So here he was, onstage for the first time in Bonn. Richard Thompson. Described by comedian/musician Billy Connolly affectionately as “The Man who kicked British Folk Music’s A*s!”, and the man listed #19 in a ‘Rolling Stone’ poll for ‘Greatest Guitarist of all Time’. But if you visited Bonn Harmonie on Wednesday expecting something musically akin to ‘Johnny Rotten meets Jimi Hendrix’ then you would have been disappointed. These descriptions came based on Thompsons duels in the early ‘70’s when he was duking it out with Dave Swarbrick’s lightning-speed fiddle solos. Tonight’s show had not a Stratocaster or fiddle in sight. It relied purely on an acoustic guitar, and a songbook spanning sixty years. And it was spellbinding…
Thompson had promised before the show a deep dive into his six decades of music and he didn’t disappoint. Fairport Convention’s ‘Genesis Hall’ from 1969, ‘Hokey Pokey’ from 1974, ‘Wall of Death’ from 1982, ‘If Love Whispers your Name’ from 2020’s ‘Dream Attic’. He even jokes about the various decades, asking the audience which one was their favourite. They added up to a potent mix of Thompson classics and lesser known gems throughout the set, never quite knowing what would come next. In fact when I asked about the set-list shortly before the start I was told apologetically that “sorry, I think he’s still writing it”
It was of course no surprise that the concert was sold-out. Some surprise though was that the area in front of stage was entirely seated. This is not something I recall before from any previous visits outside of the Covid days at Harmonie. This meant that there was in effect two distinct audiences – one seated in front and one at the side by the bar standing. Thompson even joked that he would play the second half pointing himself at the latter section. The reduced capacity must have affected ticket sales so it’s kudos to the Man as he expressly wanted a seated audience. For Richard Thompson, it wasn’t about profit margins but about everyone being able to see and hear (although, and I include myself here, truth to tell RT’s audience isn’t getting any younger)
As this was a purely acoustic evening supported by wife Zara on vocals, that ‘Greatest Guitar Player’ ranking had to make itself evident in more subtle ways during the evening. It did so most clearly during the first of the two sets, where Thompson took the stage alone with just his Lowden acoustic. When we spoke before the show he told me how a simple change in tuning can bring about a fuller, more orchestral, sound. He wasn’t kidding either. You could hear a non-existent bass and even drums at times thanks to the dropped tunings and judicious slaps on the guitar’s soundboard. After 60+ years it all seemed so effortless, but that rhythm/lead sound was mesmerising.
A surprising starter was ‘Gesthemene’ from 2003’s ‘Old Kit Bag’. Or maybe not so surprising? A song of disenchantment and War, named after the Garden where Christ was betrayed seems somewhat relevant in 2025’s war-troubled times. It was also an instant reminder of why Thompson has been labelled as the English Bob Dylan in his time. Having 1969’s ‘Genesis Hall’ second on the set had me wondering if we were in for a chronological journey through that huge back-catalogue, but the first set turned out to be wonderfully eclectic in time and content. The up-tempo bluster of ‘Valerie’ through the meditative ‘ghost of you walks’. There was the impossible to accurately date classic ghost story ‘She Walks Through The Fair’ and even the chance for a spirited sing-song where ‘Johnny’s Far Away’ had everyone happily singing “Johnny’s far away from the rolling, rolling, Johnny’s far away from the rolling sea!”
Everyone will have related to Richard’s tale of leaving a concert after the last bus has gone, and subsequently ‘Walking the long miles home’ even if most of us weren’t lucky, as Richard was, to have been doing it after seeing The Who or Eric Clapton (with the Yardbirds) play a blinder at London’s iconic Marquee Club. Taking us up to the break was ‘1952 Vincent Black Lightning’ A love story of sorts about a Man’s love for his Motorbike –of which the said Vincent model, as Richard pointed out, reached the highest-price paid at auction for a motorcycle of $929,000 back in 2018. Seeing Richard’s fingers flying to this tune I can understand why this came before a break. Breathtaking stuff.
When Richard returned to the stage for the second half his first duty was to introduce his wife Zara as an additional vocalist. He clearly has a good ear for wives with mesmerizing vocals. Zara being no stranger to big musical stages, having been backing vocalist for the likes of Bob Geldof, David Essex and Nick Kamen. Whilst her vocals add colour to the songs they are always vocals shared. The unique voices of Linda Thompson and Sandy Denny would of course be hard acts to follow. I loved particularly the harmonies on ‘Withered & Died’ this evening.
The duo got started with 1974’s ‘Hokey Pokey’ Richard’s tribute to Italian ice-cream vendors in his childhood London. Very possibly with double-entendres later on in the verses. I’m reminded of a similarly ‘innocent’ song by Chris Barber. Proof that Thompson still has a deft hand for lyrics comes intwo songs from 2024’s ‘Ship to Shore’: ‘Singapore Sadie’ and ‘The Old Pack Mule’ the latter is not for animal lovers I should warn:
“The old pack mule, he’s breathed his dying breath
Poor old mule, they worked his arse to death
His body’s still warm though his soul’s gone up above
So sharpen up your knives, boys, how shall we carve him up?”
The twin vocals work especially effectively on lower tempo ballads ‘I Dreamed’, ‘If Love Whispers Your Name’ and particularly on ‘Withered & Died’, but the tempo is kept varied with the likes of ‘She Twists The Knife Again’ and ‘Wall of Death’.
With most bands and singers you can have a fair idea of what will come in the Encore. With Richard Thompson it’s a little trickier. Richard admitted in an interview before the show that there are songs it’s hard to leave out. Songs that he owes it to his long-term fans in the audience to play. One of these is of course ‘Dimming of the Day’ from 1975’s ‘Pour Down Like Silver’ with Linda Thompson. It occurs to me writing this review that the Linda Thompson period features heavily in the set, so, following the surprise inclusion of ‘2021’s Tinker’s Rhapsody’ it’s less of a surprise to go out with the sublime ‘I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight’.
I know that Richard was hoping to visit Beethoven’s birthplace whilst in Bonn. I’m sort of hoping he didn’t make it so that he has a reason for coming back here. If you’ve never heard of Richard there are around thirty studio albums and almost as many live ones to check his immense talent out on. Go to it!
