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The Latest Breaking News from John Martyn

Danny Thompson obituary

Bass player and founder member of Pentangle who worked with John Martyn, Nick Drake and Kate Bush

The Guardian - UK

“You cannot visit the scene. The scene is now in the bedroom. There isn’t a group of people forcing each other to improve”: Roy Harper wants to hear new ambitious music, but knows why he’s struggling

The folk rock hero reflects on what the world lost when groups of hopeful artists stopped forming their own schools, like he did in the 60s with Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, Alexis Korner, John Martyn, Al Stewart and others

Louder

“His body of work is unparalleled in its quality and also in the incredibly varied number of musicians he worked with”: Danny Thompson, Pentangle bassist supreme, who played for Kate Bush, Roy Orbison, Nick Drake, and more has died

Tributes have come in from Tony Visconti, Graham Coxon and others

MusicRadar

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“Pentangle sold out the Royal Albert Hall and the next night I was playing in a jazz quartet for 40 quid”: From gigging in strip clubs to recording with John Martyn and Kate Bush, Danny Thompson walked a singular path in bass playing

Beginning with his early days amid London’s jazz and blues boom in the ’50s, to his famed partnership with singer-songwriter John Martyn, the late Danny Thompson excelled at everything he touched

Guitar World

“It’s weird when I look at the list. If you go folk or blues or jazz or rock, I’ve actually been there”: Danny Thompson covered more ground than even he thought possible in a career spanning seven decades

The revered double bassist worked with Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, John Martyn, Bert Jansch and countless others. On 2012 album Connected he assembled some of his proudest moments

Louder

From Kate Bush to Pentangle to T-Rex, the late Danny Thompson’s musical brilliance knew no bounds

The bassist, who has died aged 86, was an extraordinary and wildly versatile presence in British music, bringing his personality into everything he played

The Guardian - UK

“A force of nature. A player who served the song and who enriched the lives of every single person he met”: Danny Thompson, innovative bassist who played with Kate Bush, Roy Orbison, Nick Drake, Pentangle, and countless others, dies at 86

Though he grew up with a love of jazz, it wasn't long before Thompson branched out stylistically, and embarked on a career of extraordinary musical breadth

Guitar World

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Pentangle and John Martyn bassist Danny Thompson has died, aged 86

Danny Thompson was a founding member of Pentangle and worked with John Martyn, Kate Bush, Nick Drake, Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk and more

Louder

Acoustic bass player Danny Thompson has died aged 86

The musician was a founding member of the British folk-rock band, Pentangle, and worked with the likes of Kate Bush, John Martyn and Roy Orbison.

Evening Standard

‘Legendary’ bass player Danny Thompson dies aged 86

The musician worked with the likes of Kate Bush, John Martyn and Roy Orbison over the course of his career

The Independent UK

“Brand X was great fun to play with – not so much fun to listen to”: Phil Collins’ adventures outside Genesis with Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and others made him so big he had to apologise

Wherever you looked in the 80s and 90s, there he was as a session man, producer or solo artist. But it wasn’t ego – it was down to his passion for music

Louder

“My friend told me if I go to a folk club I have to know how to play Angi. When I played it, they said they haven’t heard it in 10 years!” How seven years of busking and Nick Drake’s influence were the making of England's new folk guitar hero Chris Brain

For fans of Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bert Jansch and AnneBriggs, Chris Brain's bucolic folk sound is driven by his technically formidable but delicate fingerstyle approach – and some of it was recorded in his shed

Guitar World

Talkin’ ’bout seeing Tracy Chapman live

Letters: David Morgan remembers the singer-songwriter as the opening act at a John Martyn concert, and Trevor Brewster reminds us of her presence at the start ofan Amnesty International tour

The Guardian - UK

“Lionisation is too late when you’re dead… I’ve often thought of faking my own death and watching the record companies drum up all the stuff they can”: A fight, a show then a drink with John Martyn

All the evidence you need to be convinced the hard-living singer-songwriter was as progressive as they come

Louder

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Louder

“I don’t have many rock’n’roll stories for you – that was always someone else’s job”: Phil Collins was pranked by George Harrison, outdrunk by John Martyn, blown away by Robert Fripp and well-behaved with Eric Clapton

He may not always have been life and soul of the party, but he’s been the heartbeat behind songs across a huge range of genres – to his lasting pride

Louder

A beginner's guide to progressive folk in 10 acts - it's not all 'hey nonny nonny', y'know

Folk and folk rock bands are responsible for some of the most progressive music ever made. Not only that, but they influenced the rock world as we know it

Louder

“Peter Gabriel got all the credibility, and I got the money – ha!” Phil Collins on his role as Genesis’ class clown and their only contact with the outside world

How the “junior member” broke into the band’s songwriting clique, his embarrassment over his solo success, and how the Sex Pistols influenced his choice of record label

Guitar World

“The last thing I wanted to make was a beautiful but soulless DADGAD album… I wanted bits of spit and sawdust, scuff notes here and there”: Jamie Dickson on the tragedy and joy of his acoustic folk debut – and a Martin deal that felt too good to be true

Withershins is required listening for anyone yearning for the fingerstyle folk heyday of Jansch et al, and for an anecdote to boilerplate DADGAD

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Louder

"My girlfriend had to leave the room when I played the album": The 10 records that changed Fish's life

Former Marillion frontman Fish takes a trip to the past to explore the records that shaped his path through music

Guitar World

“He stopped using the Strats and from then on played a Gibson Les Paul. These were retired, stolen, sold off”: Folk and blues guitar icon John Martyn's guitar gear is up for auction – including two 1954 Gibson Les Paul Goldtops

The John Martyn-synonymous Echoplex is also part of the auction

The Guardian - UK

Sean Khan: Sean Khan Presents the Modern Jazz and Folk Ensemble review – classics reinvigorated

A collective of genre-straddling talents give new life to songs by Nick Drake, John Martyn and Sandy Denny

The Guardian - UK

‘They said I was worse than the Sex Pistols!’: folk legend Linda Thompson on trashing dressing rooms and losing her voice

Her struggles with spasmodic dysphonia has led her to write an album for a bevy of other stars to sing. She talks about trauma, ageing and stealing an audience member’s car

Louder

“I don’t know that much about folk music, except that most of it bores me to tears”: the incredible life of Michael Chapman, the greatest singer-songwriter the world never knew about

The life and times of Michael Chapman, the cult singer and guitarist beloved of David Bowie, Elton John and Sonic Youth

Louder

“When I drank, I was going to be the best drinker in the bar, or take the most drugs or whatever. When I did give up the drink I was going to be the best at that:” The bottom-end drive that made Danny Thompson’s name

Rejecting criticism from those who wondered why he bothered playing folk music, the always-in-demand bassist’s attitude led to experiences with John Martyn, Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Tim Buckley and many others

Guitar World

“The inability to play music or access words was quite frightening, but it was interesting… It became a focal point to write around”: Ben Howard feared the worst after suffering two mini-strokes. He returned with his most adventurous album yet

Inspired by John Martyn, Echoplexes and open C tunings, the UK guitar maverick describes his playing as a “car crash of whatever suits me and whatever use I can get out of it” – but even he couldn’t have anticipated just how weird things would get…

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