Mayo Thompson

Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson live with The Red Krayola (Münster, 05/05/05)
Background information
Birth name	Mayo Joseph Thompson, Jr.
Born	February 26, 1944 (age 73)
Origin	Houston, Texas
Occupation(s)	Musician, visual artist, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1966–present
Labels	International Artists, Celluloid Records, Leiterwagen Records, Radar Records, Sordide Sentimental, Texas Revolution, Rough Trade Records, Drag City
Associated acts	The Red Krayola Pere Ubu

Mayo Thompson (born February 26, 1944 in Houston, Texas) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the avant-garde rock band Red Crayola (Krayola).

In 1966, Thompson formed the band Red Crayola with fellow art students Frederick Barthelme (brother of novelist Donald Barthelme) and Steve Cunningham amid the burgeoning Houston psychedelic scene and gathered a "travelling entourage" who improvised with them, known as The Familiar Ugly. Their intended second album, Coconut Hotel was rejected by their record company for being too abstract and experimental.

In the early 1970s, he lived in New York City, where he worked as a studio assistant for Robert Rauschenberg.

In 1970, Thompson released his only solo album, titled Corky's Debt To His Father, on the Texas Revolution label. It was recorded in Houston. It was re-released by Drag City in 2008.

After becoming disillusioned with the American art scene, he moved to London having joined the conceptual art group Art & Language, with whom he recorded five albums: Corrected Slogans (1976), Kangaroo? (1981), Black Snakes (1983), Sighs Trapped by Liars (2007), Five American Portraits (2010).

While in London, he became involved with Geoff Travis's distribution business at Rough Trade Records. When the label decided to begin releasing records in 1978, Thompson was asked to produce many of them because Travis did not feel that he had enough experience in the studio. Thompson is credited as producer on early records by The Fall, Stiff Little Fingers, The Raincoats, Cabaret Voltaire, Kleenex and many other seminal groups.

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