Clinton Heylin

Richard Thompson’s memoir is worth reading for the ‘Fairport years’ alone

While the rock guitarist is frustratingly circumspect about his wife and collaborator Linda Peters, his stories of the band’s formation are heartfelt and illuminating

Fairport Convention in 1969, with Richard Thompson far left. Credit: Getty Images 
issue 12 June 2021

One of the more surreal conversations I have had with a musical hero of mine came in 2017 when I found myself arguing with Linda Thompson about the merits of Nick Drake’s music compared with her own and her ex-husband Richard Thompson’s. She suggested Nick’s had a quality that was missing in the work she and Richard created, which explained its posthumous popularity.

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