And the Hi there and thanks for joining us this is the soda jaker on songwriting podcast I'm Simon here as

always with Brian and our guest for episode 268 is a toweringly talented singer

songwriter and guitar player still going strong well into his sixth decade of making music.

A pivotal figure in the British Folk Rock Movement, he was a founder member of Fairport Convention,

then one half of a celebrated duo with his former wife Linda Thompson

before embarking on a long and illustrious solo career which shows no signs of abating.

His songs have been covered by the diverse likes of R.E. M.

David Byrne, Slater Kinney, Bonnie Race, Tom Jones, Lost Lobos and Elvis

Costello to name a few. And as this episode drops with a satisfying thud on your virtual

doormat, he recently released his 20th studio album,

Shipped to shore, recorded in less than a fortnight in Woodstock, New York.

We are thrilled to welcome the great Richard Thompson to the show.

Richard was born in 1949 in Notting Hill, West London.

He was obsessed with the guitar from a very young age and picked up properly around the age of 10

after years of being presented with unplayable toy ones by his parents.

He caught the rock and roll bug via his elder sister Perry and her Buddy Holly, Elvis, Gene Vincent and Chuck Berry records,

while also discovering jazz artists such as Django Reinhart

and traditional Scottish musicians like Jimmy Shand among his father's collection.

He formed his first band, Emil and the detectives, in secondary school.

By the way, that group also featured a young Hugh Strangler's

Cornwall on bass.

Along with fellow guitarist Simon Nickle and bassist Ashley Hutchins,

...