Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

How folk/rock legend Martin Stephenson moved to the Highlands after sabotaging his chart career

The contentment of going from a chart star working on an album in Los Angeles with a £150,000 budget to recording an album for £9.50 - and selling just one copy

Invergordon based folk rock legend Martin Stephenson to play Aberdeen and Dundee Supplied by Thoroughbred Music
Invergordon based folk rock legend Martin Stephenson to play Aberdeen and Dundee Supplied by Thoroughbred Music

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.

Folk rock legend Martin Stephenson reminisces about his journey from chart star to the Highlands.<br />Supplied by Thoroughbred music

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 Stephenson (left) with The Only Ones guitarist John Perry. Photo by Sam Cowan

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.

Music legends John Perry (left) and Martin Stephenson are set to play Aberdeen. Photo by Anna Lavigne

“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.

Martin Stephenson (left) and John Perry have released album New Wave Connection. Photo by Sam Cowan

“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.”

Conversation