Tom Dunne's Music & Me: John Martyn was a troubled soul who rolled at night
‘Be careful what you wish for’ is believed to be an old Chinese proverb. I’ve used it myself on rare occasions such as when a friend gains access to a free bar or a child encounters an ‘all you can eat’ ice-cream party. Its end is ‘lest it come true’, but although I say it, I never really mean it. It is, after all, only a beer or a free mini Magnum.
But in the case of John Martyn I would mean it. ‘John,’ I would say, ‘would you not give guitar teaching a go? Or carpentry? Or something that doesn’t require a heady mix of travel, alcohol, time alone, and female attention? Because, honestly John, I don’t think those things suit you.’ Would he have listened?
