Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson at a Waterson:Carthy performance in Cranleigh, April 2006.

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

He was born in Hatfield and grew up in Hampstead, North London. After leaving school, he worked behind the scenes at the open air theater at Regents Park as a prompter, then an assistant stage manager (ASM) on a tour of The Merry Widow, and then at Theater-in-the round in Scarborough. He then sang in coffee bars. He became a resident at the Troubador folk club in Earls Court in the early 1960s. He joined Redd Sullivan's Thameside Four in 1961. He is a renowned solo performer of traditional songs in a very distinctive style, accompanying himself on his trusty old Martin Guitar; his style is marked by the use of alternative tunings, and a strongly percussive picking style that emphasizes the melody. His debut 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.

He has also been involved with many musical collaborations. He has sung with The Watersons since 1972, was twice a member of the UK electric folk group Steeleye Span, and was part of the innovative Brass Monkey ensemble, which mixed a range of brass instruments with Carthy's guitar and mandolin and John Kirkpatrick's accordion, melodeon and concertina.

For many years Carthy has enjoyed a creative partnership with fiddle player Dave Swarbrick and, more recently, Waterson:Carthy has provided the forum for a successful partnership with partner Norma Waterson together with their daughter Eliza Carthy.

In June 1998 he was appointed an 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 'Famous Flower of Serving Men'. In the 2007 Folk Awards Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick won "Best duo".

Discography

Studio albums

Dave Swarbrick appeared on Carthy's first two albums, but was not at that time given equal billing for contractual reasons.

• Martin Carthy (1965)
• Second Album (1966)
• The Bonny Black Hare (1967)
• Landfall (1971)
• Shearwater (1972)
• Sweet Wivelsfield (1974)
• Crown of Horn (1976)
• Because It's There (1979)
• Out of the Cut (1982)
• Right of Passage (1988)
• Kershaw Sessions (1988)
• Wood Wilson Carthy (1998)
• Signs of Life (1998)
• Waiting for Angels (2004)
• At Ruskin Mill (2005)

with Dave Swarbrick

• Byker Hill (1967)
• Rags, Reels & Airs (1967)
• No Songs (EP) (1968)
• But Two Came By (1968)
• Prince Heathen (1969)
• Selections (1971)
• Life and Limb (1990)
• Skin and Bone (1992)
• Both Ears and Tail (2001)
• Straws in the Wind (2006)

as a member of Steeleye Span

• Please to See the King (1971)
• Ten Man Mop (1971)
• Storm Force Ten (1977)
• Live at Last! (1978)

as a member of Brass Monkey

• Brass Monkey (1984)
• See How It Runs (1986)
• Sound and Rumour (1999)
• The Complete Brass Monkey
• Going and Staying (2001)
• Flame of Fire (2004)
• The Definitive Collection (2005)

as a member of Blue Murder

• No One Stands Alone (2002)

as a member of Rogue's Gallery (Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams, Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Bryan Ferry, Bono, Sting and others)

• Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys (2006)

DVD

• Martins 4 (2005) (Martin Carthy, Martin Simpson, Martin Taylor and Juan Martin)

Guitar Maestro's - Martin Carthy (2006)-DVD

Solo Appearances

• Lantern Theatre, Sheffield (11/11/2006)

External links

• Waterson:Carthy Official Website
• CarthyOnline Unofficial Martin Carthy Website
• MySpace Fansite page
• BBC Folk database
• Stephen Yarwood's music pages
• discography on Slipcue e-zine