Martin Stephenson and some Daintees

All music aficionados know the name Martin Stephenson – and they also know his live performances are a must-see, exuberant tour-de-force.

The ‘restless troubadour’ from Durham formed The Daintees in his teens with the deliberate intention of showcasing a broad range of musical styles. And from their 1982 debut single Roll On Summertime, via the breakthrough album Boat to Bolivia and on through three decades and more than 40 albums, the band – and Stephenson – have done just that.

Inspired by early Cure and the Brighton scene, Martin began his career as a busker aged 15 and then spent three years plying his trade as the guitar player in various bands in the north-east of England . But Martin wanted more, he wanted to tell stories of his own and he was quickly developing ways of doing just that.He developed his song-writing technique by firstly learning a few licks…