Richard Thompson

Guitarist and singer‑songwriter born in London in 1949, Richard Thompson first came to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of Fairport Convention, a group associated with British folk‑rock. He left the band in 1971 to pursue a more personal project. His first solo album, "Henry the Human Fly" (1972), launched a catalogue that mixes acoustic ballads, electric rock and reworkings of English‑language folk material. In the mid‑1970s he recorded a series of albums as a duo with Linda Thompson, including "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" (1974), which established a songwriting voice often given to dark narratives tempered by a subtle humour. Dividing his career between the UK and the US, Thompson alternates studio albums, live recordings and tours, with a melodic guitar style rooted as much in British folk modes as in rock and country. Records such as "Rumor and Sigh" (1991), "Mock Tudor" (1999), "Electric" (2013) and "13 Rivers" (2018) mark different phases of his path; Richard Thompson continues to perform solo or with a band on folk and rock stages and at international festivals.