DANNY THOMPSON

Random and bite-sized facts on all things on the mythical Danny Thompson. Totally random but totally fascinating if you're into it. Do you know Danny Thompson now?

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DANNY THOMPSON STARTED OUT ON A TEA-CHEST BASS

As a teenager, Danny Thompson was caught up in the skiffle boom and made himself a bass from a tea chest, a broom handle and a single string. He later switched to double bass and became one of Britain's most distinctive acoustic bass players.

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HIS FIRST DOUBLE BASS COST JUST £5

In 1964, Thompson bought a double bass from Foote's bass shop in Brewer Street, Soho, for £5, paying for it in instalments of five shillings a week. The instrument turned out to be an 1865 French Gand bass, which Thompson called “Victoria”.

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THOMPSON PLAYED TROMBONE DURING NATIONAL SERVICE

Before establishing himself as a double bassist, Thompson spent his National Service playing trombone in an army band in Penang, Malaysia. His official biography says the trombone remained one of the influences on his distinctive bass sound.

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HE REPLACED JACK BRUCE IN BLUES INCORPORATED

In 1964, Thompson joined Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, replacing Jack Bruce on bass. He remained part of the group through the mid-1960s, working alongside drummer Terry Cox, who would later become his rhythm partner in Pentangle.

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HE AND TERRY COX FORMED PENTANGLE'S RHYTHM SECTION

When Pentangle came together in 1967, Thompson and Terry Cox supplied the rhythm section behind Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee. Thompson later recalled that Jansch and Renbourn had simply asked if he fancied coming down to the pub for a play — there was no money involved.

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PENTANGLE WASN'T PLANNED AS A CLEVER FORMULA

Thompson later described Pentangle as “five geezers having a play”. He said the group worked because they loved what they were doing, rather than because it was some carefully designed musical operation.

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HIS BASS WAS CENTRAL TO JOHN MARTYN'S SOLID AIR

Danny Thompson played double bass on John Martyn's 1973 album Solid Air. The album's official notes credit him on double bass, and the John Martyn archive describes the title track's texture as being shaped by Thompson's bass, which was mixed prominently.

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JOHN MARTYN AND DANNY THOMPSON BECAME A MUSICAL PARTNERSHIP

Thompson and John Martyn developed a particularly close musical relationship after working together in the early 1970s. Martyn later described Thompson as an “incredible bassist”, while Thompson recalled their performances as a musical conversation in which they were completely serious about the music.

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SYLVIAN CHOSE DANNY THOMPSON FOR HIS SOUND

When David Sylvian was making his first solo album, Brilliant Trees, he brought in Danny Thompson because he liked the sound of Thompson's double bass on old John Martyn and Nick Drake records. Sylvian said he wanted musicians who could add something specific to the compositions he had written at home.

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DANNY THOMPSON PLAYED ON SYLVIAN'S FIRST SOLO ALBUM

Thompson played double bass on David Sylvian's 1984 album Brilliant Trees, including “The Ink in the Well”. The album also featured musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jon Hassell and Holger Czukay.

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THE INK IN THE WELL FEATURES THOMPSON'S DOUBLE BASS

On “The Ink in the Well”, Thompson's double bass sits alongside Sylvian's vocals and synthesizers, Phil Palmer's guitar, Kenny Wheeler's flugelhorn and Steve Jansen's drums. The track was included on Brilliant Trees in 1984.

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THOMPSON RETURNED FOR SECRETS OF THE BEEHIVE

Thompson also played on David Sylvian's 1987 album Secrets of the Beehive. He is credited with double bass on several tracks, including “The Boy With The Gun”, “On The Waterfront” and “When Poets Dreamed Of Angels”.

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SYLVIAN GAVE THOMPSON FREEDOM IN THE STUDIO

Thompson later recalled that David Sylvian gave him “free rein” during the recording of The Ink in the Well. He said he took a few liberties with the bass part and initially wondered whether some of what he had played was too much, but Sylvian and the others liked it.

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THE ENGINEER CHANGED HOW THOMPSON'S BASS WAS RECORDED

Engineer Peter Williams recalled that Thompson's double bass initially wasn't working acoustically in the main room at JAM Studios during the Brilliant Trees sessions. He moved Thompson into an adjoining room, finding a way to retain the instrument's closeness while giving it enough space in the recording.

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DANNY THOMPSON PLAYED ON HOUNDS OF LOVE

Danny Thompson played double bass on “Watching You Without Me” from Kate Bush's 1985 album Hounds of Love. His playing was part of a remarkably varied instrumental palette that also included Fairlight synthesizer, bouzouki, bodhrán, guitar and percussion.

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KATE BUSH REMEMBERED THOMPSON'S BASS AS VICTORIA

After Danny Thompson died in 2025, Kate Bush recalled that you never simply worked with Danny — you also worked with his double bass, which he called Victoria. She described the two as being “joined at the hip” and together as fascinating storytellers.

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THOMPSON'S PLAYING ON HOUNDS OF LOVE WAS DISCOVERED BY OTHER BASSISTS

Bassist Jon Thorne has said that the first time he heard Danny Thompson's playing was on Hounds of Love, specifically “Watching You Without Me”. He said he had never heard the double bass played like that before.

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THOMPSON ALSO PLAYED ON KATE BUSH'S THE DREAMING

Danny Thompson's double bass appears on Kate Bush's 1982 album The Dreaming. His work on Bush's records was part of a session career that placed his acoustic bass alongside some very modern electronic sounds.

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THOMPSON'S BASS CONNECTED KATE BUSH TO DAVID SYLVIAN

Danny Thompson played on both Kate Bush's Hounds of Love and David Sylvian's Brilliant Trees. On Sylvian's album he played double bass on “The Ink in the Well”, while on Bush's Hounds of Love he played on “Watching You Without Me”.

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DANNY THOMPSON AND JOHN MARTYN BECAME A MUSICAL PARTNERSHIP

Danny Thompson and John Martyn developed an unusually close musical partnership in the early 1970s. Thompson later described their relationship as being like having the younger brother he never had, while Martyn said he would always use Thompson because he had a real feel for his music.

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THOMPSON FIRST PLAYED WITH MARTYN ON THE ROAD TO RUIN

Danny Thompson first appeared on a John Martyn album on The Road to Ruin, released in 1970. The album's official credits identify Thompson on bass, marking the beginning of a partnership that would continue through much of Martyn's career.

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THOMPSON RETURNED FOR SOLID AIR AFTER JOHN WOOD FELL DOWN THE STAIRS

Danny Thompson was not originally booked for the main sessions for John Martyn's Solid Air. Producer John Wood had chosen another bass player, but after Wood injured his ankle falling down the studio staircase, the sessions had to be rescheduled. The original bass player was unavailable, so Thompson was brought back.

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SOLID AIR WAS RECORDED ALMOST ENTIRELY LIVE

John Martyn's Solid Air was recorded with the musicians playing together live and very few overdubs. Danny Thompson later recalled that “Solid Air” was recorded from the top, with no dropping in, and that the musicians were given complete freedom to play.

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JOHN MARTYN'S GUITAR TUNINGS MADE THOMPSON'S JOB HARDER

John Martyn often played his guitar in unusual tunings, meaning Danny Thompson and the other musicians had to transpose the music into their normal concert tunings. Producer John Wood specifically recalled that Thompson had to work out the shapes of Martyn's songs in a different key.

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THOMPSON CALLED SOLID AIR ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE RECORDINGS

Danny Thompson later said that if John Martyn had been the only person he had ever made music with, it would have satisfied all his musical ambition. He described the freedom he had on “Solid Air” as one of the reasons the recording meant so much to him.

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MARTYN AND THOMPSON ALSO DEVELOPED A FAMOUS LIVE PARTNERSHIP

The relationship that began in the studio became a major part of John Martyn's live performances. John Martyn's official archive describes the pair as inseparable on stage, with an almost telepathic understanding, and says their partnership produced legendary live performances.

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DANNY THOMPSON BECAME A FIRST-CALL SESSION PLAYER

After Pentangle broke up in 1972, Danny Thompson became increasingly in demand as a session musician. He had already worked with artists including Donovan, Cliff Richard and Rod Stewart, but his reputation meant he could move easily between folk, jazz, rock and pop sessions.

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THOMPSON PLAYED ON CLIFF RICHARD'S CONGRATULATIONS

Danny Thompson played double bass on Cliff Richard's “Congratulations”, the song that represented Britain in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest. Thompson later recalled it as one of the many very different jobs he took on as a session musician.

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HE ALSO PLAYED ON THE ORIGINAL RECORDING OF CAVATINA

Danny Thompson played on John Williams's recording of “Cavatina”, the guitar piece later made famous by The Deer Hunter. Thompson remembered the session as another example of the remarkably varied work he was taking on outside his own bands.

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THOMPSON EVEN WORKED ON THUNDERBIRDS

Danny Thompson's session work wasn't restricted to pop records. He played on Barry Gray's incidental music for the television series Thunderbirds, adding double bass to the music behind the futuristic adventures of International Rescue.

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HE PLAYED WITH TIM BUCKLEY IN LONDON

In October 1968, Danny Thompson played double bass behind Tim Buckley at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. The concert was recorded with Buckley, guitarist Lee Underwood and vibraphonist David Friedman, although the complete performance was not released until 1990 as Dream Letter: Live in London 1968.

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THOMPSON TURNED UP ON DONOVAN'S ESSENCE TO ESSENCE

Danny Thompson played bass on “There Is An Ocean” from Donovan's 1973 album Essence to Essence. The album also featured musicians including Peter Frampton, Nicky Hopkins and Jim Gordon, showing just how far Thompson's session work could take him from the folk scene.

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HE WAS STILL A SESSION PLAYER DECADES LATER

Thompson's session career didn't disappear when the 1960s and 1970s ended. In the 1980s and 1990s he worked with artists including Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Talk Talk and Everything But The Girl, bringing the same distinctive double-bass sound to very different kinds of music.

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HIS DOUBLE BASS BECAME PART OF EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL'S SOUND

Danny Thompson played double bass on Everything But The Girl's 1994 album Amplified Heart. He was part of a striking acoustic line-up that also included drummer Dave Mattacks, while Richard Thompson contributed guitar to “25 December”.

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DANNY THOMPSON AND NICK DRAKE HAD AN UNUSUALLY EASY MUSICAL CONNECTION

Joe Boyd remembered that Danny Thompson and Nick Drake seemed to click immediately in the studio. Thompson would joke with Drake, pat him on the back and speak to him in Cockney rhyming slang, and Boyd said Nick loved it. He recalled that Nick was always in a good mood when he was with Danny.

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THOMPSON WAS HIRED AS A SESSION PLAYER FOR NICK DRAKE

Joe Boyd brought Danny Thompson into the sessions for Five Leaves Left as a session musician. Thompson was already an established double bassist through his work in jazz and folk, while Drake was still making his first album.

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THOMPSON PLAYED ON FIVE OF FIVE LEAVES LEFT'S TEN TRACKS

Danny Thompson played double bass on “Time Has Told Me”, “Three Hours”, “’Cello Song”, “Man in a Shed” and “Saturday Sun”. His bass parts were overdubbed after Nick had recorded his guitar and vocal parts.

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JOE BOYD SAID THOMPSON LISTENED CLOSELY TO DRAKE

Boyd later described Thompson as being particularly responsive to Drake's playing. He said Danny was listening closely to Nick and that their instruments seemed to fit together naturally, giving the performances the feeling of two musicians playing as equals.

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DRAKE AND THOMPSON ALSO APPEARED TOGETHER WITHOUT THE FULL BAND

Some of the recently released Five Leaves Left session material reveals the intimacy of Drake and Thompson's playing particularly clearly. Their interaction can be heard without the fuller arrangements that surrounded the finished album performances.

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DANNY THOMPSON REMEMBERED NICK AS A VERY QUIET PERSON

Thompson later recalled that he and Nick saw each other quite a lot because they shared a management company and record label. He remembered Drake as very shy and said that their conversations were mostly “nods and smiles” rather than long conversations.

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DANNY THOMPSON COULD MOVE BETWEEN GENRES WITHOUT CHANGING HIS SOUND

Danny Thompson worked with musicians from jazz, folk, rock, pop and blues, but he retained a recognisable sound throughout. Richard Thompson once said that he could put on a Donovan or Incredible String Band record and immediately hear Danny, describing him as unique and extraordinarily versatile.

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THOMPSON SAID HE NEVER WORRIED ABOUT WHAT KIND OF MUSIC HE WAS PLAYING

Danny Thompson said he never refused to play with someone simply because they were working in a different kind of music. He had been criticised by jazz musicians in the 1960s for playing folk, but his attitude was simple: if he liked the music, he wanted to play it.

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HE COULD PLAY THREE SESSIONS IN A DAY

Thompson became known for taking whatever work came his way, and his session career could involve three recording sessions in a single day. His work ranged from major recording artists to television music and some decidedly unexpected jobs.

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THUNDERBIRDS WAS ONE OF HIS EARLIEST UNUSUAL SESSION JOBS

Danny Thompson played on the music for Thunderbirds in the 1960s. He later recalled recording with Barry Gray in a small front room at Gray's house in Edgware, where Gray had a basic recording setup for making the music.

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HE PLAYED WITH TIM BUCKLEY WITHOUT BUCKLEY'S USUAL BASSIST

When Tim Buckley came to London in 1968, Danny Thompson was hired to play double bass for him. Thompson replaced Buckley's regular American bassist for the Queen Elizabeth Hall concert, which was later released as Dream Letter: Live in London 1968.

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THOMPSON'S BASS PLAYING WAS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY HIS JAZZ BACKGROUND

Although he became one of the defining bass players of British folk, Thompson came from jazz. He played with musicians including Alexis Korner, Tubby Hayes and visiting American jazz artists, and he carried that freedom and improvisational approach into his work with folk musicians.

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HE TURNED HIS OWN MUSICAL STYLE INTO A SOLO ALBUM

In 1987 Danny Thompson finally made a record of his own. He had wanted to combine the jazz and folk influences that had run through his career, and the resulting album Whatever became a showcase for his melodic approach to the double bass rather than simply a collection of bass features.

THOMPSON BECAME A DUO PARTNER OF RICHARD THOMPSON

Danny Thompson and Richard Thompson developed a close musical partnership in the 1990s, despite not being related. They toured together in both duo and band formats, including extensive tours of the USA, Australia, Japan and Europe.

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HE WORKED WITH PETER GABRIEL AT REAL WORLD

Danny Thompson appeared on Peter Gabriel's album Up and also contributed to Real World Records projects by the Blind Boys of Alabama and S. E. Rogie. A 1994 photograph of Thompson at Real World Studios survives in the label's archive.

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THOMPSON DIDN'T SEE HIMSELF AS JUST A FOLK BASS PLAYER

Thompson's career eventually stretched from Pentangle and Nick Drake to Kate Bush, Talk Talk, David Sylvian, Peter Gabriel and Everything But The Girl. What connected the work was less a particular genre than his distinctive approach to the double bass.

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DANNY THOMPSON WAS PART OF THE RONNIE SCOTT'S HOUSE BAND

Danny Thompson spent years playing in the house band at Ronnie Scott's, working alongside some of the leading British jazz musicians of the period. His jazz background remained at the heart of his playing even after he became better known through folk and Pentangle.

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THOMPSON PLAYED WITH JOHN McLAUGHLIN BEFORE PENTANGLE

Before Pentangle, Danny Thompson led a jazz trio with guitarist John McLaughlin and saxophonist Tony Roberts. The trio even recorded an album, The Danny Thompson Trio, in 1967, shortly before Thompson committed himself to Pentangle.

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HE PLAYED ON MARIANNE FAITHFULL RECORDINGS

Danny Thompson's session work extended into pop and rock, including recordings with Marianne Faithfull. He later remembered that his session career could involve completely different kinds of music from one job to the next.

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HE PLAYED ON ROD STEWART RECORDINGS

Rod Stewart was another very different artist to use Danny Thompson as a session musician. Thompson's double bass appeared alongside the electric instruments and rock rhythm sections that dominated much of Stewart's work.

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THOMPSON PLAYED ON THE THE'S MIND BOMB

In 1989 Danny Thompson appeared on The The's album Mind Bomb, playing double bass on “August and September”. It was another unlikely chapter in a career that could move from traditional folk to contemporary alternative music without him sounding out of place.

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HE PLAYED BASS ON SHELLEYAN ORPHAN'S HELLEBORINE

Danny Thompson played double bass on Shelleyan Orphan's debut album Helleborine, released in 1987. The connection came through Rough Trade, whose Geoff Travis was a fan of Nick Drake and supported the group by bringing in musicians including Thompson.

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THOMPSON PLAYED ON MUSIC INSPIRED BY SOUTH AMERICA

In 1987 Danny Thompson recorded with the British-based group Incantation, whose music incorporated South American influences. He played on two tracks on their album The Meeting, showing another side of his ability to adapt his double bass to unfamiliar musical traditions.

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HE PLAYED WITH TOUMANI DIABATÉ

Danny Thompson became part of Songhai, the group that brought together the Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté with Spanish flamenco musicians. Their first album, Songhai, was released in 1988 and combined West African and flamenco traditions with Thompson's bass.

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THOMPSON DIDN'T MAKE HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM UNTIL 1987

Despite having been a professional musician for decades, Danny Thompson did not release his first album under his own name until 1987. Whatever brought together the jazz and folk sides of his playing and featured Tony Roberts and guitarist Bernie Holland.

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HE WAS NERVOUS PLAYING WITH HIS OWN BAND

Thompson admitted that he was extremely nervous before performances by his own group Whatever. He said the stakes felt higher when people had paid to see him rather than someone else's band, because he didn't want to let them down.

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THOMPSON BECAME PART OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS

From the 1990s onwards, Danny Thompson was a regular member of the house band for the BBC and RTÉ series Transatlantic Sessions. He appeared across five of the first six series between 1995 and 2013, playing alongside leading Scottish, Irish and American folk musicians.

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HE KEPT PLAYING INTO HIS EIGHTIES

Danny Thompson's career never really stopped. He continued recording and performing into his eighties, working with musicians from several generations and remaining particularly active in folk, jazz and acoustic music.

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DANNY THOMPSON DIDN'T MAKE HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM UNTIL 1987

Despite having been a professional musician for more than two decades, Danny Thompson did not make his first album under his own name until 1987. Whatever was recorded at Magritte Studios and brought together the folk and jazz sides of his playing.

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WHATEVER WAS REALLY A BAND RECORD

Although Whatever was released as a Danny Thompson album, he made it with musicians who became closely associated with his own group. Tony Roberts played saxophones, flutes, clarinet and Northumbrian pipes, while Bernie Holland played guitar and B-H tone harp.

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THOMPSON WROTE MOST OF THE MUSIC ON WHATEVER

Most of the pieces on Whatever were written by Danny Thompson, Tony Roberts and Bernie Holland. The album also included traditional material, including “Lovely Joan” and “Swedish Dance”.

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LAMENT FOR ALEX WAS WRITTEN FOR ALEX CAMPBELL

One of the most personal pieces on Whatever is “Lament for Alex”, written for the Scottish folk singer Alex Campbell. Thompson had known Campbell from the folk scene and the piece became one of the album's most striking compositions.

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WHATEVER SHOWED HOW MUCH JAZZ WAS STILL INSIDE HIS PLAYING

Whatever wasn't simply a folk record with double bass at the centre. Thompson's playing, Tony Roberts's reeds and Bernie Holland's guitar allowed the music to move between folk melodies, jazz improvisation and contemporary composition without settling comfortably into one category.

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WHATEVER NEXT PUSHED THE MUSIC FURTHER

Thompson followed Whatever with Whatever Next in 1989. The album again mixed folk and jazz, but this time featured the adventurous saxophonist Paul Dunmall alongside Tony Roberts and Bernie Holland.

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DARGAI SHOWS WHAT MADE WHATEVER NEXT SO UNUSUAL

Whatever Next opens with “Dargai”, a traditional piece associated with the Scottish folk repertoire. The arrangement begins with a strongly traditional character before moving into a more modern jazz setting and then returning to the original feel.

ELEMENTAL TURNED WHATEVER INTO A LARGER ENSEMBLE

For Elemental in 1990, Thompson expanded the Whatever concept into a larger ensemble. The record continued his mixture of folk and jazz but gave the musicians more room to explore the possibilities around his double bass.

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THOMPSON RETURNED TO THE WHATEVER CIRCLE FOR WHATEVER'S BEST

Whatever's Best, released in the mid-1990s, brought together musicians from Thompson's Whatever circle again, including Tony Roberts and Paul Dunmall, alongside guitarist John Etheridge, pianist Stan Tracey and saxophonist Alan Skidmore.

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HIS SOLO RECORDS WERE NEVER REALLY BASS SHOWCASES

Thompson's solo records are unusual because he rarely treated the double bass as a vehicle for showing off. The instrument is the foundation of the music, but the emphasis is on melody, interaction and improvisation rather than virtuoso display.

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DANNY THOMPSON FORMED A JAZZ TRIO WITH JOHN McLAUGHLIN

In 1967, Danny Thompson formed a jazz trio with guitarist John McLaughlin and saxophonist Tony Roberts. It existed only briefly, but the surviving recordings give a glimpse of Thompson working in a modern jazz setting just before Pentangle took off.

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JOHN McLAUGHLIN WAS STILL YEARS AWAY FROM MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA

When Thompson, McLaughlin and Roberts recorded together in 1967, McLaughlin was still a relatively young British jazz guitarist. His later career would take him to Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but these recordings capture him before that transformation.

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THE TRIO RECORDED A BBC SESSION IN NOVEMBER 1967

The Danny Thompson Trio recorded a BBC session in November 1967 with Thompson on bass, John McLaughlin on guitar and Tony Roberts on tenor saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. The recordings were later issued as Live 1967.

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THE TRIO PLAYED MILES DAVIS AND JOHN COLTRANE

The surviving 1967 performances included modern jazz material associated with musicians such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, alongside pieces by Charlie Parker, Dave Brubeck and Charles Lloyd. Thompson was therefore working firmly within the jazz tradition rather than simply accompanying folk musicians.

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LIVE 1967 WASN'T RELEASED UNTIL 1999

The recordings made by the trio remained unheard commercially for decades. Live 1967 was finally released in 1999, more than thirty years after the performances, revealing a side of Danny Thompson that had largely disappeared from view behind his later work with Pentangle.

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THE RECORDINGS WERE REPORTEDLY FOUND IN THOMPSON'S ATTIC

The tapes eventually issued as Live 1967 were reportedly discovered in Danny Thompson's attic. Their survival is remarkable because the trio itself was short-lived and the performances had never originally been issued as a commercial recording.

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THE TRIO EXISTED ALONGSIDE THOMPSON'S WORK WITH PENTANGLE

The Danny Thompson Trio was not a replacement for Pentangle. Thompson was developing both projects at the same time in 1967, before choosing to concentrate on Pentangle as its commercial possibilities became clearer.

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THE TRIO SHOWS HOW DEEPLY THOMPSON'S JAZZ ROOTS RAN

It is easy to think of Danny Thompson primarily as a folk bassist because of Pentangle, but the 1967 trio shows that jazz remained a central part of his musical identity. He was playing sophisticated modern jazz with McLaughlin at exactly the moment his folk career was beginning to take off.

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