Renowned folk artist Martin Carthy played to an admiring community centre crowd on Saturday 21 September and proved that, at the age of 78, he hasn’t lost his musical touch.
Singing guitarist Carthy, who was a member of Steeleye Span and the Albion Country Band, kicked of the evening with a haunting version of “High Germany” followed by the folk classic “The Foggy, Foggy Dew”. His set included “Scarborough Fair”, “The Downfall Of Paris” and “Sir Patrick Spens” as well as a jaunty rendition of “Don’t Go In The Lion’s Cage Tonight”.
Carthy’s finger picking was particularly fine on his playing of “The Harry Lime Theme”. Throughout the evening he cracked jokes and related humorous anecdotes with the professionalism of a performer who has shared the stage with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.
Eliza Carthy was unable to join her father due to what he described as an “administrative mix up”. Eliza is taking part in the Three Peaks challenge to raise money for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (cclg.org.uk) and while dad was singing “The Tailor’s Britches” he thought Eliza was probably half way up Ben Nevis! Fortunately Carthy senior’s solo performance was good enough to earn huge applause from a delighted audience who appreciated this enjoyable performance by a folk legend.
Image Credits: Tony McLoughlin .