Teddy Thompson: First's Exclusive Interview

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!"

Apart from releasing a new album, doing a solo tour, supporting Martha Wainwright and recording with her brother Rufus, Teddy also gave his mum a helping hand on her first album in seventeen years, aptly entitled, Fashionably Late.

So does he enjoy sharing the musical experience with mother and father Thompson? "Yeah, my parents are from the old folky tradition where everybody gets together and plays together, its something that you embrace. I love it and I'm lucky to have such talented family members to call upon."

Do they ever try the old 'You don't want to do it like that. You want to do it like this' routine on their son? No, he says, there not that type of interfering parents. "Their very good in that sense. They've always been encouraging and never pushy in anyway."

And it seems Teddy might not be the only Thompson sibling to pick up the guitar. His little sister, Kami is currently on tour in New Zealand with Will Oldham. We might yet see another Thompson nipping at his heels, or even collaboration one day?

On Separate Ways there are more than a few guest appearances from Teddy's many famous friends, including his mum, dad, Fiona Apple and David Bowies once drummer and Martha and Rufus Wainwright. So does Teddy think it helps to have friends in high places? "My parents are respected, rather than well-known or famous. I'm very proud of them and their heritage so it's always been a good thing for me."

Teddy's new single 'Everybody Move It' feat Martha Wainwright, is definitely one of the more uplifting tracks on the album that has been called 'Exquisite' by Uncut and 'Remarkable' by the Guardian, but one of the songs that instantly grabs you from the first bar is 'I Should Get Up,' a tune that defines the experience most of us feel on those dreaded Monday mornings.

So where does Teddy get his influences from? Is it the everyday world, or something that runs deeper inside himself? "All my songs are written from the first person," he says. "I don't know how to write in the third person, like Jack and Jill went down the hill. It's usually me,me,me, I, I, I! It's a bit boring really but I don't know any other way to do it."

Teddy also added another string to his bow when two of his songs featured in the ground breaking, Oscar grabbing, gay cowboying, Brokeback Mountain. One is called 'I Don't Want To Say Goodbye' and the other, Rodger Miller's 'King Of The Road….' Features the vocal talents of Rufus Wainwright.

So how did that come about? "The record label was putting out the film soundtrack so they asked me if I wanted to contribute to it. It was a great experience, especially the song I did with Rufus. It's nice to do a little side project, something a bit different and off the cuff."

Is he surprised that in a country run by a redneck Texan (my words, not his) a film about gay cowboys gained so much praise and media attention, including being nominated for eight of those little golden status? "Surprised is not the word, I' m shocked," he says, "It's a really good movie but when I saw it months ago, I didn't think anybody would go and see it."

And even though he's a small part of cinematic history, Teddy didn't even get invited to the ceremony. He reckons his invite must have gotten lost in the post, or something.

Along with the new album, the transatlantic hopping and the collaborations, Teddy still managed to squeeze in a tour of the UK recently, which he thoroughly enjoyed. "It's been brilliant. England's a better country than it was when I left. I think I have a different perspective because I grew up here and then moved away. I've been spending a lot of time here recently and I love being back."

The shows he says, went really well. So much so he's back in April to do some more.

Separate Ways is out now on Verve Forecast Teddy's new single 'Everybody Move It' feat Martha Wainwright is released on the 27th Feb

Words and interview by Sarah Williams, Femalefirst

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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