Martyn Ford is an English musician, best known for his orchestral contributions to rock music albums of the 1970s and 1980s. Ford was originally classically trained; he studied French horn at the Royal Academy of Music. While in his senior year there, he formed his own orchestra, which debuted at the Royal Albert Hall a few months after he graduated. He then found work as an arranger and conductor for releases by Caravan, Bryan Ferry, Ginger Baker, Johnny Nash, Three Man Army, Japan and Elton John, as well as for the soundtrack for the film Tommy. He also played horn for the Spencer Davis Group.
He also recorded on his own as the Martyn Ford Orchestra; his 1976 album ‘Smoovin’ featured Mike Moran, Ann Odell, Simon Phillips, Morris Pert, John Gustafson and Mel Collins. It also spawned a hit in the UK Singles Chart, ‘Let Your Body Go Downtown’, which peaked at number 38 in 1977.
In the 1980s, he worked with Kate Bush, Phil Collins and Dave Davies, amongst others. For Kate, the orchestra played strings on Blow Away (For Bill) and The Wedding List.