For more than 30 years Martin Carthy has been the most visible, versatile and, at times, controversial figure in English folk music. Whether in the folk club, on the concert stage or in a TV studio, there are few roles he has not played, from ballad singer to folk-rock guitarist. While his settings of traditional songs with guitar have influenced a generation of performers, he is also an authoritative interpreter of newly composed material.

Singer of the Year - BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2002

MARTIN CARTHY A COLLECTION TSCD750
Drawn from Martin's first six albums (TSCD340-345) this specially priced collection is the perfect introduction to this unique figure and his early recording career.
1 The Trees They Do Grow High
2 Lord Franklin
3 The Bloody Gardener
4 Poor Murdered Woman
5 Seven Yellow Gypsies
6 The Bold Poachers
7 Scarborough Fair
8 Lowlands of Holland
9 Davy Lowston
10 Streets of Forbes
11 Polly on the Shore
12 Cold Haily Windy Night
Martin Carthy vocals, guitar
Dave Swarbrick fiddle, mandolin

MARTIN CARTHY SIGNS OF LIFE TSCD503
Perhaps only Carthy would open a folk album with a Bee Gees songs, let alone continue with pieces from Elvis Presley, Hoagy Carmichael and Bob Dylan, mixed in with such timeless traditional songs as Sir Patrick Spens and The Wife of Usher's Well. Eliza Carthy plays fiddle on four songs.
'Human emotions are rarely delivered with such guile and profundity.' - Mojo
'A subtle masterpiece.' - The Guardian
1 New York Mine Disaster, 1941
2 Georgie
3 Sir Patrick Spens
4 The Deserter
5 Heartbreak Hotel
6 The Bonny Hind
7 The Wife of Usher's Well
8 John Parfit
9 Barbary Ellen
10 Hong Kong Blues
11 The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
12 Prince Heathen
13 Jim Jones in Botany Bay

MARTIN CARTHY & DAVE SWARBRICK SKIN & BONE TSCD492
This lively collaboration, from 1992, features a poignant reading of the ballad Lucy Wan and a long medley of tunes by the Irish harpist O'Carolan.
1 The Sheepstealer
2 The Poacher
3 I Courted a Damsel
4 Lucy Wan
5 The Trip We Took Over the Mountain
6 The Skewbald
7 The Ride in the Creel
8 The Brown Girl
9 Such a War Has Never Been
10 Perfumes of Arabia
11 Carthy's Reel /The Return to Camden Town
12 The New Mown Hay
13 Clyde's Water
14 Mrs Bermingham / No.178 / Blind Mary

MARTIN CARTHY & DAVE SWARBRICK LIFE & LIMB TSCD491
Carthy and Swarbrick celebrated their 1990 reunion by adding many new songs and tunes to their repertoire as well as taking a fresh look at old favourites like Sovay and Byker Hill.
1 Sovay
2 The Begging Song
3 Bows of London
4 The Pepperpot / Sailing into Walpole's Marsh / Bunker Hill
5 A Question of Sport
6 Oh Dear Oh
7 Carthy's March / The Lemon Tree
8 Lochmaben Harper
9 Byker Hill

MARTIN CARTHY RIGHT OF PASSAGE TSCD452
Carthy draws tunes from Quebec, Brittany and Mozart, songs from Leon Rosselson and Mike Waterson and poems from e.e.cummings and an anonymous 17th-century pamphleteer into a surprising but successful union of old and new, traditional and individual.
'An absorbing album, rich in detail and character.' - Sounds
1 The Ant & the Grasshopper
2 Eggs in Her Basket
3 A Stitch in Time
4 McVeagh
5 Hommage a Roche Proulx
6 All in Green
7 Company Policy
8 The Banks of the Nile
9 La Carde Use
10 Bill Norrie
11 The Sleepwalker
12 A Cornish Young Man
13 The Dominion of the Sword
Martin Carthy vocals, guitar
John Kirkpatrick one-row melodeon , button accordeon
Chris Wood fiddle
Dave Swarbrick fiddle

MARTIN CARTHY OUT OF THE CUT TSCD426
An updated Rigs of the Time and Jack Rowland's long story of magic metamorphosis are among the arresting moments on this 1982 set, for which Carthy is again joined by John Kirkpatrick and Howard Evans. Richard Thompson plays guitar on Old Horse.
1 The Devil & the Feathery Wife
2 Reynard the Fox
3 The Song of the Lower Classes
4 Rufford Park Poachers
5 Molly Oxford
6 Rigs of the Time
7 I Sowed Some Seeds
8 The Friar in the Well
9 Jack Rowland
10 Old Horse
Martin Carthy vocals, guitar
John Kirkpatrick accordion, concertina
Howard Evans trumpet, flugelhorn
Richard Thompson guitar

MARTIN CARTHY SWEET WIVELSFIELD TSCD418
The ominously chiming guitar chords of Trimdon Grange and the ingeniously borrowed melody of King Henry exemplify Carthy's unceasing search for new ways to present old songs, a thread that runs all through this impressive recording.
1 Shepherd o Shepherd
2 Billy Boy
3 Three Jolly Sneaksmen
4 Trimdon Grange
5 All of a Row
6 Skewbald
7 Mary Neal
8 King Henry
9 John Barleycorn
10 The Cottage in the Wood

MARTIN CARTHY BECAUSE IT'S THERE TSCD389
His musical thinking enriched by his experience in folk-rock pioneers Steeleye Span, Carthy approached this 1979 album (produced by Ashley Hutchings) with fresh ideas and collaborators such as trumpeter Howard Evans and John Kirkpatrick on accordion and concertina.
1 Nothing Rhymed
2 May Song
3 Swaggering Boney
4 Lord Randall
5 Long John, Old John & Jackie North
6 Jolly Tinker
7 Lovely Joan
8 Three Cripples
9 Siege of Delhi
10 Nothing Rhymed
11 Death of Young Andrew

MARTIN CARTHY LANDFALL TSCD345
His 1971 solo album tunnels further than its predecessors into contemporary song, coming up with memorable performances of Dave Goulder's "January Man" and David Ackles' "His Name is Andrew".
1 Here's Adieu to All Judges & Juries
2 Brown Adam
3 O'er the Hills
4 Cruel Mother
5 Cold Haily Windy Night
6 His Name is Andrew
7 The Bold Poachers
8 Dust to Dust
9 The Broomfield Hill
10 January Man

MARTIN CARTHY PRINCE HEATHEN with Dave Swarbrick TSCD344
In this 1969 album Carthy focuses on traditional songs, producing powerful readings such as the title track and his lengthy retelling of the ballad Little Musgrave & Lady Barnard.
'One of the best albums anyone's ever done.' - Folk Roots
1 Arthur McBride & the Sergeant
2 Salisbury Plain
3 Polly on the Shore
4 The Rainbow
5 Died for Love
6 Staines Morris
7 Reynardine
8 Seven Yellow Gypsies
9 Little Musgrave & Lady Barnard
10 Prince Heathen
11 The Wren

MARTIN CARTHY BUT TWO CAME BY with Dave Swarbrick TSCD343
Carthy and Swarbrick continue their bold and virtuosic transformation of traditional songs and melodies on this 1968 set, adding a memorable treatment of Sidney Carter's Lord of the Dance.
1 Ship in Distress
2 Banks of Sweet Primroses
3 Jack Orion
4 Matt Hyland
5 White Hare
6 Lord of the Dance
7 Poor Murdered Woman
8 Creeping Jane
9 Streets of Forbes
10 Lord Lankin
11 Brass Band Music

MARTIN CARTHY BYKER HILL with Dave Swarbrick TSCD342
As he grew in confidence and dexterity Carthy tested himself with tricky rhythms and challenging songs, and the title track of Byker Hill (1967) electrified the folk scene with its audacious syncopation. His most carefully planned and executed album up to that point, it remains an outstanding achievement.
1 The Man of Burnham Town
2 The Fowler
3 Gentleman Soldier
4 Brigg Fair
5 The Bloody Gardener
6 The Barley Straw
7 Byker Hill
8 Davy Lowston
9 Our Captain Cried All Hands
10 Domeama
11 The Wife of the Soldier
12 John Barleycorn
13 Lucy Wan
14 The Bonny Black Hare

MARTIN CARTHY SECOND ALBUM with Dave Swarbrick TSCD341
Dave Swarbrick's increased contribution on this 1966 album was a signal that he and Carthy were rapidly forming folk music's most potent collaboration, creating a clean, sharp sound that would be honed over the next three albums.
1 Two Butchers
2 Ball o' Yarn
3 Farewell Nancy
4 Lord Franklin
5 Ramblin' Sailor
6 Lowlands of Holland
7 Fair Maid on the Shore
8 Bruton Town
9 Box on Her Head
10 Newlyn Town
11 Brave Wolfe
12 Peggy & the Soldier
13 Sailor's Life

MARTIN CARTHY MARTIN CARTHY TSCD340
Perhaps the most famous, probably the most widely heard, debut album by an English folk artist, this still remarkable recording from 1965 introduced both a new voice and a fresh conception of guitar accompaniment, and was vastly influential. Dave Swarbrick plays fiddle or mandolin on some tracks.
1 High Germany
2 The Trees They Do Grow High
3 Sovay
4 Ye Mariners All
5 The Queen of Hearts
6 Broomfield Hill
7 Springhill Mine Disaster
8 Scarborough Fair
9 Lovely Joan
10 The Barley & the Rye
11 The Wind that Shakes the Barley
12 The Two Magicians
13 The Handsome Cabin Boy
14 And a Begging I Will Go

MARTIN CARTHY CROWN OF HORN TSCD300
Though on its first release in 1976 Crown of Horn attracted attention with its unpredictable elements, such as Leon Rosselson's mordant song Palaces of Gold, the album can now be seen as a logical stage in Carthy's development, as well as a further bold demonstration of his creative approach to traditional song.
1 The Bedmaking
2 Locks & Bolts
3 King Knapperty
4 Geordie
5 Willie's Lady
6 Virginny
7 The Worcestershire Wedding
8 Bonny Lass of Anglesey
9 William Taylor the Poacher
10 Old Tom of Oxford
11 Palaces of Gold