Maart

[Lubiloo (Lorna)]

Just read about this on Fb. How terribly sad   but what dignity. I wish him an easy journey

I second that.

[Harbottle (Martin)]

The Maart lineup was also 'My' Fairport, as this was the lineup when I first started listening to them and I saw them many times. I can still remember being quite sad when I went to a gig in Chesterfield and there was a sign up saying he was no longer appearing with the band.

Terrible news for Maart, his family, friends and fans. :-(

[Alan2]

This is very sad news and I too am impressed with MA's dignity.

[trewin]

Very sad news I first saw him at the "Wish it was a brewery folk club" in Rochester . The Bully Wee Band played there a lot. I've also seen him many times with Fairport.

[DarrenWilliams]

The Maart line up was the first version of Fairport I saw, on the Five Seasons tour at Southport in 1991. His announcement is very sad but also inspiring. What a fantastic musician and person.

[Peter H-K]

As everybody has been saying, this is terribly sad. That announcement on his website is incredible: to say what he says with such dignity, humour, and apparent equanimity shows a real depth of character.

I've noticed that again and again, those who know they are dying tell us to value our loved ones and, as Maart puts it, shower them with love. Let's be sure to do it, eh?

[Andy]

Addendum

To let him Maart hear from you, use the contact details from his website:

Email: maartinallcock@btinternet.com

or you can write to Maart at PO Box 31, Harlech, LL46 2WQ, Wales

[PL (Peter)]

So sad News.
Wishing him all the strength possible and an easy journey surrounded by his loved ones.

[Will S]

Can only echo what everyone else has said.  Very sad news, but an incredibly dignified way to tell people.  Peace to you, Maart.

[Yorkshire Chris]

Gutted. First became aware of Maart when he played on Mike Harding's Brown Ale Cowboys - Mike introduced him as "By name and nature...!"

Sending as many positive thoughts as I can to Maart & his family and friends.

[garrypbrooks]

Very sad news. Fine musician I've seen with many bands, always with a big smile both onstage and at the bar.  Seemed like a guy who knew how to enjoy life.

[davidmjs]

It's worth saying Maart can do 'grumpy' pretty successfully, as well  

[John From Austin]

With John From Austin on a boat somewhere on the Thames, August 5, 2007, following a scintillating set by Swarb's Lazarus. God bless Maart and all Fairporters, past and present, and their friends, families and fans everywhere.

[Nick Reg]

Just returned from holidays to this. Oh s**t!

[mickf]

Just returned from holidays to this. Oh s**t!

Ditto - I was away at the weekend with no real internet connection, so this is the first I've seen of it. I can only echo what everyone else has said. I also wish that I could have gone to Cropredy this year just to see Maart on stage one last time, but it's impossible for me.

[dooovall [Daniel]]

In April of 1991, I saw Fairport Convention live for the first time in my life in Pennsylvania at a venue called The Hearth.

At the time, I was all about the lineup that had made In Real Time: Live '87 & Expletive Delighted.  I was aware that the band had been through many lineup changes and had watched the "It All Comes 'Round Again" documentary on VHS, but I hadn't yet begun collecting the albums from earlier lineups (whereas now I love 'em all).

Maart was brilliant on lead guitar that night, and I recall that when Simon sang "...me being all in disguise," Maart donned a pair of novelty glasses with a fake nose.  Quite the showman.

I also saw Maart during his stint with Jethro Tull, which was at that time my favorite band.  I recall that the Cleveland 1991 gig was a bit lackluster (not faulting Maart here -- the whole band seemed a bit off, and the acoustics weren't great), and one of my friends observed that Maart looked like he was somber the whole show.  I'm still hoping that the world will one day enjoy an official release of live recordings from the 1989 Tull tour, as the whole band seemed looser and incorporated quite a lot of unusual material including an interlude during which Maart, Dave Pegg, and Doane Perry played what Martin Barre introduced as "superior folk music."  Maart also got to play guitar alongside Martin Barre for at least one song on that '89 tour when he (Maart) wasn't manning the keyboards.

Jewel in the Crown, Acoustically Down Under, and Old, New, Borrowed, Blue remain some of my favorite FC CDs, and I'm grateful to Maartin Allcock for helping to keep this marvelous musical experiment afloat for a decade of its existence.  And he transcribed a couple of FC songbooks AND the RT songbooks AND the Sandy Denny songbook!  Thank you, MA!

Maartin Allcock is a singular mammal who left a permanent impression in the history of music, and I look forward to his autobiography.

On the day he passes, I'll finally listen to the original Pete Townshend version of North Country Girl (which Maart covered on his first solo album) for the first time in my life.

Cheers, Maart, and thank you for being you.

Love,

Daniel S Duvall

[Malcolm]

I was offline for a couple of weeks and have only just learned this dreadful news.

Great guy, spoke to him a couple of times after FC gigs or at The Field Bar. What a happy man. When I got the FC songbook, the bookbinders had missed a couple of pages so I emailed Maart direct who emailed me the pages by return.

Some consolation, he has beautiful surroundings in Wales in which to spend his last year; lots of photos on his website.

[PaulT]

I saw FC acoustic in Swindon Arts Centre many years ago. Maart had a melodeon, or maybe an accordion? The band attempted to play a tune featuring said instrument in the backing, but for some reason, possibly alcohol-assisted?!, it wasn't working, so Maart returned it to its box, all the while doing a ventriloquism conversation with it... "but I don't like it in here, it's dark, etc" Happy memories of a lovely chap, and a brilliant musician.

[David W]

Not to suggest he is without ego but Maart, like the late great Pete Zorn, is a musician who makes other musicians sound better just by playing with them, a great support muso and also well able to take centre stage as a lead. I think the best I saw him was on a Beth Nielsen Chapman tour (incidentally with Pete Zorn in the band).

DW

[Chris from Fieldtown]

Not to suggest he is without ego but Maart, like the late great Pete Zorn, is a musician who makes other musicians sound better just by playing with them, a great support muso and also well able to take centre stage as a lead. I think the best I saw him was on a Beth Nielsen Chapman tour (incidentally with Pete Zorn in the band).

DW

That's a rare skill that is often overlooked with the spotlight on the big name(s). Many years ago Maart stayed with us with Kieron Halpin when they played our folk club. He was a gentleman and very warm man and a good foil to Kieron who was a fab singer/songwriter but a tricky man to handle thanks to copious amount of whiskey post gig. A great musician and from my experience a gentle and thoughtful man.