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Radio 2 Lifetime Achievement Award for John Martyn
John Martyn, the influential Scottish singer-songwriter whose career spans an incredible five decades, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and perform at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008 on Monday 4 February. Since he emerged on the Sixties folk club scene John's distinctive vocal style, ground-breaking use of the Echoplex tape delay, emotive lyrics, and fusion of musical genres including blues, jazz, ambient and electronica, have earned critical praise and a devoted fan base. Over the years he has collaborated with a diverse range of musicians including Danny Thompson, Steve Winwood, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Paul Weller, and his prolific back catalogue includes One World, Grace And Danger and Solid Air – the latter often featuring in polls to find the best album of all time. The ninth annual Radio 2 Folk Awards will be presented by Mike Harding who says: "With his superb innovative guitar playing and acutely observed song-writing, John Martyn helped define British folk music in the late Sixties and Seventies and in May You Never wrote what is arguably one of the best-loved folk songs to come from these islands. "He has experienced a welcome renaissance in recent years and it's fitting that we reflect his stature as a hugely influential and talented artist." Shirley Collins, who has championed English song over the decades and whose work recording folk artists with Alan Lomax was one of the most important song-collecting exercises of any musical genre, will receive a Good Tradition Award. The awards show will also feature presentations to winners in the categories of Album of the Year, Musician of the Year, Best Duo, Best Live Act, Best Traditional Track, Best Original Song, Horizon Award (for the best emerging talent) and the coveted Folk Singer of the Year, which is currently held by Seth Lakeman. Among the performers on the night are acclaimed guitarist Martin Simpson, who has been nominated in five categories; Seth Lakeman; The Imagined Village (featuring Martin Carthy OBE and Eliza Carthy); four-times nominated outfit Rachel Unthank & The Winterset; and three-times nominated trio Lau. Award presenters this year will include KT Tunstall, Steve Harley, Lord Kinnock, Brenda Blethyn and Romeo Stodart (Magic Numbers). Notes to Editors Highlights of the awards show will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Wednesday 6 February from 7pm in an extended edition of The Mike Harding Show. Reports and pictures will be available online at bbc.co.uk/radio2/folk. The nominations follow a first round of voting by the awards' 170-strong panel of folk professionals, covering a broad cross section of the world of folk, roots and acoustic music. This same panel picks the winner in each category. For the full list of nominated artists please see below. The Radio 2 Folk Awards and The Mike Harding Show are produced by Smooth Operations for Radio 2. Folk Singer of the Year
Julie Fowlis
Jez Lowe
Kate Rusby
Martin Simpson Best Duo
John Tams & Barry Coope
Show of Hands
Spiers & Boden
While & Matthews Best Group
Bellowhead
Lau
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
Tunng Best Album
Lightweights & Gentlemen (Lau)
Prodigal Son (Martin Simpson)
The Bairns (Rachel Unthank & The Winterset)
The Imagined Village (Various Artists) Best Original Song
Bitter Boy (Kate Rusby)
Dad's Gonna Kill Me (Richard Thompson)
Never Any Good (Martin Simpson)
Three Black Feathers (Bella Hardy) Best Traditonal Track
Andrew Lammie (Martin Simpson)
Blacksmith (Lisa Knapp)
Cold Haily Rainy Night (The Imagined Village)
John Barbury (Kate Rusby) Horizon Award
Bella Hardy
Jackie Oates
Lisa Knapp
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset Musician of the Year
Andy Cutting
John McCusker
Martin Green
Martin Simpson Best Live Act
Bellowhead
Lau
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
Show of Hands Radio 2 Publicity | 
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