Teddy Thompson: First's Exclusive Interview

22-02-2006 21:54

He may be the son of British-folk legends Richard and Linda Thompson and have some classy mates in the form of Rufus and Martha Wainwright but on a cold Thursday morning Female First's Sarah Williams, finds out just how the jet-lagged Teddy Thompson (just back from Seattle, where he went, just for the coffee) is making a musical mark all of his own.

With having such famous and respected parents was it a naturally accepted thing in the Thompson household that their son would follow in his folks well worn footsteps? "It wasn't obvious in my family," he says. "But it was definitely accepted.

Growing up I was more or less left to my own devices. They (his parents) didn't push me either way, but they were very encouraging once I decided I was going to do it."

So their crazy on-the-road lifestyle did nothing to put their son off the fame trail and try brain surgery or something else instead? Laughing, Teddy says no, not at all. "You'd think it would, but I obviously wasn't paying attention. My parents divorced when I was quite young and I was living with my mum. She'd stopped doing music for a while and stayed at home so I didn't really see that much of it. There was nothing that really put me off." Instead, as he puts it, he fell "Right into the trap."

At what age did the young Thompson decide to take this music thing seriously? "I had aspirations from my early teenage years but I kept them quiet. I wasn't a really outlandish confident person who was like 'I'm going to be a great musician' so I kept it to myself and worked on my own stuff. I didn't think it was going to happen until it did. It's such a weird business that it's hard to bank on anything."

At 18 Teddy went on holiday to LA where his father Richard Thompson lived 'forgot to come back.' At first he filled his time with menial jobs until the music eventually took hold and resulted in the release of his debut self titled album when he was 23. Luckily for him he says, he didn't have to spend too many years pushing paper in badly air conditioned offices slogging it out, while the Californian sunshine burned outside.

He then moved to NYC, because LA quite frankly, was a bit of a weirdo place. "It's a strange environment," he tells me and after struggling for a few seconds, trying to find the right words to explain the weirdness of La la land and the effect it can have, Teddy gives up saying, "It fucks you up! If you grow up there and that's all you know, that's fine, but it affected me in a very strange way."

Thankfully then he escaped when he did. The move also saw Teddy being dropped by Virgin Records, the label who released his well received debut. Now that he's back in business with a new label and his countrified glorious second album 'Separate Ways', how does he think he's grown personally and musically during this time?

In musical terms Teddy says, "I'm much better equipped. I'm more confident and happy because I feel like this time it's much more on my terms. I made this record by myself and then looked for a label. Creatively I'd already done what I wanted to do, without anybody messing with me." But personally, like most 29-year-olds he tells me, he's still a bit of a wreck.

That may be the case but since the release of the melodic Separate Ways, the critics have had other ideas. How does he feel with all the attention he's been receiving across the globe? "It's really pleasing. I've spent a long time working on the album so when you've been locked away and had nobody paying attention to what you're doing it's nice when people hear the music and really like it. It's especially nice for me to be well received in England. I moved away from here a long time ago, but it's still my home and it's nice to come back and have people like what you're doing."

Teddy is somewhat of a globe trotter having lived in London, New York and LA. So which place gets him the most creatively fired up? "New York is a great vibrant place to live so I'd have to pop for that at the moment. That's where I'm living and do most of my work. As the saying goes, it's the city that never sleeps. There's always something going on which could be a good or a bad thing, but I like it."

Would he ever consider moving back to Old Blightey? "I love it here. If I had my way I'd have a place here too. Be an international playa!"

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