Difference between revisions of "Chris Thompson"

Revision as of 16:29, 9 December 2010

1973 cover of the self titled "Chris Thompson" album

Christopher Malcolm Thompson is a singer/songwriter who has recorded with such luminaries as John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Dave McArtney (Hello Sailor). He also played guitar for well known Californian folk singer Julie Felix, and toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan. While in England in the early 1970s Chris jammed with British Folk-Blues legends Wizz Jones and Davey Graham. In 1974 Chris toured with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee; he has maintained a lifelong friendship with Brownie, for whom he wrote a song ("Letter to Brownie"), which was videoed by TVNZ. Chris has had three albums reach the finals of the N.Z. Music Industry awards and had his songs recorded by N.Z. artists Mike Harding, Jimmy Young and James Wilkinson, Chris Priestley, and (internationally) Meg Baird of the Philadelphia neo-folk group The Espers.

Chris is an old boy of Southwell Scool and has spent most of his life in and around Hamilton, where he recorded Hometown Voodoo in 1981; this album contains the song "Hamilton", about the city. This song has become widely known since in a version played by Big Muffin Serious Band. He moved to Auckland in 1985, and married a Canadian-born musician and songwriter Lynne, with whom he has released two albums. They relocated to Raglan in 1988. Chris is now living in Hamilton again, near his daughter Lora (who plays bass in the Heavy Metal band "Wretch").

In 2000 Chris released a track Vox Populi on the Hamilton compilation Acoustic Magic. He recorded some tracks with Tim Armstrong in 2007; taking part in "The Monday Club" project, has played with Emit Snake-Beings in "The Dirt Band" - with whom he has made several Youtube videos (see below) - completed his Arts degree at Waikato University in 2009. Chris' most recent studio album "The White Sapphire" (a.k.a. "Eighteen months in the Bates Motel") is available for download from amplifier.co.nz.

This year, Chris has helped assemble a 2 CD anthology of his work for Sunbeam Records(U.K.)Ltd.This comprises recordings from his "psychedelic" period in London and Dublin as well as more country and blues influenced songs taken from subsequent N.Z. albums of the eighties, nineties and of the last few years as well. All his popular and often requested numbers are included in their original versions, there are 14 guest musicians and an up-to-date CD booklet autobiography with rare photographs from the archives.This album is on release in England as of 7/12/10 and available as an import from any good record store.

Releases

• Chris Thompson album, 1973
  
• Echoes from the Pit album, 1975
  
• Minstrelsy album, 1977
  
• Hometown Voodoo album, 1981
  
• The Natural Blues, 1983
  
• The Road to Raglan album, 1990
  
• Far Out & Solid album, 1992
  
• Coffee Break album, 1993
  
• Song for Laura album, 1995
  
• Time Flies album, 2000
  
• For my Double, 2004
• The White Sapphire album, 2005 (Available from Amplifier)

as Chris and Lynne Thompson:

• Together album, 1985
  
• Live in Concert album, 1988
  
• Evolution The Monday Club 2008 (available through http://www.timarmstrongband.co.nz)

"Chris Thompson" 2CD Anthology (U.K. only release)2010

• I Wanna Be Me appears on the 1979 compilation Festival Music
• Vox Populi appears on the 2000 compilation Acoustic Magic

External Links

Videos on Youtube:

• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaepw356CG0%7C Chris Thompson Take Two
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0d6OzpwOOU%7C Crossroads Blues Chris Thompson

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZwwdUkFmZA  Chris Thompson When I am Dead

with The Dirt Band:

• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpkCNR-RuU4%7C The Dirt Band Ma
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D7NYeHoT0g%7C The Dirt Band Maeridee

This Chris Thompson should not be confused with Chris Thompson, the vocalist from Manfred Mann, who also spent time in Hamilton, including attending Hamilton Boys High School, and who is English-not a Kiwi.