Judy Collins e Richard Thompson

Inspired by artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and more generally the folk resurgence of the early 1960s, Judy Collins hit stardom in 1967 after her cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides, Now’, released on her album ‘Wildflowers’, gained international recognition. Not only did the single peak at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, but Collins also won her first Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance as a result. Judy then released singles such as ‘Someday Soon’ and ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ before the 1970 Christian hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ returned Collins back to the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100 - it peaked at no. 15 - and also charted at no. 10 on the Australian Singles Chart. During her career, the talented folk singer has released over 25 studio albums, along with numerous live and compilation albums, whilst also utilizing her vocal talents on different stages; in 1970, Collins featured on The Muppet Show, and sang ‘Leather-Winged Bat’, ‘Do Re Mi’, ‘I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly’ and ‘Send in the Clowns', whilst also starring on Sesame Street on numerous occasions.

Collins performed at prestigious settings such as the Wolftrap Farm amphitheater (Vienna USA) and the Capitol building (Washington USA), and also performed at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993. She is commended for her ethical motives, as a representative for UNICEF, and was also awarded a Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from Pratt Institute (2009). A multi-talented individual, Judy Collins is a highly respected member amongst the folk-music following and beyond.

Thompson formed his first band Emil and the Detectives while still attending secondary school, and like so many of his age took to listening-to and playing rock and roll. At the age of 18 now in the band Fairport Convention Thompson was spotted by producer Joe Boyd who invited the band to make a record, soon after Thompson developed a reputation as being a brilliant guitar player. The band released five studio albums including “What We Did on Our Holiday” (1968) and “Unhalfbricking” (1969).

After leaving the group, unsure as to what to do with himself, Thompson undertook a sizeable amount of session work, appearing on the albums of John Martyn, Al Stewart and Nick Drake. The musician also collaborated on the projects Morris On and The Bunch around the same time and made guest appearances on albums by Crowded House, Loudon Wainwright III and Bonnie Raitt.

Thompson’s debut album “Henry the Human Fly” was released in 1972 and was Warner Bros. Records’ worst selling album in history, after which the guitarist focused on work with wife Linda Peters. The duo went on to release a string of albums including “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” (1974) and after returning to the music industry after a hiatus with a Muslim community “Shoot Out the Lights” (1982).

In 1984 Thompson signed to major-label Polydor who released the albums “Across a Crowded Room” in 1985 and “Daring Adventure” in 1986, neither album performed significantly well in the charts and the musician was dropped shortly after. Thompson then went on the form a band called French Frith Kaiser Thompson, formed of John French, Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. The group signed to Capitol Records recorded and released the albums “Live, Love, Larf & Loaf” (1987), “Amnesia” (1988) “Invisible Means” (1990) and the commercial breakthrough album “Rumor and Sigh” (1991).

Due to his success and devoted following Thompson had free reign over his musical exploration, which allowed him to release a number of diverse studio albums in the 1990s and work on the soundtrack for the film “Sweet Talker”. The new millennium brought independent releases from Thompson; recorded in his garage studio were “The Old Kit Bag” (2003) and “Front Parlour Ballads” (2005).

Thompson’s next studio album “Sweet Warrior” arrived in 2007 which was followed by an album of live recordings called “Dream Attic” in 2010. Recorded at Buddy Miller’s home studio in Nashville, U.S. “Electric” was released in 2013 and highlighted the guitarist’s enviable musical talent.