Talk:Richard Thompson (musician)

Too Affectionate. Make it More Objective.

This article doesn't adhere to the policy of a neutral point of view. Rather, it expends considerable effort to put Thompson in a favorable light. Too often, it sounds like it was written by an admirer. That is appropriate in a fan magazine or a music critic's article, but it's out of place in a reference work like Wikipedia. Here are some examples:

1. "the brilliant acoustic guitar ballad "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"" - brilliant is a value judgment,
2. Thompson was "without a recording contract (but not without admirers)" - the parenthetical phrase
3. "Thompsons' fans often refer to the Shoot Out the Lights tour (not unfondly) as "The Tour from Hell" "- the parenthetical
4. "For a short while a late career commercial breakthrough seemed likely....the momentum that could have capitalized on the critical success and popularity enjoyed by Rumor and Sigh never followed." - this is a hypothetical, suggesting that somebody else screwed up his career. Perhaps, but let's stick to the facts!
5. "Thompson's unique take on the Britney Spears hit "Oops!... I Did It Again"" - "unique" is a value judgment, an opinion.
6. "Thompson has been well served by compilers of retrospective collections...essential purchases for more committed fans" - "well served" is an opinion and "essential" is promotional
7. "Watching the Dark is a generous combination of his better-known songs" - "generous" is not objective

I made these points on this talk page some time ago. Nobody objected. So I'm going to make these changes. Peace and love to all! BuzzWeiser196 (talk) 12:11, 26 November 2017 (UTC)

Richard Thompson Electric Trio at Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2018

Is this video copyright compliant: [1]? Michael Jerome on drums and Taras Prodaniuk on bass/vocals (also Bobby Eichorn on guitar, some tracks). Here's the setlist. The concert footage seems to be available commercially on DVD in the US, so maybe the YT video is not available there. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:32, 1 May 2021 (UTC)

Middle name

Is there any good source for a middle name of "John"? His FreeBMD entry here supports this. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:04, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

The entry shows his birth was registered in the second quarter of 1949, in the Kensington district, mother's name Rawlings. I'm really not sure why Wikipedia discounts entries from FreeBMD such as this one, where a postem has been deliberately added to identify the subject: "23/03/2015: Richard Thompson, the musician." Martinevans123 (talk) 20:09, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Connection with Portsmouth

At his recent gig at Portsmouth Guildhall, while jokingly "sucking up to the local crowd", he informed the audience that his grandfather was from Chichester and that his great-grandfather had been one of the last drivers of the stagecoach between Portsmouth and London. Presumably on the maternal side of his ancestry. Martinevans123 (talk) 14:03, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Birthday clue

This 70th birthday concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, in October 2019, reviewed here, might just be a slight clue to Thompson's year of birth? "Richard Thompson, who moved to Montclair last year, turned 70 in April, and celebrated, a little belatedly, with an all-star concert at Royal Albert Hall in London, Sept. 30." Thanks Martinevans123 (talk) 20:19, 10 September 2024 (UTC)