Musician Spotlight: Davy McMartin

Davy McMartin (pictured above on the left) joined Music in Hospitals & Care in 2001 as part of ‘On The Wagon’.  Eighteen years on, he has performed nearly 2,700 sessions across the UK from Shetland to Guernsey and everywhere in between; he has now decided to take a very well deserved retirement.  We are so grateful for all the joy that Davy has brought to people through his music over the years and we wish him a very happy retirement.

Fellow On The Wagon member Derek Richardson (pictured above on the right) said:

“Davy was one of the original members of On The Wagon, formed in 1997. He is without doubt one of the country’s leading moothie players, as well as being multi -instrumentalist, and I will always be amazed by his ability to thrash out jigs and reels on his ‘Tin Sandwich’!  He has always been very kind and considerate to any Music in Hospitals & Care audience, and always knows exactly what course of action to take. We have probably seen everything there is to see several times over, so his retirement is well deserved for sure.”

We asked Davy what some of his highlights have been: 

“I have a couple of stand out memories. In the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, a man on a dementia ward had his daughter in to visit. He got up and sang every word to Over the Sea to Skye and his daughter was in a flood of tears. Even though he didn’t know who she was, she had got her dad back.

Another lady at a home in Forfar, while we were setting up, told us she played the fiddle. We asked her to go and get it and play us a tune. She came back, tuned it up herself and played every note with us. She used to be a member of a ceilidh band in Australia. Next time we were there she had sadly lost the ability to play, but it was a great moment to share.

I have been very privileged to work for Music in Hospitals & Care and have a lifetime of memories!”