Richard Thompson revisits folk scene outsiders and the stories behind his songs
Richard Thompson says the folk musicians around producer Joe Boyd felt different from the mainstream, but did not see themselves as special or successful at the time. As he releases his new album, *Hippies, Thugs and Heroes*, he reflects on the people and experiences behind his songs, and how songwriting can explore uncomfortable sides of human behaviour.
He says “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” drew on childhood memories of a similar motorcycle, while “Beeswing” combines stories from a man who visited his Suffolk home with Sandy Denny’s view of Anne Briggs as a free spirit. Thompson also recalls Denny as a nervous passenger and describes how some people he met in the psychedelic era shifted between violence and “peace and love”. The interview text ends part-way through his answer about “Beeswing”.
- Richard Thompson discusses the people and experiences behind his songs.
- “Beeswing” draws on several inspirations, including Sandy Denny and Anne Briggs.
- He says the psychedelic era’s peace and love could be short-lived.
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Richard Thompson is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist who came up through the folk music scene of the 1960s. That scene brought traditional songs together with newer styles, and producer Joe Boyd worked with several of its musicians, including Sandy Denny.
Thompson’s songs often draw on people, memories and stories, rather than telling only one person’s life story. “Beeswing”, for example, is associated with Anne Briggs, a folk singer remembered for living outside conventional expectations; “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” draws on Thompson’s childhood memories of a motorcycle.
The songs also reflect a period when music, changing social attitudes and personal freedom were part of public life. Thompson’s interest in troubling behaviour and contradictions gives listeners a way to consider how people can hold different impulses at once.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “‘A guy held a knife to my throat and said: play something normal!’ Richard Thompson on crazy crowds, his beloved beret and Sandy Denny’s driving skills”.