Danny Thompson | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Daniel Henry Edward Thompson |
Born |
Teignmouth, Devon, England |
4 April 1939
Genres | Folk, rock, jazz, blues, skiffle |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
Instruments | Upright bass, guitar, mandolin, trumpet, trombone, tea chest bass |
Labels | Island Records |
Associated acts | Pentangle, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, |
Website | Danny Thompson.co.uk |
Daniel Henry Edward "Danny" Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson (no relation) and John Martyn.
For four years (1964-1967), he was a member of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, and he was a founding member of the British folk-jazz band Pentangle. Since 1987, he has also recorded four solo albums. He converted to Islam in 1990.
Thompson was born in Teignmouth, Devon. His father, a miner, joined the Royal Navy at the start of World War II and was lost in action whilst crewing submarines. When Thompson was aged 6, the family moved to London and he was brought up in the working-class area of Battersea. At school he played competitive football and was a junior for Chelsea, the team he has supported ever since. Whilst at school he learnt guitar, mandolin, trumpet and trombone before settling on the upright bass as his instrument of choice.
While he has his own album releases Thompson is predominantly a session musician contributing to other artists, such as with Richard Thompson e.g. Mirror Blue, The Old Kit Bag, and the concert DVD release Richard Thompson Live in Austin Texas, from the Austin City Limits televised concerts.
Danny Thompson lived in Clopton, Suffolk during the late 1970s and early 80s with his wife Daphne and son Dan (Danny Junior who went on to be the drummer with Hawkwind (1985–88)) Early in the 1980s he moved back to London. He received a Lifetime achievement award in the 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.