In honor of the mighty Richard Thompson playing the Philadelphia Folk Festival this weekend, we got the man on the horn to talk about Fairport Convention, reuniting onstage with his ex-wife/partner Linda Thompson, his new album and why he won’t be playing “Calvary Cross” at the Folk Fest. Look for it this week. Here’s a taste…
PHAWKER: And you mentioned your ex-wife slash musical partner Linda Thompson.
RICHARD THOMPSON: Yep.
PHAWKER: You had recently performed together for the first time in 30 years; can you tell me a little bit about that experience and how it came about in the first place?
RICHARD THOMPSON: Yeah, it came about because we were both performing on a tribute show to Kate McGarrigle, who died this year, and there were many many artists on the bill, and there was a song that Linda was singing on her own, so it started because she needed a guitar accompaniment and I was happy to do that. So, I mean, I could see it as “this is a big reunion,” and it really couldn’t go anywhere else. It was a one night thing and I was sort of the designated guitar player, and it was fine and the audience seemed to like it.