In 1967 as a precocious 17 year old he was a founder member of Fairport Convention. Now legendary as pioneers of folk rock they were then captivated by the sounds of the emerging singer-songwriters of the American east and west coasts. Like their peers the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane they were blessed with several considerable individual talents, and produced music that, at least initially was eclectic, as well as exploratory. Their move to folk was gradual; original singerJudy Dyble was replaced on their second LP “What we did on our Holidays” by Sandy Denny, an experienced folk singer and excellent composer in her own right, with whom Richard continued to collaborate after her departure from the group. It was also cemented by contributions by fiddle virtuoso Dave Swarbrick, initially as sessioneer, on their third, Unhalfbricking. That LP has arguably their first two bona fide masterpieces. One is their version of the Sandy Denny song, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, popularized by Judy Collins, but characterised on their version by a perfect balance between Denny’s vocals and the exquisite support of the group as a whole, and Thompson in particular. The other is A Sailor’s Life, the first to demonstrate the potential power of folk rock, the song exploding in an improvised and sophisticated instrumental coda that reaches beyond the words through the impassioned interplay of the whole band, led by the virtuosity of Thompson and Swarbrick in particular. He also soon showed that he could create his own distinctive songs notably the anthemic “Meet on the Ledge”, on “Holidays”. | |The following LP Liege and Lief is perhaps his and Fairport’s acknowledged finest hour, although the move to a more British form of folk rock should rightly be attributed more to bassist Ashley Hutchings and producer Joe Boyd than to Thompson himself. Liege and Lief is generally remembered for its virtuoso versions of traditional folk rock classics but it also contains two miniature jewels by Thompson himself, “Farewell Farewell”, and (with Swarbrick) “Crazy Man Michael”. Fairport’s final studio recording with Thompson, “Full House” is also characterized by an extended instrumental interplay with Swarbrick on the typically gnomic “Sloth”, and a certain unsatisfactoriness resulting from the late exclusion of the even better “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, perhaps the archetypical Thompson song, apparently at his own insistence because of his dissatisfaction with his own vocals. Having left Fairport he was briefly a member of The Albion Band, contributing to their first LP “Morris On”, before proclaiming himself bored with the restrictions of the form, and embarking on a solo career, with the under-rated, idiosyncratic “Henry the Human Fly” Five albums with wife Linda Thompson (see Richard & Linda Thompson) followed until an acrimonious split. Other collaborations with Danny Thompson (no relation) and others as well as regular Fairport reunions have since peppered a career dominated by blistering solo albums acoustic, electric and live. After nearly forty years and fifty albums Richard is still writing and performing his poetically crafted songs in his distinctive style. Passion, menace, wit and despair permeate every word and chord. In 2006 Richard Thompson was presented with a Lifetime Achievement prize at the BBC Folk Awards and the Fairport Convention album which most bears his mark, Liege & Lief, was voted the Most Influential Folk Album of All Time. Richard and Linda’s children Teddy Thompson and Kamila Thompson are both involved in music. |
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