A blues promoter, graphic designer, and “Sheffield Legend” has been commemorated with a new compilation album released this week.

Featuring 35 artists, A Taste of Honey will pay tribute to Martin Bedford, who spent his life promoting local blues artists through Honey Bee Blues Club, creating posters that acted as a “badge of honour to artists he had promoted”.

Pat Fulgoni, who produced the album and was himself promoted by Mr Bedford, told the Wire that “once we put the word out there were a lot of bands that wanted to be on it”.

All profits from the album will go towards the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation, a charity set up in memory of the late Festival Director of Tramlines, who championed emerging talent in the music industry.

The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation supports socially and economically disadvantaged people across Sheffield to develop their musical talents.

Fulgoni recalled conversations he had with Bedford about a compilation album that could tie the bands Bedford had promoted together.

Following Bedford’s passing in November 2023, Fulgoni discussed the idea with Honey bee Blues Club and many bands were eager to feature on the album.

Bedford was important in founding the Leadmill, the legendary Sheffield music venue, creating posters for their events for 12 years, and later founded the Honey Bee Blues Club in 2014 to promote Blues and Americana artists around Sheffield and the UK.

He also built connections with Austin, Texas which will be on show in A Taste of Honey, as several American acts have contributed, including Kelley Swindall, Darnell Cole and the Vibe, and Chris Murphy.

Bedford’s posters became famous around Sheffield, with his friend Carl Ara saying: “It’s a tragedy that young, up-and-coming bands will never have the privilege of having their name emblazoned on a Martin Bedford poster, a piece of Sheffield’s cultural history.”

A Taste of Honey was launched on Spotify earlier this week on 21 February, and physical copies of the double CD will be available on Bandcamp from 28 February, the same day the album will be launched on iTunes.

The album is available at this link: https://honeybeebluesclub.bandcamp.com/album/a-taste-of-honey-martin-bedford-tribute