Martyn Wyndham-Read
Encyclopedia
Martyn Wyndham-Read is an English folk singer, notable as a collector and singer of Australian folk songs. He lived and worked in Australia from 1960 to 1967 and has been a regular visitor to the country since then.
Martyn Wyndham-Read has been involved with folk music for over forty years. In 1960 he moved from Sussex to Australia where he worked on Emu Springs sheep station
in South Australia
. It was while he was there that he heard, first hand, the old songs sung by some of the station hands at Emu Springs and he became captivated by these songs and the need to know more of them and where they came from grew. He moved to Melbourne
and became part of the folk song revival there and throughout Australia during the early 1960s.
Wyndham-Read returned England in 1967 and met up with the renowned singer and song collector Bert Lloyd, who himself had spent time in Australia. Martyn was asked by Lloyd to be part of the album ‘Leviathan’ on the Topic
label. Soon after he started recording for Bill Leader
.
In the early 1970’s Martyn started the ‘Maypoles to Mistletoe’ concerts which portray the seasons of the year through song, music, dance and verse. This show has been performed for the last 37 years and has in itself become a tradition at Christmas time in and around the Sussex area.
Martyn is also the instigator of the well acclaimed Song Links Project, these are 2 book- and- two CD sets a celebration of English Traditional Songs and their Australian variants, and Song Links 2 compares and contrasts English traditional songs with versions that have travelled over the Atlantic and been sung (and further developed) in North America with a cast of folk performers representing the cream of singers specialising in traditional songs from their own country.
Martyn is currently working with Shirley Collins and Pip Barnes on a production called ‘Down the Lawson Track’ featuring stories, poems/songs of the Australian poet, Henry Lawson
.
His CD Jackeroo portrays his life so far through songs both old and new. He is accompanied on the CD by Iris Bishop, John Dipper, Gary Holder, Mike Silver, who has written the title track, and also Julie Silver and Nancy March.
His latest CD is Back to You features Iris Bishop, Gary Holder and Jon Wigg with Martyn.
Maypoles to Mistletoe is another project that Martyn has instigated and this is performed around the Christmas time, although it has also been performed as a workshop and concert at some of the leading festivals in England. Maypoles to Mistletoe portrays the seasons of the year through song, music, dance and the spoken word. It has become a traditional part of peoples start to Christmas and has been performed for the last 37 years. A book on how to present Maypoles to Mistletoe has been published with the idea of the show being performed anywhere by anyone as the direction, songs, music, stories and spoken word are all included.
He has produced over 40 albums and appeared at folk festivals in Australia, and around the world.
Back to You ( 2010 Wynding Road Music )
Martyn Wyndham-Read has been involved with folk music for over forty years. In 1960 he moved from Sussex to Australia where he worked on Emu Springs sheep station
Sheep station
A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. It was while he was there that he heard, first hand, the old songs sung by some of the station hands at Emu Springs and he became captivated by these songs and the need to know more of them and where they came from grew. He moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and became part of the folk song revival there and throughout Australia during the early 1960s.
Wyndham-Read returned England in 1967 and met up with the renowned singer and song collector Bert Lloyd, who himself had spent time in Australia. Martyn was asked by Lloyd to be part of the album ‘Leviathan’ on the Topic
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.-History:...
label. Soon after he started recording for Bill Leader
Bill Leader
Bill Leader is an English recording engineer and record producer. He is particularly associated with the British folk music revival of the 1960s and 1970s, producing records by Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Frank Harte and others....
.
In the early 1970’s Martyn started the ‘Maypoles to Mistletoe’ concerts which portray the seasons of the year through song, music, dance and verse. This show has been performed for the last 37 years and has in itself become a tradition at Christmas time in and around the Sussex area.
Martyn is also the instigator of the well acclaimed Song Links Project, these are 2 book- and- two CD sets a celebration of English Traditional Songs and their Australian variants, and Song Links 2 compares and contrasts English traditional songs with versions that have travelled over the Atlantic and been sung (and further developed) in North America with a cast of folk performers representing the cream of singers specialising in traditional songs from their own country.
Martyn is currently working with Shirley Collins and Pip Barnes on a production called ‘Down the Lawson Track’ featuring stories, poems/songs of the Australian poet, Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
.
His CD Jackeroo portrays his life so far through songs both old and new. He is accompanied on the CD by Iris Bishop, John Dipper, Gary Holder, Mike Silver, who has written the title track, and also Julie Silver and Nancy March.
His latest CD is Back to You features Iris Bishop, Gary Holder and Jon Wigg with Martyn.
Maypoles to Mistletoe is another project that Martyn has instigated and this is performed around the Christmas time, although it has also been performed as a workshop and concert at some of the leading festivals in England. Maypoles to Mistletoe portrays the seasons of the year through song, music, dance and the spoken word. It has become a traditional part of peoples start to Christmas and has been performed for the last 37 years. A book on how to present Maypoles to Mistletoe has been published with the idea of the show being performed anywhere by anyone as the direction, songs, music, stories and spoken word are all included.
He has produced over 40 albums and appeared at folk festivals in Australia, and around the world.
Discography
- Moreton Bay (1963, Ltd Ed 100 CDs re-issued 1999)
- Ned Kelly & That Gang (1970, Trailer)
- Martyn Wyndham-Read (1971, Trailer)
- Songs & Music of the Redcoats (1971, w/The Druids, Argo)
- Harry the Hawker is Dead (1973, Argo)
- Maypoles to Mistletoe (1975 w/Geoff & Pennie Harris, Trailer)
- Andy's Gone (1979, Broadside)
- Emu Plain's (1981, Fellside)
- A Rose from the Bush (1984, Greenwich Village)
- The Old Songs (1984, Greenwich Village)
- Yule Tracks (1986, Greenwich Village)
- Across the Line (1987, Greenwich Village)
- Mussels on a Tree (1992, Fellside)
- Sunlit Plains (1995, Fellside)
- Beneath a Southern Sky (1997, w/No Man's Band, Fellside)
- Maypoles to Mistletoe (1998, Country Branch)
- Undiscovered Australia (1996 Music Pangaea)
- Beyond the Red Horizon (1999, w/No Man's Band, Fellside)
- Where Ravens Feed (2001, Fellside)
- Song Links (2003, Fellside)
- Song Links 2 (2005 Fellside)
- Oceans in the Sky (2005)
- Jackeroo (2008 Wynding Road Music)
Back to You ( 2010 Wynding Road Music )