Beeswing: Fairport, Folk Rock and Finding My Voice, 1967–75
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- Create Date：2021-03-29 00:11:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Richard Thompson
- ISBN：0571348165
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Summary
The memoir of international music icon Richard Thompson， co-founder of the legendary folk rock group Fairport Convention。
Guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson came of age during an extraordinary moment in British culture: it was 1967 and popular music was reflecting a great cultural awakening。 In the midst of this， eighteen-year-old Thompson co-founded Fairport Convention and helped invent a new genre of music。
Thompson packed more than a lifetime of experiences into his late teens and twenties。 From the pivotal years of 1967 to 1975， he matured into a major musician， survived a devasting car crash and departed Fairport Convention for a duo act with his wife， Linda， at the height of the band's popularity。 His discovery and ultimate embrace of Sufism profoundly reshaped his approach to everything in his life and， of course， the music he wrote thereafter。
In Beeswing， Thompson goes back to his childhood， recreates the spirit of the sixties and takes us inside life on the road in the UK and the US， crossing paths - and occasionally sharing the stage - with the likes of Led Zeppelin， Pink Floyd， Nick Drake， Jimi Hendrix and more。
An intimate memoir of musical discovery， personal history and social revelation， Beeswing - like Patti Smith's Just Kids or Marianne Faithfull's Faithfull - vividly captures the life of one of Britain's most significant artists during a heady period of creative intensity， in a world on the cusp of change。
Guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson came of age during an extraordinary moment in British culture: it was 1967 and popular music was reflecting a great cultural awakening。 In the midst of this， eighteen-year-old Thompson co-founded Fairport Convention and helped invent a new genre of music。
Thompson packed more than a lifetime of experiences into his late teens and twenties。 From the pivotal years of 1967 to 1975， he matured into a major musician， survived a devasting car crash and departed Fairport Convention for a duo act with his wife， Linda， at the height of the band's popularity。 His discovery and ultimate embrace of Sufism profoundly reshaped his approach to everything in his life and， of course， the music he wrote thereafter。
In Beeswing， Thompson goes back to his childhood， recreates the spirit of the sixties and takes us inside life on the road in the UK and the US， crossing paths - and occasionally sharing the stage - with the likes of Led Zeppelin， Pink Floyd， Nick Drake， Jimi Hendrix and more。
An intimate memoir of musical discovery， personal history and social revelation， Beeswing - like Patti Smith's Just Kids or Marianne Faithfull's Faithfull - vividly captures the life of one of Britain's most significant artists during a heady period of creative intensity， in a world on the cusp of change。
Reviews
Loring Wirbel
，
My lifelong love of Richard Thompson， combined with general curiosity about the scene surrounding Fairport Convention， Fotheringay， Steeleye Span， and similar neo-traditionalist bands in the U。K。， made it a virtual certainty I'd give Thompson's memoir four stars。 And his delightful turns of phrases， no surprise given his lyricism， made the rating easy to justify。 But there were times when Thompson made it challenging to award his book more than three stars。In the first place， the parameter of ye My lifelong love of Richard Thompson， combined with general curiosity about the scene surrounding Fairport Convention， Fotheringay， Steeleye Span， and similar neo-traditionalist bands in the U。K。， made it a virtual certainty I'd give Thompson's memoir four stars。 And his delightful turns of phrases， no surprise given his lyricism， made the rating easy to justify。 But there were times when Thompson made it challenging to award his book more than three stars。In the first place， the parameter of years listed on the cover didn't seem to make a lot of sense - why a hard stop in 1975？ In reality， we get a superficial study of Richard and Linda Thompson's move to a Sufi community in Sussex in 1976， some of their tribulations after leaving the order， and a whirlwind look at Thompson's divorce。 But he addresses the nearly 40 years as a single and solo musical artist following the divorce as an afterthought。 This 300-page book covers only the high-school through mid-1970s years with any depth。 Maybe Thompson already has his follow-on book planned， but I'd remind him that Barack Obama has kicked out three 500+-page memoirs that cover only his first term in office。 I may be a firm believer that one should only say what needs to be said， but in this case， Thompson is selective about what he says。I do not think this is because he wants to keep secrets， but because， having become a world-famous guitarist while still 17， he didn't give himself adequate time to develop a fully-examined life。 I wouldn't put special emphasis on the utility of Thompson attending university， only that he would have benefited from more time thinking about such things as his relationship to his parents and his possible misgivings about his professional relationship to Sandy Denny。 In looking at his turn to Sufism and his decision to make the hajj to Mecca， for example， Thompson talks about a lifelong love of spiritual pursuit and various ways of knowing， but doesn't really say why he found Sufism to be the most rewarding -- at least for a while。Music fans will find that Thompson is at his best in describing the turmoil of a working band， the difficulty of working in a studio， and how certain musical techniques led to collaborations with artists way outside the hippie-folk community。 Reviewers on Goodreads who say the touring passages sometimes feel more like a diary than a memoir have a legitimate point， though。 What we don't find a lot about is how the development of a British scene looked from the vantage point of an audience。 If we look to Elvis Costello's memoir， for example， he mentions how British audiences in the hippie era almost never stood up or danced during concerts， but instead sat and pondered。 Costello also gives his own reasons why the near-cult-status artist Nick Drake never developed a wider audience。 Thompson covers the same era and people， but never really talks about how the band might look from the audience vantage point。We learn something about the songwriting process， and how Thompson describes it as an intuitive effort that is not easy to dissect and analyze。 Fair enough。 HIs example of "Beeswing" as a song could stand in for "Wall of Death" and other classic Thompson numbers。 But once again， I think there are additional points of view he could explicitly state。In addition to not giving himself enough time in his late teen years to develop a critical examination of the self， it seems Thompson is too hung up in what constitutes authenticity in British traditionalism。 The thing I liked about Costello's memoir， and in David Byrne's How Music Works， is that both books take the point of view of "Screw it， it's all music， what we think is authenticity really doesn't matter。" Thompson's lamentation about the passing of certain types of folk-rock， and his disinterest in phases of glam， punk， etc。， shows that he hasn't really abandoned the quest for authenticity as largely useless。Because Thompson has continued to be on the forefront of pop and folk composition from 1982 to 2021， we really need to hear some more about these latter years （which are almost four times as long as the period examined）。 It is not just that Thompson has plenty to be proud of as a solo artist， it's that he needs to point with pride to his children with Linda， as well as to his son by Liz Gordon。 While he had a reconciliation with Jesse Gordon recently， giving his coming to terms a flavor of Joni Mitchell's， there's so much more that could be said。One element that saves this book as a real keeper is its appendix dealing with critical dreams Thompson has had。 In them， we get a sense of how his subconscious mind works。 If a little bit more had been brought forward into the writing of an autobiography， we might even have ended up with a five-star book。 Here's hoping there's more to come。 。。。more
Mark
，
Look for my review at All About Jazz。
Chris
，
It is difficult to say what one expects from a memoir by a musician。 As a casual fan of Thompson， I got a basic timeline of musical events in his life， and a little addition context to the world in which some of these recordings were created。 But beyond that I found little in regard to contemplation on a life lived or reflection on choices， musical and otherwise。 And the detail that was there becomes sparser and sparser as the chronology continues on。 I don't know if this book would be of any in It is difficult to say what one expects from a memoir by a musician。 As a casual fan of Thompson， I got a basic timeline of musical events in his life， and a little addition context to the world in which some of these recordings were created。 But beyond that I found little in regard to contemplation on a life lived or reflection on choices， musical and otherwise。 And the detail that was there becomes sparser and sparser as the chronology continues on。 I don't know if this book would be of any interest beyond readers who are already familiar with Thompson's music， and deep fans will not get much new out of it。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review。 。。。more
Ann
，
As a lover of many of Richard Thompson's songs over the years I was excited to see he'd written a book。Beeswing is a thorough account of his early years and influences as a young musician。 As a casual fan I was overwhelmed by all the names of people and bands and places and technical information and soon wore out looking them up。 But someone who is a devotee will be thrilled by the detail。 My only complaint is that in all this detail， I didn't get to know the person。 Occasionally， mention would As a lover of many of Richard Thompson's songs over the years I was excited to see he'd written a book。Beeswing is a thorough account of his early years and influences as a young musician。 As a casual fan I was overwhelmed by all the names of people and bands and places and technical information and soon wore out looking them up。 But someone who is a devotee will be thrilled by the detail。 My only complaint is that in all this detail， I didn't get to know the person。 Occasionally， mention would be made of a personality trait he had and wanted to change or a feeling he was experiencing，but overall this is a diary of events， not a memoir that let me see who he is。 Perhaps he didn't know who he was。 There is a theme of searching in the book。 Searching for meaning in his life， searching for the truth in his music。 A big change came for him when he found solace in Sufism which encourages inward searching and shuns materialism。 This makes perfect sense because in retrospect， all through the book， his work was always about the purity of the music， not finding fame and riches。 。。。more
Melanie
，
If you have ever been to one of Richard Thompson's concerts， you'll recognize his voice in this memoir - simultaneously witty， knowledgeable， self-deprecating， and generous。 What you'll miss is the music， traced from his earliest experiences through Fairport Convention and the beginnings of his solo career。 If ever a book needed a Spotify list to read by， this is it！ Familiar as I am with much of the music， I still longed to hear those early proto-Fairport collaborations， Sandy Denny's wild and If you have ever been to one of Richard Thompson's concerts， you'll recognize his voice in this memoir - simultaneously witty， knowledgeable， self-deprecating， and generous。 What you'll miss is the music， traced from his earliest experiences through Fairport Convention and the beginnings of his solo career。 If ever a book needed a Spotify list to read by， this is it！ Familiar as I am with much of the music， I still longed to hear those early proto-Fairport collaborations， Sandy Denny's wild and sweet soprano， Linda Thompson's simultaneously strong and fragile voice， and the sounds of Richard himself， having a blast as he travelled the world with musical buddies as wild and talented as he is。Thompson's wit glitters in this memoir。 My recommendation is to read it with your musical source of choice at hand， or， at least， a generous pad of paper to note every musical reference you want to follow up on。 At least， listen to the loveliest of his songs， "Beeswing，" in several of its incarnations。 You won't be sorry。Highly recommended。 Thank you， NetGalley， for the ARC to review。 。。。more
Jim Higgins
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