(b Hatfield, 21 May 1941). English folk guitarist and folksinger. Initially an actor, he joined the Thameside Four (an electric folk band with whom he played blues material) before becoming a resident performer at the Troubadour, London's leading folk club of the early 1960s. His first recording, as part of the compilation Hootenany in London (1963), was followed by a recording with the Three City Four, which included the political singer Leon Rosselson. Carthy's first solo album (1965) showed a distinctive style, matching often delicate and elaborate acoustic guitar arrangements to traditional songs. He worked with the fiddler Dave Swarbrick (1966–9) then joined the folk-rock band Steeleye Span until 1973. For the next two decades he played and recorded both solo and with various bands and musicians, including the Albion Band, the Watersons (with his wife Norma Waterson) and Brass Monkey. During the 1990s he toured and recorded with Waterson: Carthy, which included his wife and their daughter Eliza Carthy. In 1998 he released the solo album Signs of Life.
His distinctive percussive acoustic guitar style has spawned its own tradition in folk revival contexts both within the British Isles and across Europe, and his interpretations of traditional songs are among the most creative of his generation. Through his influence, some have found their way into pop music: Paul Simon took Carthy's version of Scarborough Fair as the basis for Simon and Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, while Bob Dylan used the melody from Carthy's version of Lord Franklin in Dream.
ROBIN DENSELOW