Sir, – Congratulations to Colm Keena for his excellent Irishman’s Diary (January 14th) discussing the singer John Martyn. Although not a fan of Martyn to the extent of Keena, I too saw him perform in Dublin on a couple of occasions in the 1970s. The second concert, at the National Stadium, was one of the unhappy occasions to which Keena refers: Martyn angry with himself and shouting at the audience.
At a time when so much comment about the arts is characterised by hyperbole, self-importance and facetiousness, it was refreshing to read about music in a way that was simple, informative and authentic. Some more reminiscences please, Colm Keena! – Yours, etc,