Martin Carthy, The Blinkin’ Buzzards

Hardly any need for superlatives for a true folk hero. But they are unavoidable.

His extraordinary career began nearly 60 years ago in the London folk clubs with Bob Dylan and he remains at the very pinnacle of his profession.

Never one to rest on laurels - though heaven knows, he's earned a few - master guitarist Carthy continues his quest for new songs to perform on the grand stages and the small clubs that he has always championed.

Aside from his solo work there have been trail-blazing collaborations with, among others, Steeleye Span,Dave Swarbrick, his wife Norma Waterson and daughter Eliza, stacking up 40 albums, including ten of his own.

His settings of traditional songs have influenced the likes of Dylan and Paul Simon and his award-laden career was crowned a couple of years ago with the accolade of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Radio 2 Folk Awards.