Richard Thompson life and biography

Richard Thompson is a British singer/songwriter and guitarist. Highly regarded for his guitar techniques, Thompson was awarded the Orville H. Gibson award for best acoustic guitar player in 1991. Similarly, his songwriting has earned him an Ivor Novello Award and, in 2006, a lifetime achievement award from BBC Radio.

Thompson made his debut as a recording artist as a member of Fairport Convention in September 1967. He left the group in 1971 and began recording with his wife as Richard & Linda Thompson, before their marriage dissolved in 1983. Since then, Thompson has maintained a critically-acclaimed solo career.

He continues to write and record new material and performs live frequently throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.

Thompson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to music. On 5 July 2011, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa was conferred on Thompson by the University of Aberdeen, in a ceremony at the University’s Elphinstone Hall.

Thompson has been well-served by compilers of retrospective collections. These are partly aimed at curious new listeners who are interested in hearing more of him, but are also essential purchases for more committed fans, since they contain material which is unavailable elsewhere. 1976's (guitar, vocal) was a collection of unreleased material from the previous eight years of Thompson's appearances on the Island label. The 3-CD set Watching the Dark is a generous combination of his better-known songs and previously unreleased live and studio tracks.

Action Packed is a compilation of tracks from his Capitol releases, plus three hard-to-find songs. Finally, in 2006, the independent label Free Reed released RT: The Life and Music of Richard Thompson, a 5-CD box set consisting almost entirely of previously unreleased performances of songs from throughout Thompson's long career.

Thompson's songs have been extensively covered; for example, Dimming of the Day has been performed by artists such as The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, David Gilmour, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Corrs and Alison Krauss and Union Station. There have been several tribute compilations of other artists' interpretations of his work, including: Capitol's Beat the Retreat: Songs by Richard Thompson and Green Linnet's The World Is a Wonderful Place: The Songs of Richard Thompson, both released in 1994.

Discography:
-Henry the Human Fly (1972)
-I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
-Hokey Pokey (1975)
-Pour Down Like Silver (1975)
-First Light (1978)
-Sunnyvista (1979)
-Shoot Out the Lights (1982)
-Hand of Kindness (1983)
-Across a Crowded Room (1985)
-Daring Adventures (1986)
-Amnesia (1988)
-Rumor and Sigh (1991)
-Mirror Blue (1994)
-You? Me? Us? (1996)
-Mock Tudor (1999)
-The Old Kit Bag (2003)
-Front Parlour Ballads (2005)
-1000 Years of Popular Music (2006)
-Sweet Warrior (2007)
-Dream Attic (2010)

Read more