A lovely night at EartH in Dalston on Saturday to celebrate the life and songs of folk legend Martin Carthy.
The event was organised by Jon Wilks and Campbell Baum (Broadside Hacks), with the stage set up as a mythical pub, The North Country Maid, where musicians sat at tables and refreshed their glasses at the working bar (some more frequently than others!). Oh and the barman was Jon Boden from Bellowhead, who burst into song at one point.
Joe Boyd - producer of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention and so many others - started the proceedings highlighting in particular Carthy's contribution to guitar playing. In the early 1960s folk scene, singers of traditional song like Ewan MacColl disdained accompanying songs on guitar or other instruments and Carthy was one of those who went against the grain.
Then in three sections a great line up of folk and other musicians old and new played their versions of songs associated with Carthy through his 60+ year career as a solo artist and member of various influential folk groups including Steeleye Span, the Albion Band, Brass Monkey, the Watersons and Waterson:Carthy and the Imagined Village.
Martin was on stage throughout and performed a couple of songs on his own, including High Germany, as well joining in with others at times. He sounded in good voice singing 'The Maid of Australia' with a young brass section and Brass Monkey collaborator John Fitzpatrick. How many musicians still perform when they are in their 80s?
Daughter Eliza Carthy was central to the proceedings of course, doing a fine version of 'When I first came to Caledonia', once sung by her late mother Norma Waterson. Other highlights for me included Graham Coxon of Blur singing 'The Trees they do Grow High', Martin Simpson's 'Palaces of Gold' and a couple of songs from Goblin Band. The latter played an enthusiastic part in the proceedings through the night, dancing in the wings and joining in the destruction of a prop 'piano' at the gig's finale. The latter referencing an incident in 1962 when Carthy and Bob Dylan chopped off bits of an old piano for firewood at Carthy's London flat. Dylan sent a video message to Carthy that was broadcast on the night.
Towards the end Billy Bragg sang a great version of 'The Hard Times of Old England Retold', previously recorded by him and the Carthys as part of their Imagined Village project, and recited his 'England, Half-English' lyrics with a topical twist: 'St. George was born in Free Palestine, How he got here I don't know, And those three lions on his shirt, they never sprung from England's dirt, Them lions are half English, And I'm half English too'.
All this and Angeline Morrison, Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), Nick Hart, Jackie Oates, Emily Portman and many more...
So yes this all happened in Hackney, but the day before those involved took over the Music Rooms in New Cross Road to rehearse. On his Facebook page Jon Wilks has posted a few photos from this, including Billy Bragg and Graham Coxon having a cup of tea in the Music Rooms bar and Martin and Eliza Carthy walking up Casella Road by the Corner coffee shop.
Broadside Hacks have been putting on more and more ambitious events, hard to believe that not too long ago they were running a small session at Skehans SE14. Martin Carthy of course is no stranger to the folk circuit of South London pubs, I last saw him at the Goose is Out folk club at the Ivy House in 2023, and I once performed briefly at the same event as him at the Deptford Arms back in 2010.
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