John Martyn (1948-2009)

Legendary singer-songwriter John Martyn died this morning (January 29) aged 60, according to a statement on his official website. The acclaimed and innovative musician lived in Hastings Old Town throughout the 1970s, a period in which he recorded his most critically and commercially sucessful music.

Born in Surrey, but brought up in Glasgow, Martyn moved to London in the 1960s, signing to Island Records. He and his wife (and fellow recording artist) Beverley came to live in Hastings in 1970, where they raised a family whilst Martyn continued to record.

Speaking to Uncut magazine in 2006 about the making of his famed album Solid Air (1973), Martyn said, 'We'd moved to Hastings by then and I loved the whole feel of the place. I come from a fishing family - my grandad had seven boats - and I liked the attitude of the people. You could live there for 50 years and the locals would still consider you a blow-hard. I was happy and the songs just flowed.'

Whilst temporarily estranged from Island, Martyn self-released the well-received Live At Leeds album (1975), selling the entire pressing of 10,000 copies mail-order from his house in the town.

Although he moved away from the area at the end of the 70s, following the collapse of his marriage, Martyn retained his links with Hastings, agreeing to appear at some of the RNLI Beach Concerts in subsequent years. Tales of his drinking exploits in pubs like the Lord Nelson have passed into local music legend.

Martyn's death comes a few weeks after receiving an OBE in the New Year Honours. He was reportedly suffering from pneumonia, and died in hospital in Ireland.