Richard Thompson: Solitary Life

The enigmatic and critically acclaimed British folk rock singer is explored in this profile. Contributors to the programme include Billy Connolly, Bonnie Raitt, ex-wife Linda Thompson, Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls) and Richard's wife Nancy Covey. As Thompson, hailed as one of Britain's finest songwriters, releases his first album in four years and tours the UK, this documentary films him at home in both London and Los Angeles - the first time such intimate access has been granted. Billy Connolly observes: "He's a quiet guy, he's almost an anorak our Richard, you wouldn't think he's the guy with the guitar shaking the town!" In the 1960s, while still a teenager, Thompson wrote generation defining songs like Meet on the Ledge. As founder member of Fairport Convention, as a duo, with then wife Linda and more recently as a solo artist, Thompson's unique mix of rock and traditional music has been massively influential. Ironically, he is now more popular in America than in the UK. When Fairport Convention were at the height of their success a motorway accident killed their engineer, drummer and Richard's girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn. The music they subsequently created was stark, adapting traditional songs for a young electric band and spearheading Folk Rock. Richard and Linda Thompson became Sufi Muslims in 1975 and spent three years building a religious community in England. Returning to mainstream music in 1978 the couple's musical partnership ended with the release of Shoot out the Lights in 1982. Their divorce coincided with a final US tour and this documentary contains footage recorded from this time which has never been seen on television before. Since then Richard's solo career has burgeoned, especially in America, with such songs like Vincent Black Lightening 1952 celebrating a classic British motorbike. The programme features powerful performances of songs such as The End of the Rainbow, A Heart Needs a Home, Solitary Life and Kidzz.