Teddy Thompson: First's Exclusive Interview - page 2

22-02-2006 21:54

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