Folk/rock legend Martin Stephenson moved to the Scottish Highlands after years of intentionally sabotaging his music career.
Invergordon offered the seclusion and slower pace of life he sought after the kinetic rush of the music industry.
Martin experienced an epiphany in a luxurious hotel in Los Angeles that was the first step to relocating to Scotland.
As front-man of Martin Stephenson and the Daintees he had racked up hit albums, chart success and critical acclaim in the eighties.
More fame and potential riches were at his feet.
The only problem was Martin didn’t want it.
He was miserable and spent the next three years orchestrating career sabotage.
Martin went from recording an album in LA with a £150,000 budget to one that cost just £9.50 – and he couldn’t be happier.
Aberdeen gig
Now 62 Martin will headline The Blue Lamp in Aberdeen on Friday alongside The Only Ones’ legendary guitarist John Perry.
Martin said: “When I was on Kitchenware Records in the eighties they were all trying to get famous and into the yuppie thing.
“However I used to feel sick the bigger the band got.
“I remember sitting in Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles thinking I don’t like anything about what I am becoming or what the people around us are.
“I hated it. So I just stopped.
“I self-sabotaged for three or four years.
“Anything that came my way I just sabotaged.
“I went back to poverty and starting again, right back at the beginning.
“I met a guy called Rob Ellen.
“If you are a careerist you don’t want Rob. But if you want to find some standing stones outside of Dundee that no-one has heard of he’s your man.
“We didn’t like the music industry.”
‘The budget was £9.50. I sold one copy’
In the early eighties Martin Stephenson and The Daintees signed to Kitchenware Records.
Their first two albums, Boat To Bolivia (1986) and Gladsome, Humour And Blue (1988) were released to critical acclaim and strong sales.
However the lifestyle that came with fame and chart success never sat well with singer/songwriter Martin.
It was during a trip to California to record the third album that cracks began to show.
Those cracks would become the San Andreas fault to his chart career.
Martin, originally from Durham in North East England, explained: “My first album did really well and for the third album the budget was about £150,000.
“For that I was working in LA with Tower Power (legendary R&B horn section) and all that stuff.
“Then I realised these songs are about being down the pit in Newcastle, I should have done them with the lads from Lindisfarne.
“I should just have gone round the corner back home and worked with them.
“It was insanity.
“When I got away from that I went to the other extreme and did an album called The Incredible Shrinking Band.
“Where I recorded the album on a mini-disc in real time and took a phone call during the recording.
“The budget was £9.50 and I sold one copy and made 50p.
“I would honestly stand in front of Bob Dylan and say ‘what’s so bad about that?’
“I’m not living in a gold-fish bowl. I’ve sold one album and made my money back.”
The synergy of artists in the North
Martin has been living in the Highlands for more than two decades now.
He has held a strong connection with Scotland since childhood.
Martin explained: “My dad’s family are from Lennoxtown and he loved it up there.
“I have been here for 26 years of my life.
“There is a nice synergy around Lossiemouth, Elgin and that area as the artistic community all look after one another.
“I have always really admired people who have a skill that is useful to people and don’t have to be world famous.
“People like carpenters, bakers, mechanics, potters, and plumbers.
“I always thought a music career could be like that. You don’t have to take the world over.”
‘There is real heart to his playing’
Martin’s new single Salutation Road is a collaboration with friend John Perry who founded punk legends The Only Ones with Peter Perrett.
Set to headline Aberdeen, Martin and John have also released album New Wave Connection.
Martin said: “I met John about four years ago on Facebook, just chatting about music.
“Somehow we got around to talking about playing and decided to play a little pub together in Chelmsford for a laugh.
“We had a lovely time and I really liked him.
“John is a roots player who can be rough and rugged but he has real heart to his playing.
“He spends a lot of his time in the here and now.
“So there is the potential to make mistakes but also the potential for greatness.
“John is a great musician.”
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