ALAN MCEWEN AND BRIAN FERGUSON

CELTIC music star Martyn Bennett has died at the age of 33 after a
four-year battle with cancer.

The gifted fiddler and piper who pioneered a fusion of traditional folk
with house, hip-hop and dance music, passed away at Edinburgh's Marie
Curie Hospital on Sunday night.

Tributes to Bennett, who beat testicular cancer in 1993, flooded in
today, with celebrated accordionist Phil Cunningham saying he would be
"sadly missed".

Among the highlights of Bennett's career were performances at the
world premiere of the film Braveheart at Stirling Castle, and a gig in
front of 10,000 people on the Castle Esplanade during Edinburgh's
Millennium Hogmanay celebrations.

His band, Cuillin, also played in a Paris bar before the opening match
of the 1998 World Cup between Brazil and Scotland when Sir Sean
Connery, Ewan McGregor and Kenny Dalglish joined them on stage.
Bennett, who lived in Tollcross, was largely forced to retire from live
appearances after October 2000 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's
lymphoma.

But he continued to release new albums, including his last
critically-acclaimed collection entitled Glen Lyon in 2001.

Cunningham said today his passing was a "tragedy".

"I first met him on Skye when he was just a youngster. He would come to
my home and inquire whether I could 'come out to play'. We would
just sit round and play music.

"Martyn was an incredibly gifted musician. He was able to pull together
all these different threads he had in his head.

"I knew he was very, very ill, but it's still a shock. He was a
gentle, thoughtful, polite, lovely person, a real pacifist, and he will
be sadly missed by friends, family and fans."

Born in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1971, Bennett moved to Scotland with
his mother, renowned folk singer Margaret Bennett, aged six.

Regarded as a musical prodigy, he moved to the Capital at the age of 15
and soon won a scholarship to the Edinburgh City School of Music, based
at Broughton High School.

In 1990, he gained a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and
Drama in Glasgow where he met future wife Kirsten.

Influenced by the dance music scene in Edinburgh's clubs, Bennett
created an innovative meld of drum beats and traditional folk on his
first album, Martyn Bennett, recorded in 1995.

Solo performances in the city's La Belle Angele nightclub in the
Cowgate led to him being managed by The Proclaimers' manager Kenny
MacDonald.

"The disease struck him down at such a young age," said Mr MacDonald.
"I have no doubt he was on the way to crossover success.

"He was also an exceptional human being. I believe the beauty and
vibrancy of his music will live on and influence younger musicians."

Bennett went on to release a number of albums and tour extensively
across Scandinavia, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Canada and the United
States. In 1998, he won the music category in the Glenfiddich Spirit of
Scotland Awards. He also wrote a 15-minute orchestral piece, McKay's
Memoirs, which was performed in Princes Street Gardens during the
opening ceremony for the Scottish Parliament.

But having gone through a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy after
his initial diagnosis, the cancer returned.

Simon Thoumire, organiser of the Hands Up for Trad folk event, said:
"He had a massive impact when he first arrived doing stuff with the
beats.

"That also brought a lot of kids into the scene as they immediately
understood what he was trying to do.

He was a lovely guy, really easy-going with so much time for everyone."

Ian Green, who worked with Bennett through his company, Greentrax
Recordings, based in Cockenzie, East Lothian, said: "He was a very
brave young man. I'm proud to have known him."