Biography by Brett Hartenbach
The only son of British folk-rock legends Richard &
Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson was born in 1976, during
his parents' time living in a Muslim community outside of
London. He made his musical debut in 1996, when he turned
up on his father's you? me? us? album as a backup
vocalist. Teddy eventually opened for Richard on a number
of solo dates following the record's release, as well as
adding guitar and supporting vocals on 1999's Mock Tudor.
A mail-order-only live disc of Richard's 1998 acoustic
shows featured Teddy's contributions on a handful of
tunes, including Richard & Linda's classic "A Heart
Needs a Home," the Left Banke's "She May Call You Up
Tonight," and a wonderful version of "Persuasion,"
co-written by Richard and Tim Finn.
In the summer of 2000, Teddy kicked off his solo career by
releasing his self-titled debut for Virgin Records. The
album was a collection of self-penned folk-pop tunes
produced by singer/songwriter Joe Henry and featuring
Richard's guitar on several tracks. Separate Ways arrived
on the Verve Forecast label in February 2006, followed by
2007's country covers album Upfront & Down Low. Piece
of What You Need, a slightly more upbeat set of Thompson
originals, appeared in 2008 and debuted at number ten on
the U.K. charts. Thompson decamped to New York City to
record his fifth studio effort, Bella, which was released
halfway through his U.K. winter tour in February
2011.
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