TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Amethyst here, just been asked to alert you all to very
Sad News on Maart’s website...

Oh God, no... :(

Fuckity **** **** ****. But what grace, what generosity, what style.  :'(

Oh no.  But such dignity.

It will be a very poignant performance this summer.  :'(

Bugger.

Entirely this.

Damn. Didn't see that coming.

My fav Fairport Maart performances have been him ripping his Telecaster off and launching it towards his guitar tech. Style or what!!

No words just respect

Oh no. How dreadful. :'(
Such a beautiful post on his website, though, to let people know.
Great respect to the man himself - and love for his musicianship.
The colours in the world are a little paler tonight

So sad  :'(

This....

Agreed...incredibly sad news...

Absolutely. This hurts,the first time I saw FC was on the Gladys's Leap tour. In my head head that line up is my FC.  :'(

I think that's true for a lot of us - our first lineup is 'our' Fairport.  Although Maart was the mainstay of my second Fairport...his version of the band is the one I've seen the most...probably 30 or 40 times on top of the Cropredy performances.  Always looking backwards, I'll be totally honest and say I didn't really know what I'd lost (musically) until it was gone...  :(

This line-up was the first time I saw Fairport in concert (St. Albans, early '87) and I must have seen them a dozen or so times after. Sad to hear about Maart.

…a very generous and graceful message from Maart…I remember seeing him playing in the Bully Wee Band…a lovely performer and very funny…a real delight for me when he joined Fairport.

Just read about this on Fb. How terribly sad  :'( but what dignity. I wish him an easy journey

When I read this late last night I was shocked and saddened.
I still am after a night's sleep, and I'm almost rethinking my decision not to attend Cropredy this year seeing as how he will be playing.
     Best wishes to him and his family and I hope what time he has left are filled with happiness and love.

I second that.

The Maart lineup was also 'My' Fairport, as this was the lineup when I first started listening to them and I saw them many times. I can still remember being quite sad when I went to a gig in Chesterfield and there was a sign up saying he was no longer appearing with the band.

Terrible news for Maart, his family, friends and fans. :-(

This is very sad news and I too am impressed with MA's dignity.

Very sad news I first saw him at the "Wish it was a brewery folk club" in Rochester . The Bully Wee Band played there a lot. I've also seen him many times with Fairport.

The Maart line up was the first version of Fairport I saw, on the Five Seasons tour at Southport in 1991. His announcement is very sad but also inspiring. What a fantastic musician and person.

As everybody has been saying, this is terribly sad. That announcement on his website is incredible: to say what he says with such dignity, humour, and apparent equanimity shows a real depth of character.

I've noticed that again and again, those who know they are dying tell us to value our loved ones and, as Maart puts it, shower them with love. Let's be sure to do it, eh?

Addendum

To let him Maart hear from you, use the contact details from his website:

Email: maartinallcock@btinternet.com

or you can write to Maart at PO Box 31, Harlech, LL46 2WQ, Wales

So sad News.
Wishing him all the strength possible and an easy journey surrounded by his loved ones.

Can only echo what everyone else has said.  Very sad news, but an incredibly dignified way to tell people.  Peace to you, Maart.

Gutted. First became aware of Maart when he played on Mike Harding's Brown Ale Cowboys - Mike introduced him as "By name and nature...!"

Sending as many positive thoughts as I can to Maart & his family and friends.

Very sad news. Fine musician I've seen with many bands, always with a big smile both onstage and at the bar.  Seemed like a guy who knew how to enjoy life.

It's worth saying Maart can do 'grumpy' pretty successfully, as well  ;) :) ;D

With John From Austin on a boat somewhere on the Thames, August 5, 2007, following a scintillating set by Swarb's Lazarus. God bless Maart and all Fairporters, past and present, and their friends, families and fans everywhere.

Just returned from holidays to this. Oh s**t!

Ditto - I was away at the weekend with no real internet connection, so this is the first I've seen of it. I can only echo what everyone else has said. I also wish that I could have gone to Cropredy this year just to see Maart on stage one last time, but it's impossible for me.

In April of 1991, I saw Fairport Convention live for the first time in my life in Pennsylvania at a venue called The Hearth.

At the time, I was all about the lineup that had made In Real Time: Live '87 & Expletive Delighted.  I was aware that the band had been through many lineup changes and had watched the "It All Comes 'Round Again" documentary on VHS, but I hadn't yet begun collecting the albums from earlier lineups (whereas now I love 'em all).

Maart was brilliant on lead guitar that night, and I recall that when Simon sang "...me being all in disguise," Maart donned a pair of novelty glasses with a fake nose.  Quite the showman.

I also saw Maart during his stint with Jethro Tull, which was at that time my favorite band.  I recall that the Cleveland 1991 gig was a bit lackluster (not faulting Maart here -- the whole band seemed a bit off, and the acoustics weren't great), and one of my friends observed that Maart looked like he was somber the whole show.  I'm still hoping that the world will one day enjoy an official release of live recordings from the 1989 Tull tour, as the whole band seemed looser and incorporated quite a lot of unusual material including an interlude during which Maart, Dave Pegg, and Doane Perry played what Martin Barre introduced as "superior folk music."  Maart also got to play guitar alongside Martin Barre for at least one song on that '89 tour when he (Maart) wasn't manning the keyboards.

Jewel in the Crown, Acoustically Down Under, and Old, New, Borrowed, Blue remain some of my favorite FC CDs, and I'm grateful to Maartin Allcock for helping to keep this marvelous musical experiment afloat for a decade of its existence.  And he transcribed a couple of FC songbooks AND the RT songbooks AND the Sandy Denny songbook!  Thank you, MA!

Maartin Allcock is a singular mammal who left a permanent impression in the history of music, and I look forward to his autobiography.

On the day he passes, I'll finally listen to the original Pete Townshend version of North Country Girl (which Maart covered on his first solo album) for the first time in my life.

Cheers, Maart, and thank you for being you.

Love,

Daniel S Duvall

I was offline for a couple of weeks and have only just learned this dreadful news.

Great guy, spoke to him a couple of times after FC gigs or at The Field Bar. What a happy man. When I got the FC songbook, the bookbinders had missed a couple of pages so I emailed Maart direct who emailed me the pages by return.

Some consolation, he has beautiful surroundings in Wales in which to spend his last year; lots of photos on his website.

I saw FC acoustic in Swindon Arts Centre many years ago. Maart had a melodeon, or maybe an accordion? The band attempted to play a tune featuring said instrument in the backing, but for some reason, possibly alcohol-assisted?!, it wasn't working, so Maart returned it to its box, all the while doing a ventriloquism conversation with it... "but I don't like it in here, it's dark, etc" Happy memories of a lovely chap, and a brilliant musician.

Not to suggest he is without ego but Maart, like the late great Pete Zorn, is a musician who makes other musicians sound better just by playing with them, a great support muso and also well able to take centre stage as a lead. I think the best I saw him was on a Beth Nielsen Chapman tour (incidentally with Pete Zorn in the band).

DW

That's a rare skill that is often overlooked with the spotlight on the big name(s). Many years ago Maart stayed with us with Kieron Halpin when they played our folk club. He was a gentleman and very warm man and a good foil to Kieron who was a fab singer/songwriter but a tricky man to handle thanks to copious amount of whiskey post gig. A great musician and from my experience a gentle and thoughtful man.
 

Same here, the Maart era really got me hooked on the band (and was great to see him during his time with Jethro Tull too.) One of my abiding musical memories of Cropredy was hearing The Wounded Whale  in the moonlight rolling around the field. Sent shivers down the spine.

I'm hoping we will get to hear it this year....

Wouldn’t that be fabulous!

Only just heard as been away for a long while. Just a memory...

It's our first Cropredy in 2004 and I am a huge fan of Show of Hands. Standing near to the bar I see Miranda Sykes and want to tell her how much I enjoy her playing. Maart sidles past, sees me looking and says "Hi". Bear in mind we have never met. I say "Hi" back and we get talking about stardom and how difficult I find it talking to people I admire. He smiles and says, "But you just did it". I realise he's right, thank him and wish him a good Cropredy. That's the kind of guy he is - so un-starry you don't realise what a tremendous human being he is.

Miranda moved on, and I never did speak to her, but I did speak to Maart 😊

He did that regularly , lovely.

Friends, it would appear that Maart has left us.

Jules

 :( :-[ :'(
Hope it was painless.

At least it wasnt too long and drawn out.
R.I.P. Martin condolences goals your family and friends.

The Fairport and the wider music world will be the poorer place without him ... RIP

Where has the news come from, please?  I can't see it anywhere else online?

Alan reported first.  Not sure where he saw it.

Then I checked on Twitter, saw a tweet reporting that he'd passed, asked the poster of the tweet if he could confirm, and he said he'd received a phonecall from Maart's wife today.  Now it may just be possible that someone has their wires crossed, but I'm not too hopeful.

Jules

Just read this Tweet from Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam:

RIP Maart. Fare thee well.

I am listening to Chilli Morning, and trying not to be sad.

His son has asked on Twitter for notices/tweets to be removed, I see.

Yes, and I did so, as did others, but then Cat Stevens posted the news, and, well, his tweets get noticed.  I'm afraid Cat has let the cat out of the bag well and truly.

It's also up on the Steve Hoffman forum now as well.

I am ashamed to admit that I didn't consider for a second that the family were trying to keep the news quiet so that they could grieve in peace.  Wretched news followed by feeling even more wretched.

Jules

The perils of social media.
(It was his son who asked for tweets to be removed.)
I feel sorry for anyone who hears desperate news that way because someone 'didn't think'.

Obviously none of us know the full details or context of how this sad news was released but all I know is that Maart was an amazing multi-instrumentalist whose talent and love of music shone through everything he was involved with and I thank him for all the joy he has brought me and my thoughts are with his friends and family and may he rest in peace.

R n R mag have announced it on F book

Cat Stevens tweeted & facebooked it to start the ball rolling it seems

So very sad. Deepest condolences to his family.  

R.I.P Maart.

Fantastic musician, deepest sympathies to all his family and friends. What a wonderful musical legacy.

Maart's family and I are distraught that the news has come out in this way when we made it clear we wished to have a couple of days to inform close family and friends.  Now there are those close to us who will have found out via social media before we have had a chance to speak with them and could feel hurt to have found out in such a way.  Today was devastating enough without this insensitivity.

I telephoned a very close friend of Maart's who was devastated by the news.  He was staying with someone unknown to me or Maart who went straight to Twitter when our friend went out to his gig.  The post has since been taken down but the damage was done.  I never understand people who get a buzz out of wanting to be the first to post news without thinking about the effect they may have upon others.

We will issue a statement on Maart's website, which will continue to operate, when we have had chance to gather our thoughts.

Thank you for all your good wishes.

Jan

All our love Jan...  raising several glasses to Maart this evening xxxx

RIP Maart, and so sorry about the distress caused to the family by the way it came out too.

Maart had 611 posts on TAW and the last message I received from him was only four weeks ago. It was a very kind message, explaining a lot and totally forgiving something that had been inaccurately posted about him.

It finished "As for me, the matter is over, the man is forgiven, and let's all move on. Life really is too short..."

Social media has a lot to answer for, but now it's done and let's tell the family what a star he was.

Too right... he certainly was... I have so many personal memories of a Maart  and am right now watching him on a very old F.C. dvd...  the Five Seasons.  RIP Maart xxx

Well said, Colin.

And much love to Jan.  And apologies for my part in spreading the news before you were all ready.

I first heard the name Maartin Allcock on my dad's copy of a Mike Harding LP.  Little did I think that the next time I would hear his name it would be in connection with Fairport.  One thing's for sure - his final curtain call was a memorable one.  He played out his story in style.  What a man.

Jules

A dreadful day for Maart's family, friends and fans.

He was a star and a polymath, a good photographer, a great guitarist (and player of many other instruments) and an all-round good egg in my experience of him.

My glass is raised to him this evening. Cheerio, Maart, we shall Meet On The Ledge.

Oh gosh I wasn’t expecting this   :'( Maart was always my favourite Fairporter, if such a thing exists. He was guitarist (and so much more) when I was first introduced to FC by a friend Mick Davies, also sadly gone.

RIP Maart. I’m so glad for you that you played at Cropredy this year xx my heartfelt condolences go to his family and friends

On the bright side, if there can be one (well, yes there can...), the timing was such that he was able to have his curtain call at Cropredy, and get the truly heart-wrenching send-off he so richly deserved - and I'd guess that meant a lot to him as well as to all of us there. The memory of those last 20 minutes of this year's Cropredy will remain forever. RIP

RIP Maart.

So sad to hear this.

A little story about a fine man. A few years ago, I found that my copy of his FC songbook was missing a few pages, bookbinders' error I assumed, and I IM'ed him in case it was a widespread problem. Even being as busy as he was and knowing what a task compiling the books had been, he sent the missing pages by email the same day for me to print out. Shan't forget that. Top man.

Maart revitalised Fairport when he joined - whilst the 80s era may (for some) have been a little dominated by overuse of keyboards and effects Maart's sheer musicality and versatility brought excitement and dynamism to both recordings and live performances. Few guitarists can attempt to "takeover" from the likes of Thompson and Donahue but Maart stood alongside them as an equal. Cheers Maart we will miss you.

DW

So so sad to hear this news. Maart was a top bloke I shall miss him very very much. We emailed a few times as he lived very close to the farm I was brought up on. He was always kind and generous with his time. I am so so very glad i got to see him do  a "metal matty" and have a laugh with the Barstewards! RIP Maart.

My sympathy to Jan and the rest of Maart's family and friends. So hard to hear such news, especially for those that heard first via social media.
He will be missed.

I'm dreadfully upset that he didn't get longer, but so so pleased he got that last hurrah with the band only a few short weeks ago, and that I got a chance to see it online.  For me, there was definitely a case of not quite knowing what I was missing with Maart until it was too late....

I ,like others , am genuinely upset this morning. I really do feel a loss and I never met Maart, only looked up at him displaying his skill.

I am sorry the informations release was imperfect, but , we do consider ourselves as a sort of extended family.

This can have its good moments too ,(ie the support and love for Jerry),however this was a downside.

But there is one thing the family will surely know;

We share both their pride and their loss.

FC have tweeted an RIP

I'm at a bit of a loss for words at this very sad news.

I'd like to express my thanks for his music and great admiration for his skills.

Heartfelt condolences to Maart's family and friends.

Incredibly sad to have heard this news. At my one Cropredy I had one of those turn around and oh look who that is moments near the bar. It was Maart and he said hello to me first. I didn't do the awkward shuffle trying to catch his eye things. He said hello and asked where I was from and the usual stuff. Hearing I was from NY he said oh I'd love to go back. I think one of his kids had just been there. It wasn't a deep conversation, but it reinforced to me how much I love Fairport for being the type of band where these interactions are important and Maart for that moment of being so gracious. RIP Maart with love for all your family. You will be very much missed.

R.I.P. Maart
and Thank You for sharing your musical with us.

Horrible news but what a brilliant farewell at Cropredy  - I just watched the clips on YouTube “from the screen” The brilliancy medley, Matty Groves and “ Ledge” all great tributes to him.
His smiles knowing what was coming were inspirational. Despite the rain I loved the last third of the
Fairport set - watched with Dave - a guy I met this year who had lost his daughter a couple of years ago.
Heather was a Cropredy regular and a picture of the picture of her, that he pinned to the fence (where the jokes are hung) was shown on the big screens along with Sandy, Swarb etc.
I always find Cropredy emotional. This year even more so.

Love on ya Maart and all your family and friends.

Ah, s**t. RIP Maart. One of the best. Brilliant musician,  brilliant person. When he played at Ropery Hall he made me count the money out in front of him. ‘Do you mind?’, he said. ‘Of course not’, I replied. A gent.

From Dan Ar Braz's FB page (translation from FB, not my own)-

Martin Allcock flew away
A great musician, orchestra man, member of the groups convention groups, Jethro Tull, also played with Cat Stevens in recent years...
He played bass and keyboards on my albums " songs ", " salt borders ", " suite for bagpipes and guitars ", " dream of siam ", " the islands of memory ", " Xavier grall Sung by Dan ar braz...
Thank you Martin, for all this and all the moments shared here and there, in cropredy, Barford St Michael, all these years,
I'm happy to have crossed your road, you are part of my life forever, have a good trip my friend

From first hearing about his illness to hearing this news, it is all a shock and such sad news.

On the Fairport site, there's now a photo to accompany this news. It's Maart on stage. Smiling.  
Yes, we know the wider story of it being his last planned live set but just look at it a bit more simply;  It's a very talented musician and a much admired person going out on stage to greet an audience that loved to see him there and to hear him there.
That's how I will see it and that's how I will remember that Saturday night a few weeks ago and the many other Cropredy performances.

RIP and thanks, Maart.

And I just remembered this from when I discovered the band and Cropredy.
My second festival but the earliest ticket I could find.

The only picture I can summon up in my head is Maart  last thing Saturday night this year,  broad grin,  me dripping wet raising my glass to him.

Proper chap - RIP

A moment we will all remember. (Apologies for posting this again, but the time is right).

There are lovely tributes on social media from, amongst others, Wayne Hussey (The Mission), Beth Nielsen Chapman, Cat Stevens, Thea Gilmore and many more. It is clear the esteem in which he was held by those who worked with him both as a musician and as a man.

DW

Simon & Gareth have also paid tribute on the Fairport website (http://www.fairportconvention.com).

Ah, ****, I'm welling up reading those.

Jules

What a photo! Says so much about Maart and Cropredy  :)

That photo would bring tears from a stone

As so often, Simon has found the perfect words, "a truly, if unruly, one off".

And that picture needs to find its way onto an anthology of Maart's work.

Yes, it's superb.

That photo of Simon and Maart on the Fairport webpage is wonderful too, in its own very subtle way.

Jules

So sad that the day we all dreaded finally came around. Like Jules, I first heard of Maart on the Mike Harding 'Brown Ale Cowboys' LP and then of course Tull & Fairport.

I bumped into Maart at Cropredy a few years ago whilst on one of my afternoon 'excursions' around the field. Emboldened by an inadvisable amount of Weston's Vintage Reserve Cider I asked, "May I shake your hand sir?" to which he replied "of course" and I'll never forget his slightly bemused, wry smile as we shook hands and I thanked him for the great music he'd been part of over the years.

R.I.P Maart and thanks again for all you did. Hope the curry is to your satisfaction up there on the ledge.

I just hope he managed to finish the book he was writing that Peggy refers to in his tribute. Ive been going through his replies on here when we had a Q&A session with him way back in 2005 i think. It makes fascinating reading. So interesting to read all about his life and the people he has played with.If anyone here hasn't read it before I suggest you go and do it! and if you have read it before go back and read again.Top man!

 I saw it on the Steve Hoffman forum.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/martin-maartin-allcock-fairport-convention-jethro-tull-r-i-p.759423/#post-19543952



Edit:  It has been confirmed by several people, including his family, so sadly, it is true - Andy

Are the times on that forum USA or UK times?

US I believe.

Very sad news.

Maart was a part of the Fairport line up when I first heard the band. So he was a 'Fairport original' for me. I also have fond memories of his time in Jethro Tull (when he played a keyboard mounted with a line of beer engines, as I recall!) Glad he got his farewell at Cropredy.

Ta ta, Maart.

Maart was part of the first Fairport I saw live. I saw that line-up many times at both St. Albans and Northampton. Great gigs and really loud.

Its hosted in Pennsylvania and they are five hours behind us if that is of any help.....

Thanks Tasha.  I've wondered about this before.  8)

Very sad. Saw Maart in several bands including Waz, Taz, Blue Tapestry and with Huw Williams. It was always a pleasure to see him.

Some really touching and heartfelt tributes to Maart from the band are now up on Fairport's website.

I can't get into the website at the moment...

I had that problem earlier. I went back out, googled "Fairport Convention", went back in, it was fine.  Weird.

Jules

Doesn't work for me on any browser....

This link seems to get you in:

http://www.fairportconvention.com/

It does.  How odd.  

Anyway, all lovely comments.  Very moving.

[Peggy's chronology seems to be a tad out in his piece though.  Maart joins the band, then Peggy "later joined Jethro Tull"....]

That explains the layout of his book then.   ;)

Jules

Nice obituary in The Daily Telegraph today, albeit a bit late.

It's here, mostly behind a paywall unfortunately

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/10/10/maartin-allcock-guitarist-fairport-convention-jethro-tull/

The first time I have seen mention of him working with Judith Durham. What an honour! I guess on her latest album, the first for six years?

Sorry, it was the album Mona Lisas in 1996.

To save anyone else using a disposable email address to access the article  :) ...

----------

Telegraph Obituaries

10 OCTOBER 2018 • 6:06AM
 
Maartin Allcock, who has died of liver cancer aged 61, was a musician and record producer who spent 11 years as a guitarist with the folk giants Fairport Convention, doubling up for some of that time as guitarist and keyboard player with prog-rockers Jethro Tull.

He was also a fine bass guitarist and violinist, his other instruments including the pipes, mandolin and mandocello, or bass/baritone mandolin, and he was a session musician on more than 200 albums. In later years he championed Welsh-language rock and folk music.

He was born Martin Allcock at Middleton, near Manchester on January 5 1957. He studied music in Huddersfield and Leeds, and when he was 19 began playing in folk clubs and dance bands. The following year he toured with the comedian and musician Mike Harding in Harding’s band, the Brown Ale Cowboys.

He lived for a short time in Brittany then trained as a chef in the Shetland Isles. In 1981 he returned to music, joining the Bully Wee Band, a Celtic folk group.

He teamed up with Fairport Convention in 1985, making his first recorded contribution on the 1986 album Expletive Delighted! Dave Pegg, a stalwart of band, recalled: “[Violinist] Ric [Sanders] and Maart were both writing stuff, composing these great instrumental pieces … So we put out an all-instrumental album.”

The band’s new line-up would be one of the most stable in the band’s history, sticking together for 11 years, and Allcock played a leading role on such albums as Red & Gold (1988), The Five Seasons (1990) and Jewel in the Crown (1995), as well as touring with the band in the US, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong and Turkey.

He changed the spelling of his first name in the mid-1980s, he recalled, after talking to a fellow musician in Dublin, who, when Allcock told him his first name, recognised his accent as north Manchester, telling him he had to spell it with a double “a” from then on.

He stayed with Fairport until 1996, doing much to revitalise a band that had been together, with shifting personnel, for nearly three decades. Between 1988 and 1991 he was also a member of Jethro Tull.

He played on the band’s 1989 album Rock Island, which continued in the hard rock vein the band had recently begun tapping and went gold in Britain. He also toured with the band in Europe and the Americas.

Another project was Waz!, a band he founded with melodeon and concertina player Dave Whetstone and another multi-instrumentalist, Pete Zorn – they took the band’s names from their initials. They released two albums, the second, Fully Chromatic (1999), when Steve Tilston had replaced Whetstone.

In 2000 Allcock moved to Snowdonia. He studied Welsh at Harlech College and began working with the Welsh-language record label, Sain, as a session man and producer.

In the early 2000s he played bass for the Nashville singer and songwriter, Beth Nielsen Chapman. He recorded several solo albums, and worked with other musicians including Yusuf Islam, when the former Cat Stevens made his musical return in the 2000s; the experimental Tuvan throat singer, Sainkho Namtchylak; Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin; Adrian Edmondson’s band, the Bad Shepherds; Ralph McTell; and the former Seeker, Judith Durham.

In August 2017 he joined up with Fairport at the Cropredy Convention Festival – founded by the band in 1979 – to mark their 50th anniversary, and this year, a few weeks before his death, he made his final public appearance at the Festival.

Although he was ill, he played with the band on a rocking version of one of their best-loved songs, Matty Groves. At the end, he told Fairport’s fans: “You’re the best friends I’ve ever known.”

Maartin Allcock is survived by his wife, Jan, and by two daughters and a son from his first marriage.

Maartin Allcock, born January 5 1957, died September 16 2018

Thank you very much for posting this.

Yes thank you.

Although he was ill, he played with the band on a rocking version of one of their best-loved songs, Matty Groves. At the end, he told Fairport’s fans: “You’re the best friends I’ve ever known.”

RIP Maart, friend

Obit on the  Best classic bands pages
https://bestclassicbands.com/maartin-allcock-obituary-musician-9-17-18/


also an interesting interview with Maart on the itullians page from September last year

http://itullians.blogspot.com/2017/09/interview-with-maartin-allcock.html

Reference to playing the fiddle in that Telegraph obit? I'm not sure I ever saw him playing that instrument?

Probably only on Bridge Over the River Ash

DW

ahhh, thanks. My memory is getting old obviously

The photo of Maart playing fiddle (photographer Brian Marks) was taken at Cropredy in 2006 and has appeared on his Wiki page for some time. It was taken as Swarb's Lazarus set up. Swarb's mobility was very limited and Maart plugged his fiddle in for the final sound check, lasting but a few seconds, as I recall.
I do also remember seeing Maart play fiddle with Ric, Simon and Peggy, I think. Bridge Over the River Ash? Cannot remember where or when...

This.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLT9jVGIadc

Ric on keyboards!
This Birmingham town hall gig from 1990. I love Maarts shirt! And Peggy's ponytail!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZceek4FH84

He played fiddle on 'The Rose Hip' a few times as well. I remember Ric saying how pleased he was that Maart had learnt the instrument, because it enabled them to play that song live.

Ric is a pretty good keyboard player too. The 80's-90's era actually had three with Maart and DM. On the Cropredy 2001 DVD Chris Leslie paid Maart a great compliment about his musical chops, saying the one thing he hadn't quite mastered yet was the fiddle and that he was trying to keep one away from him! Said with a cheeky grin on his face. I hadn't realized he played on The Rose Hip live. That is a particular favorite of mine.

Hard to believe it was 3 years ago now.... :'(

I loved what Maart brought to Fairport , particularly his humour and his Les Paul goldtop , all sadly missed

This may have been mentioned elsewhere but I saw a review of the reissue of OX15 in the current RnR mag. Here's another write-up with the reviewer getting more than a little carried away with his praise but it does make me want to check it out.

https://atthebarrier.com/2021/07/31/maartin-allcock-ox15-album-review/

It is a fine album which i must dig out and play again today.

It's a lovely album.

Yes, I agree with the praise for the album and am pleased to have an original "New Day Records" copy of it. But I have never heard his other two solo albums. Would anyone care to say how they compare with each other please?

There are actually 3, Maart, Chilli Morning and Serving Suggestion. There is also an album with Lisa Starnini, Two Bays - Due Baie.

They are all very listenable. Maart is somewhat eclectic as a first album. OX15 is probably the most ambitious. Serving Suggestion is in a similar vein Chilli Morning is less collaborative "one man band" recording. Two Bays is excellent.

OX15 is just fantastic…. It means an awful lot to me in many ways.

Thank you Maart ❤️