Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson's guitar playing carries the drone of a Scottish piper alongside echoes of Barney Kessel, James Burton and Jerry Lee Lewis's piano. Born in West London in 1949 to a Scottish father who played guitar as an amateur, he began in school bands before a friendship with the future members of Fairport Convention pushed him towards writing his own songs. Critic Neil McCormick described him as a versatile virtuoso and a sharp observational singer-songwriter whose work combines intelligence with dark emotion.

He co-founded Fairport Convention in 1967 and left in 1971, releasing the solo album Henry the Human Fly the following year. In 1974 he and his wife Linda Thompson made I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, one of six albums as a duo, and Shoot Out the Lights followed in 1982. A solo return came with Hand of Kindness in 1983, and three of his solo albums, Rumor and Sigh among them, have been nominated for Grammy Awards. Still, from 2015, was his first UK Top Ten album, and his 2021 memoir Beeswing covers the years 1967 to 1975.