Richard Thompson: The Biography

by Patrick Humphries

After 30 years of recording and performing, Richard Thompson remains the nightmare of every marketing department: he is an obvious genius who simply can't be slipped past the radar of the mainstream audience. Thompson himself seems nonplussed. He continues to write marvelously mordant songs, and to wring his own brand of Celtic angst from the electric guitar. Meanwhile, the journalist Patrick Humphries has taken on the Boswell role, taping hours of interviews and running down all the requisite sources. The result is this lively Life of Thompson, which includes an airtight discography and some goofy photos that only a fearless man would allow to be published.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1996

About the author

Writer and journalist Patrick Humphries is the author of acclaimed biographies of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Richard Thompson. He lives in London, England.

Reviews

[Dawn Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate to admit that I knew nothing of Richard Thompson until my guitar instructor, himself a singer-songwriter and performing musician, gave me two of his CDs. After one listen, I was hooked. Then he lent me this book and my fascination deepened to, well, awe.

In what seems today to be an era when musicians, first and foremost, want to become famous (and yes, make lots of money), I was struck by Thompson's willingness to be under the radar, more or less, engaged privately with his music and his ability to make it...lots of it...along with his noted mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar playing. He is humble, shy, seemingly dark but often very funny with a turn of phrase, and immensely talented, having had to learn how ultimately to become a solo performer and liking it.

What the book did for me was to offer a peek at how a heralded songwriter comes to be. Thompson, a British folk and rock musician, listened to a broad and deep range of music, particularly the traditional music of the Scots, Irish, and Brits, which is embedded in so much of his music. But his range was wide, his talent the envy of so many music greats, his career a wild and sometimes disappointing ride, his life fascinating, and his love of writing and playing undisputed.

This was a great read by a writer who clearly had a sense of Thompson and the times. It holds a plethora of quotations from the author's interviews with Thompson and those important to his life and career. I was truly taken by it. all.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing musician, funny guy, often-riveting songwriter...yet a rather boring subject for a biography because he doesn't reveal much in the way of demons, personal motivations, revelations, even in very direct Q&A interviews. The account of his years "retired" from music while living in a Sufi Muslim commune with long-suffering then-wife Linda are interesting, but not too much else in the book is surprising.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I really like Richard Thompson's music and enjoyed reading this. However it did feel a bit intrusive. Maybe it's better just to listen to the music.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good biography of a very talented man

[Peter Mannix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting guy. Very descriptive evolution of his career through 1995. Humphries is a good writer.

[Kiof · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious artist who deserves a bio. This one does the job good enough I guess. Without RT's involvement this book would've a been a truly dismal one indeed. Even with his full participation, the book only two steps above dismal. RT has the ability to turn out dreck than weave a masterpiece like Shoot out the Lights (the song), Vincent Black Lighting, Beeswing, Turning of the Tide and Dimming of the Day. Humphries ignores this, gives the man undeserving universal praise (but I guess what can you expect from a man who wrote a bio of Fairport Convention.) Thompson's folk was always vastly different than the purveyors of Washington Square, whose stylings I find more listenable. So maybe that's why I can't see the light in all his solo work or really much of anything from the Fairport days.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw Richard Thompson last Thursday, first time for I think seven years. I couldn't believe the audience. It was a proper sit down concert, and while Richard was blazing away on stage this sell-out audience remained absolutely immobile - no slight nodding of the head, no tapping of fingers, feet unmoving at the end of legs, NOTHING, an audience Nick Drake would have LOVED. It was a horrible sight. Anyway, to get to this sorry gig I swapped my late shift that night with my colleague Trish, and when I got to work the following day I asked her "How was last night?" because it can get pretty busy and she said

"I'M NEVER SWAPPING ONE OF YOUR SHIFTS AGAIN!!"