Martyn)
Released in September 1982, Well Kept Secret was influenced by Phil Collins particularly on the 'disco' track Back With A Vengeance. The album was very pop orientated although John's trademarks of sensuality and emotion were present particularly on Could've Been Me and Hung Up. The album charted for seven weeks, this time reaching the Top 20. Halfway through the recording John accidentally impaled himself on a fence, puncturing a lung, and was so loaded during the subsequent sessions that he can't even remember taking part! The superb ballad Never Let Me Go featured Ronnie Scott on saxaphone.
"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." - NME
Well Kept Secret was released in America with re-mixed tracks. A 1998 reissue included two bonus tracks, Gun Money US remix and Hiss on the Tape (live).
WEA released Hiss on the Tape/Livin' Alone as a single in October 1982 and Gun Money (US remix)/Hiss on the Tape (live) as a single in November.
- You Can Discover
- Dancing (U.S. mix)
- Certain Surprise (U.S. mix)
- Dealer (U.S. mix)
- Call Me Crazy
- Sweet Little Mystery (Single version)
- Root Love
- So Much In Love With You
- Johnny Too Bad (12" remix)
- I'd Rather Be The Devil
Released on 12th October 1982 and coinciding with the release of Well Kept Secret, Island released this compilation. The tracks included the US mixes of Dancing, Certain Surprise and Dealer (from the American version of One World) which were previously unreleased in the UK, the single version of Sweet Little Mystery and the 12 inch dub version of Johnny Too Bad.
- Make No Mistake
- Don't Want To Know
- Root Love
- Lookin' On
- Hung Up
- Johnny Too Bad
- Sunday's Child
- Smiling Stranger
John had recently remarried and released Philentropy in November 1983, without any announcement, whilst being out of contract.
"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."
This live album was recorded in London, Brighton and Oxford between Autumn 1982 and Spring 1983. Originally released on John's own label - Body Swerve, bearing the reference JMLP001, this was, and is considered by many to be the best live album. The recording is charged with atmosphere and excitement and features some of John's most popular songs. John's guitar playing is outstanding and his playing is matched by the members of the band, the line-up was Alan Thomson (bass), Jeffrey Allen (drums), Danny Cummings (percussion) and Ronnie Leahy (keyboards). A mid-price re-issue on Castle in 1986 (DOJO26) is now deleted and the original red Body Swerve issue hard to find.
"A faithful momento 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
- Sapphire (J. Martyn)
- Over The Rainbow (H. Arlen, C. Harburg)
- You Know (J. Martyn)
- Watching Her Eyes (J. Martyn)
- Fisherman's Dream (J. Martyn)
- Acid Rain (J. Martyn, A. Thomson)
- Mad Dog Days (J. Martyn, A. Thomson)
- Climb The Walls (J. Martyn)
- Coming On Time (J. Martyn)
- Rope-Soul'd (J. Martyn, A. Thomson, B. Reynolds)
Released in November 1984. John had rejoined Island in 1984 and Chris Blackwell sent him to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas to record. The sessions were going badly as John had a number of disagreements with the producer until John asked Robert Palmer to help.
"Actually it almost didn't happen, the production team had all fallen out, no-one was taking responsibility for anything, too much rum was being consumed all over the place, so I got Robert Palmer in who brought in some other excellent musicians, and that was it...it was all down to Robert in the end."
The resulting album Sapphire, "was all down to Robert in the end." The playing was light, relaxed, subtle and dreamlike quality of the production was present on every track. John's vocals just managing to steer the album clear of becoming too smooth and soulless. There is little guitar on the album and what there is was apparently electronically treated so as to be indistinguishable from the synthesisers around it, the exception to this rule being the solo on Fisherman's Dream. Before Sapphire, Sundays Child had been the only other self produced album and this one contained just enough high points to convince critics that, whilst no new ground had been broken, it was still a contemporary album with above-average charms.
"Sapphire comes close to grade A form." - Rolling Stone
"In an era when empty gestures of style proliferate in music, Martyn's music speaks with an uncommon candour, intelligence and intensity. At times, the combination of guitar and synthesiser creates a sound which appears to come rolling across the stalls like a tsunami wave, pinning you to your seat...John Martyn strikes the perfect balance between virtuosity and modernism. Put simply he is in a league of his own." - The Guardian
Fisherman's Dream was originally recorded with the Scottish National Choir singing on it! John said, "it sounded awful...as soon as they opened their mouths I went aargh...I've made a mistake, I don't want these people on my record."
Not a popular album with fans, but it contains some gems nonetheless such as Rope Soul'd, the title track itself, the ever popular Fisherman's Dream and Over The Rainbow which is the encore to many of John's gigs.
- Nightline (J. Martyn)
- Lonely Love (J. Martyn)
- Angeline (J. Martyn)
- One Step Too Far (J. Martyn)
- Piece By Piece (F.Patterson)
- Serendipity (J. Martyn)
- Who Believes In Angels (J. Martyn)
- Love Of Mine (J. Martyn)
- John Wayne (J. Martyn)
Piece By Piece was released in February 1986.
To celebrate John's 20th Anniversary as a performer and in the hope of securing elusive radio air play time, Island released Classic John Martyn at the same time. This was the first commercially available CD single and featured the tracks Angeline, May You Never, Solid Air, Glistening Glyndebourne and a cover of Dylan's Tight Connection To My Heart.
A 12 inch single of Classic John Martyn was also released but with different tracks Angeline, Tight Connection To My Heart, May You Never, Certain Surprise and One Day Without You.
Island also released Angeline/Tight Connection To My Heart as a single.
The album itself featured the powerful John Wayne, complete with typically ambiguous lyrics and what John describes as his 'strangled duck' vocal. To achieve the effect John indulged large quantities of liquid refreshment and did the vocal track in a single take. The track pushed his vocal style to new limits and is a song that he likes to perform live. John has said that the track was written for an ex-manager who he was rather unhappy with at the time!
The album was mainly the product of a liaison with Foster Patterson who wrote the title track. This was another stab at gaining the commercial success and popular recognition, which had so far escaped John's grasp. Other musicians included Alan Thomson (bass), Danny Cummings (percussion) and Colin Tully (saxophone).
"Martyn endows the music with all the benefits of a crystalline production technique and Piece By Piece showcases Martyn's ability to blend his personality and voice with the rigours of jazz instrumentation." - New Hifi Sounds
The early cd's of Piece By Piece included four extra tracks: Tight Connection to my Heart, Solid Air, One World and May You Never. This 13-track cd has now been replaced by a standard 9-track version and is hard to find.
In March 1986 Island released Lonely Love, described by John as "the album's little pop song", as a single in 7 inch with Sweet Little Mystery (live) on the b-side. The 12 inch version featured a live recording of Fisherman's Dream and Sweet Little Mystery on the b side.
Island produced a Piece By Piece promotional boxed set which included 2 interview discs, a copy of the 12 inch Classic John Martyn single and a promotional booklet. John is in conversation with Trevor Dann and talks about his life, his views and the background to many of his songs. This is a rare item and was only produced in a very small number. In many years as a fan I've only ever seen one copy and that one now resides in my collection!
John on Piece By Piece, "..it's a bit more mature and sophisticated, what do you expect from a 37 year old man? It's not going to be raucous and punkish, hardly going to have the U2 feel about it."
"What I've tried to do is sing more than play, and have fun with some new sounds, like the strangled duck (on John Wayne). I've been trying to sing better for the last few years and push myself in a certain direction. I always find the vocals more difficult to get right in the studio, they're better live, generally. To get the effect I wanted on the track John Wayne I had to go out and get totally rat-arsed, and then I did it on one take. Great effect." John toured extensively with a demanding tour schedule.
John provided the soundtrack to Tyne Tees Televisions major series on the environment, Turning the Tide. Broadcast in Autumn 1986 the moving title song was loosely based on I Don't Want to Know About Evil but with a new musical arrangement and adapted lyrics. The series ran over budget and plans to release a soundtrack were scrapped though there are some tapes in existence.
- Mad Dog Days
- Angeline
- The Apprentice
- May You Never
- Deny This Love
- Send Me One Line
- John Wayne
- Johnny Too Bad
- Over The Rainbow
Released in October 1987. John toured America, Europe and Britain in 1986 and Island released Foundations, which is a live album recorded at the Town and Country club on 13th November 1986. The album contained three new songs, The Apprentice, Send Me One Line and Deny This Love. John was moved to write the first track having met a particularly ill looking man in a pub near the Sellafield nuclear recycling plant in Cumbria. John enquired about the man's health and why he was so ill and he replied that he worked at the station - hence the song lyrics. Send Me One Line was written for a film called 84 Charing Cross Road (after the Helene Hanff novel) but was never used. The film is the story of the love affair between a woman and a shop. The rest of the album consisted of enjoyable and interesting re-workings of old favourites and was well played and produced. John again toured to promote the new album.
"Musically excellent." - Q magazine