Martin Simpson
Encyclopedia
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.
, England
. He took an early interest in music, learning to play the guitar and banjo and performing at local folk clubs. In 1970, he dropped out of college to become a full-time musician.
In 1976 he recorded his first solo album Golden Vanity. In the same year he opened for Steeleye Span
on their UK tour. Martin also toured and performed with folk singer June Tabor
, who did not play an instrument herself. They would later record three albums together.
In 1985 he moved to Bloomington, Indiana and married American singer Jessica Radcliffe, and shortly afterwards they relocated to Ithaca, New York
. During the decade he continued recording a mix of traditional and more contemporary material, including several entirely instrumental albums.
Notable work in the 1990s included work with Chinese pipa
play Wu Man, with whom Simpson recorded a duet Music of the Motherless Child, a blend of European and Chinese traditions. In a similar vein was Kambara Music in Native Tongues with David Hidalgo
from "Los Lobos" and violinist Viji Krishnan, a mix of Hindu and contemporary songs.
Not until 1999 did he record several of his own compositions on Bootleg USA. It was then, along with Jessica Racliffe, that he co-founded a record label called "High Bohemia". Perhaps suffering from homesickness, he visited the UK in 1994, recording Martin Simpson Live in Oxford
. In 1999 he was a session musician for an album by Welsh singer Julie Murphy. The Bramble Briar (2001) was a turn to basics, a collection of British traditional folk songs.
2003 saw the release of Righteousness and Humidity, a set focusing almost exclusively on music from the Deep South, played on a variety of instruments and featuring Steeleye Span
's Rick Kemp. This recording was a nominee for BBC folk awards album of the year in 2004. Simpson won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
in 2004 in the category of Best Musician. This was followed in 2005 by Kind Letters in which he mines once again the rich seams of English folk music which proved so fruitful for The Bramble Briar.
In 2007 Simpson released Prodigal Son. The 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
voted it as best album. The fRoots critics poll voted it as the 7th best new album of 2007. It is a mixture of traditional songs and Simpson originals, the highlights of which possess a distinctly southern American flavor. Jackson Browne, Kate Rusby and Kellie While guest star here. In December 2007 he performed on Later... with Jools Holland.
Simpson has written guitar instruction books and recorded DVD guitar tutorials. His career came full circle in 2003 when he teamed up with June Tabor again. In 2004 he surprised everyone by performing at a gig in Nettlebed
, Oxford, where he played banjo all evening, without touching a guitar. A readers' poll of the magazine Acoustic Guitar voted him as number 12 in the world in 2005. Martin is now married to Kit Bailey, the daughter of the singer Roy Bailey
, with whom Martin occasionally performs. Martin and Kit now live in Sheffield
and have a young daughter, Molly. Along with Martin Taylor, Simon Mayor
, Doyle Dykes
, Gordon Giltrap
and Julie Ellison, he writes for the magazine Acoustic
.
Performances of note to the general public include a 2007 appearance on Jools Holland
's BBC show and a half hour set at The Proms
on 20 July 2008 broadcast on BBC4.
Martin Simpson is regarded by many as one of the most skilled folk guitarists currently playing on the British and American folk scene.
Martin Simpson and Wu Man
Martin Simpson, David Hidalgo and Viji Krishnan
Martin Simpson, Jessica Radcliffe and Lisa Ekstrom.
Other compilations
* Martin Carthy
, Martin Simpson, Martin Taylor and Juan Martin
.
Biography
Martin Simpson was born in ScunthorpeScunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He took an early interest in music, learning to play the guitar and banjo and performing at local folk clubs. In 1970, he dropped out of college to become a full-time musician.
In 1976 he recorded his first solo album Golden Vanity. In the same year he opened for Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
on their UK tour. Martin also toured and performed with folk singer June Tabor
June Tabor
June Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...
, who did not play an instrument herself. They would later record three albums together.
In 1985 he moved to Bloomington, Indiana and married American singer Jessica Radcliffe, and shortly afterwards they relocated to Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
. During the decade he continued recording a mix of traditional and more contemporary material, including several entirely instrumental albums.
Notable work in the 1990s included work with Chinese pipa
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
play Wu Man, with whom Simpson recorded a duet Music of the Motherless Child, a blend of European and Chinese traditions. In a similar vein was Kambara Music in Native Tongues with David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. He is also a member of the supergroup Los Super Seven and of the Latin Playboys, a side project band made up of some of the members of Los Lobos...
from "Los Lobos" and violinist Viji Krishnan, a mix of Hindu and contemporary songs.
Not until 1999 did he record several of his own compositions on Bootleg USA. It was then, along with Jessica Racliffe, that he co-founded a record label called "High Bohemia". Perhaps suffering from homesickness, he visited the UK in 1994, recording Martin Simpson Live in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. In 1999 he was a session musician for an album by Welsh singer Julie Murphy. The Bramble Briar (2001) was a turn to basics, a collection of British traditional folk songs.
2003 saw the release of Righteousness and Humidity, a set focusing almost exclusively on music from the Deep South, played on a variety of instruments and featuring Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
's Rick Kemp. This recording was a nominee for BBC folk awards album of the year in 2004. Simpson won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
in 2004 in the category of Best Musician. This was followed in 2005 by Kind Letters in which he mines once again the rich seams of English folk music which proved so fruitful for The Bramble Briar.
In 2007 Simpson released Prodigal Son. The 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
voted it as best album. The fRoots critics poll voted it as the 7th best new album of 2007. It is a mixture of traditional songs and Simpson originals, the highlights of which possess a distinctly southern American flavor. Jackson Browne, Kate Rusby and Kellie While guest star here. In December 2007 he performed on Later... with Jools Holland.
Simpson has written guitar instruction books and recorded DVD guitar tutorials. His career came full circle in 2003 when he teamed up with June Tabor again. In 2004 he surprised everyone by performing at a gig in Nettlebed
Nettlebed
Nettlebed is a village in England in the Chiltern Hills about northwest of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire and southeast of Wallingford.-History:Archaeological finds show that the area around Nettlebed has been inhabited since Palaeolithic times....
, Oxford, where he played banjo all evening, without touching a guitar. A readers' poll of the magazine Acoustic Guitar voted him as number 12 in the world in 2005. Martin is now married to Kit Bailey, the daughter of the singer Roy Bailey
Roy Bailey (folk singer)
Roy Bailey MBE , is a British socialist folk singer. Roy began his singing career in a skiffle group in 1958.Colin Irwin from the music magazine Mojo said Bailey represents "the very soul of folk's working class ideals.....
, with whom Martin occasionally performs. Martin and Kit now live in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and have a young daughter, Molly. Along with Martin Taylor, Simon Mayor
Simon Mayor
Simon Mayor is a mandolinist and fiddle player, guitarist, and composer.- Works :With his solo debut The Mandolin Album in 1990 he embarked on a series of recordings to give the mandolin a uniquely British voice. The CD was made Recording of the Week on BBC Radio 2...
, Doyle Dykes
Doyle Dykes
Doyle Dykes is an American country acoustic guitarist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is influenced by a wide variety of musical styles and musicians such as Chet Atkins, the Allman Brothers, to the Beatles and U2...
, Gordon Giltrap
Gordon Giltrap
Gordon Giltrap is an English acoustic and electric guitarist and composer, whose musical styles cross multiple genres, including folk, blues, folk rock, pop, classical and rock....
and Julie Ellison, he writes for the magazine Acoustic
Acoustic (magazine)
Acoustic Magazine is a British glossy publication that deals only in acoustic music. Originally bi-monthly, it is now a monthly publication and carries reviews, features, lessons, vintage guitar advice and all manner of items to do with this genre....
.
Performances of note to the general public include a 2007 appearance on Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
's BBC show and a half hour set at The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
on 20 July 2008 broadcast on BBC4.
Awards and Recognition
He has been nominated 23 times in the 11 years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including nine times consecutively as Artist of The Year, which he has won twice. His album Prodigal Son was named album of the year in 2008 and a song from that album, "Never Any Good" was named best original song of the year.Martin Simpson is regarded by many as one of the most skilled folk guitarists currently playing on the British and American folk scene.
Solo albums
- Golden VanityGolden VanityGolden Vanity is a 1976 folk album by Martin Simpson. It was recorded and produced at Leader Sound by Bill Leader, and was originally issued by Trailer Records in the United Kingdom, catalogue number LER 2099. The sleeve includes notes by Martin Simpson and Barbara Dickson. Golden Vanity was...
(1976) - Special AgentSpecial Agent (album)Special Agent is a folk album by Martin Simpson released in 1981.Produced by Ric Sanders and Martin Simpson, recorded at Moor Green Studios, Rock, Wyre Forest...
(1981) - Grinning In Your FaceGrinning in Your Face (album)Grinning In Your Face is a folk album by Martin Simpson recorded and released in 1983.Recorded and produced at Ideal Sound Recorders, London by Tony Engle...
(1983) - Sad or High KickingSad or High KickingSad or High Kicking is a folk album by Martin Simpson recorded and released in 1985.Produced at Ideal Sound Recorders, London by Tony Engle and Martin Simpson...
(1985) - Nobody's Fault But MineNobody's Fault But Mine (Martin Simpson)Nobody's Fault But Mine is a 1986 album of instrumental pieces recorded by the English guitarist Martin Simpson and released on the Dambuster records label...
(1986) - The Pink Suede Bootleg (Limited Edition Cassette - 1987)
- Leaves of Life (1990) - instrumental.
- When I Was On Horseback (1992)
- A Closer Walk With Thee (1993)
- Smoke and Mirrors (1995)
- Cool and Unusual (1997) - mainly British traditional ballads.
- Bootleg USA (1999)
- The Bramble Briar (2001)
- Righteousness and HumidityRighteousness and HumidityRighteousness And Humidity is a 2003 album recorded by the English guitarist Martin Simpson and released on the Topic Records label.-Track listing:# "John Hardy" 3:43# "Horn Island" 3:38...
(2003) - collection of American blues, played on acoustic and steel guitar, and banjo. - Kind Letters (2005)
- Prodigal SonProdigal Son (Martin Simpson album)Prodigal Son is a 2007 album recorded by the English guitarist Martin Simpson and released on the Topic Records label. The album won the Best Album award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008 and the track Never Any Good won the Best Original Song award....
(2007) - True StoriesTrue Stories (Martin Simpson album)True Stories is a 2009 album recorded by the English guitarist and banjo player Martin Simpson and released on the Topic Records label. The album features a mixture of traditional and original material.-Track listing:# "Look Up, Look Down" - 3:22...
(2009) - Purpose + Grace (2011) (UK chart peak: #106)
Collaborations
Martin and Jessica Ruby Simpson.- True Dare or Promise (1987)
- Red Roses (1995)
- Band Of Angels (1996)
Martin Simpson and Wu Man
- Music for the Motherless Child (1996)
Martin Simpson, David Hidalgo and Viji Krishnan
- Kambara Music in Native Tongues (1998)
Martin Simpson, Jessica Radcliffe and Lisa Ekstrom.
- Beautiful Darkness (2001)
Other compilations
- The Collection (1994)
- The Definitive Martin Simpson (2005)
Martin Simpson as session musician
- Hot Vultures: The East Street Shakes (1977)
- Hot Vultures: Up The Line (1979)
- June Tabor: A Cut Above (1980)
- June Tabor: Abyssinians (1983)
- June Tabor: AqabaAqaba (album)Aqaba is a folk album by June Tabor released in 1988 on Topic Records, catalogue number TSCD 449.The album was produced and engineered by Andrew Cronshaw at Ideal Sound Recorders, London....
(1988) - Albion: Lark Rise To Candleford (1980)
- John & MaryJohn & MaryJohn & Mary is a U.S. based folk music duo featuring John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey who have had a long-time close association with alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.-1989-1993:...
: The Weedkiller's DaughterThe Weedkiller's DaughterThe Weedkiller's Daughter is the second album from John & Mary.The Weedkiller's Daughter was produced by John Lombardo and Armand John Petrie and, like their first album Victory Gardens, features 10,000 Maniacs members Rob Buck and Jerry Augustyniak...
(1993) - Julie Murphy: Black Mountain Revisited (1999)
- Chris Leslie: The Flow (2002)
- June Tabor: An Echo of Hooves (2003)
- June Tabor: At The Wood's Heart (2005)
- Roy Bailey: Sit Down and Sing (2005)
- Cara Dillon: After The Morning (2006)
- Various Artists: Rubber Folk (2006) (Beatles Tribute)
- Lorne MacDougall: Hello World (2010)
DVDs
- Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals - Martin Simpson Vol 1 (1993)
- Instrumentals 2 (2005)
- Martins 4 * (2005)
- In Concert At The Freight and Salvage (Berkeley, California) (2005)
- Guitar Maestros - Martin Simpson (2006)
* Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE 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...
, Martin Simpson, Martin Taylor and Juan Martin
Juan Martín
Juan Cristóbal Martín is a Spanish flamenco guitarist and an author of flamenco guitar method books.-Career:Martín started learning the guitar at the age of six. In his early twenties he moved to Madrid to study under Niño Ricardo and Paco de Lucía. He played in clubs in Málaga, Seville and...
.