Richard Thompson's discography is extensive, numbering over 60 albums in his own name, as a member of Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...

 or as a participant in various collaborative projects. He also has significant involvement in various television and movie soundtracks and has a string of compilation and live albums sold via his web site, his fan club or at live shows.

Thompson's first recordings were as a member of Fairport Convention, in the years 1967 to 1970. After he left Fairport Convention in early 1971 he was involved in two projects with various friends and contemporaries - "Rock On" and "Morris On".

In 1972 Thompson released his first solo album "Henry the Human Fly

Henry the Human Fly

Henry the Human Fly was the first solo album by British singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson. It was originally released in Britain in April 1972 on the Island label and in the US on the Reprise label....

". Later that same year he married singer Linda Peters and they recorded and released three albums together before temporarily retiring from the music business.

Richard and Linda Thompson re-emerged in 1978 and released two albums on the Chrysalis label. When Chrysalis declined to renew the contract the Thompsons first made an album, never released, with Gerry Rafferty producing and providing finance. They then signed with Joe Boyd's

Joe Boyd

Joe Boyd is an American record producer and former owner of the Witchseason production company. Boyd was instrumental in launching the careers of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.-Career:...

 independent Hannibal label

Hannibal Records

Hannibal Records was a record label and one of the first to work with the World music genre.Hannibal was started by Joe Boyd in 1980. Boyd had produced records by artists such as Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention and released recordings by these artists as well as...

 and recorded "Shoot Out The Lights

Shoot Out the Lights

Shoot Out the Lights is the sixth and final album by British husband-and-wife folk rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson. It was produced by Joe Boyd and released in 1982 on his Hannibal label...

" which sold well in the USA and revived their career. However by the time this album was released their marriage had ended and their professional relationship ended after the tour to support the album.

In 1983 Thompson embarked on a solo career. He once again found himself contracted to major labels - first PolyGram

PolyGram

PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...

, then Capitol

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 - and moved his base to the USA. His 1986 album "Daring Adventures

Daring Adventures

Daring Adventures is an album by Richard Thompson, released in 1986.After sales of his 1985 release Across a Crowded Room had not met expectations, Thompson was under pressure from his record label to deliver with his next album....

" was the first album he made in America and using mostly American musicians. He has recorded his own albums in America ever since.

Thompson continued with Capitol throughout the '90s. His 1991 release "Rumor and Sigh

Rumor and Sigh

Rumor and Sigh is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1991.This album is one of the artistic high-points of Richard Thompson's career, and is his most commercially successful album to date...

" sold well and was nominated for a Grammy

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

. In 1995 Thompson began to release good quality live albums on his own boutique labels. By agreement with Capitol these were limited edition releases and not made available in retail outlets. The first of these was a live acoustic set recorded with Danny Thompson. In 1997 the two Thompsons went into the studio to record the album "Industry

Industry (album)

Industry is an album by Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson released in 1997.The two unrelated Thompsons had known each other since the late sixties, and had toured together throughout the nineties...

".

In 2001 Thompson and Capitol parted ways and Thompson has since operated as an independent artist, financing recordings himself and then concluding distribution deals with different labels in various territories. He has continued to release "not for retail" live albums.

Over the years he has participated in or launched various side projects. Amongst these are the short-lived band The GPs with Ralph McTell

Ralph McTell

Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....

, the occasional collaborative project French, Frith, Kaiser and Thompson, and his 1000 Years Of Popular Music project.

Original albums

Year	Title	Credited To
1972	Henry the Human Fly Henry the Human Fly Henry the Human Fly was the first solo album by British singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson. It was originally released in Britain in April 1972 on the Island label and in the US on the Reprise label....	Richard Thompson
1974	I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight Q : "After his 1971 departure from Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson found his ideal foil in recent bride Linda. A hugely inventive guitarist, he gives full vent to his talent on this dark, brooding album...	Richard and Linda Thompson
1974	Hokey Pokey Hokey Pokey (album) Hokey Pokey is the second album by the British duo of singer Linda and singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson. It was recorded in the autumn of 1974 and released in 1975....	Richard and Linda Thompson
1975	Pour Down Like Silver Pour Down Like Silver Pour Down Like Silver is the third album by the British duo of singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard and singer Linda Thompson. It was recorded in the summer of 1975 and released in November 1975....	Richard and Linda Thompson
1978	First Light	Richard and Linda Thompson
1979	Sunnyvista Sunnyvista Sunnyvista, released in October 1979 is the fifth album by Richard and Linda Thompson.After the artistic mismatch of the previous year's come back album , the Thompsons made greater use on this album of backing musicians that they had worked with previously.Sunnyvista is a curate's egg of an album...	Richard and Linda Thompson
1981	Strict Tempo! Strict Tempo! (album) Strict Tempo! is an instrumental album by Richard Thompson released in 1981.After the modest sales for their 1979 album Sunnyvista, Richard and Linda Thompson found themselves without a record deal...	Richard Thompson
1982	Shoot Out the Lights Shoot Out the Lights Shoot Out the Lights is the sixth and final album by British husband-and-wife folk rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson. It was produced by Joe Boyd and released in 1982 on his Hannibal label...	Richard and Linda Thompson
1983	Hand of Kindness Hand of Kindness Hand Of Kindness is an album by Richard Thompson recorded and released in 1983.After the "Tour From Hell" to promote Shoot Out The Lights Richard Thompson resumed a solo career as a recording and performing artist....	Richard Thompson
1985	Across a Crowded Room Across a Crowded Room Across a Crowded Room is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1985.In 1984 Thompson's management negotiated a contract with Polydor which gave him some financial security for the first time in over a decade. Across A Crowded Room was the first album recorded under this new contract...	Richard Thompson
1986	Daring Adventures Daring Adventures Daring Adventures is an album by Richard Thompson, released in 1986.After sales of his 1985 release Across a Crowded Room had not met expectations, Thompson was under pressure from his record label to deliver with his next album....	Richard Thompson
1988	Amnesia Amnesia (album) Amnesia is an album by Richard Thompson, recorded and released in 1988.After Across a Crowded Room and Daring Adventures had not troubled the compilers of hit parades, Polydor declined their option to renew their contract with Thompson...	Richard Thompson
1991	Rumor and Sigh Rumor and Sigh Rumor and Sigh is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1991.This album is one of the artistic high-points of Richard Thompson's career, and is his most commercially successful album to date...	Richard Thompson
1994	Mirror Blue Mirror Blue Mirror Blue is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1994.The follow-up to 1991's successful Rumor And Sigh was recorded in January 1993 with Mitchell Froom once again in the producer’s chair. Despite the increase in sales for his previous two albums, Mirror Blue was held back...	Richard Thompson
1996	You? Me? Us? You? Me? Us? You? Me? Us? is an album by British singer-songwriter Richard Thompson released in April 1996 via Capitol Records. It was Thompson's fourth album for the label, his fifth with Mitchell Froom producing and his second to be nominated for a Grammy Award...	Richard Thompson
1999	Mock Tudor Mock Tudor (album) Mock Tudor is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1999.For this, his fifth album for Capitol Records, Thompson teamed up with producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, and Mock Tudor had a more straightforward production than his preceding albums on Capitol which had been produced by Mitchell...	Richard Thompson
2003	The Old Kit Bag The Old Kit Bag The Old Kit Bag is an album released in 2003 by British guitarist Richard Thompson. The title refers to the World War I marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag". When asked if the album had a theme, Thompson had no immediate answer, then said "I suppose the title is a theme of sorts...	Richard Thompson
2005	Front Parlour Ballads Front Parlour Ballads Front Parlour Ballads is an album by Richard Thompson released in 2005.His 2005 release on the Cooking Vinyl label was a literally homemade album. Thompson's aim was to create an album that sounded small and intimate...	Richard Thompson
2007	Sweet Warrior Sweet Warrior (album) Sweet Warrior is an album by Richard Thompson released in 2007. Thompson financed the recording of this album himself and then licensed the finished album to various labels for distribution. On its release, Sweet Warrior entered Amazon.com's top 20 for music sales.-Overview:The track "Dad's Gonna...	Richard Thompson
2010	Dream Attic Dream Attic Dream Attic is an album by Richard Thompson released in 2010.-Overview:Instead of recording new songs in a studio, Thompson made demo recordings, rehearsed the songs with his band...	Richard Thompson

Live albums

Released	Title	Credited To	Recorded	UK Chart
1984	Small Town Romance Small Town Romance Small Town Romance is a live album by Richard Thompson .Before and after the "Tour From Hell" to promote the Richard and Linda Thompson album Shoot Out the Lights, Richard played solo shows in the USA in 1982. Three of these shows were recorded for radio broadcasts...	Richard Thompson	1981 & 1982
2005	Live from Austin, TX	Richard Thompson	2001
2007	In Concert, November 1975 In Concert, November 1975 (Richard & Linda Thompson album) In Concert, November 1975 is a live album by Richard and Linda Thompson.The album is compiled from recordings made during the Thompsons late 1975 tour to promote their Pour Down Like Silver album...	Richard and Linda Thompson	1975
2011	Live At The BBC Live at the BBC (Richard & Linda Thompson album) Richard Thompson - LIVE AT THE BBC is a compilation of audio and video recordings made by Richard Thompson for the BBC. The set consists of 3 CDs and a DVD. The included material was recorded over a number of years. The earliest tracks dating back to 1973, the most recent to 2009. Most of the...	Richard Thompson featuring Linda Thompson
137

Fan club and boutique label releases

Released	Title	Credited To	Recorded
1995	Live at Crawley Live at Crawley Live at Crawley is a live album by Richard Thompson recorded in 1993 and released in 1995.Thompson is a widely bootlegged artist. He is vociferous in his opposition to bootlegs on the grounds that not only does the artist not gain by them, but that they also deprive the artist of control over the...	Richard Thompson with Danny Thompson	1993
1996	Two Letter Words: Live 1994	Richard Thompson Band	1994
1998	Celtschmerz: Live in the UK ‘98 Celtschmerz Celtschmerz is a live album by Richard Thompson.Continuing his policy, begun with the Live At Crawley album, of releasing high quality alternatives to bootlegs, Thompson released this live album in 1998. The album was recorded during his tour of Britain earlier the same year.Starting in the early...	Richard Thompson	1998
2002	Semi-Detached Mock Tudor Semi-Detached Mock Tudor Semi-Detached Mock Tudor is a live album by Richard ThompsonBeginning with the Live At Crawley album in 1995, Richard Thompson had begun issuing high-quality, officially sanctioned live recordings as an alternative to bootleg recordings -- products that would provide the artist with revenue and...	Richard Thompson Band	1999
2003	More Guitar More Guitar More Guitar is a live album by Richard Thompson compiled from recordings made during two shows at Washington, D.C in November 1988. Two tracks from these tapes had previously appeared on the Watching The Dark compilation....	Richard Thompson Band	1988
2003	1000 Years of Popular Music 1000 Years of Popular Music 1000 Years of Popular Music is a live album by Richard Thompson.The album was originally conceived after Thompson was ignored by Playboy magazine; initially meant simply as a list to be printed by the magazine, it was subsequently published into CD format. The songs comprising the tracklist cover a...	Richard Thompson	2002
2003	Ducknapped! Ducknapped! Ducknapped! is a live album by Richard Thompson recorded during the 2003 tour to support the The Old Kit Bag album and released on Thompson's boutique Beeswing label....	Richard Thompson Band	2003
2004	Faithless Faithless (album) Faithless is a live album by Richard Thompson. Released in 2004 on Thompson's own Beeswing label, it is compiled from recordings made during Thompson's 1985 tour in support of his Across A Crowded Room album....	Richard Thompson	1985
2004	The Chrono Show The Chrono Show The Chrono Show is a live album by Richard Thompson. The album is compiled from recordings made during Thompson's 2004 tour of America, and features songs from Thompson's back catalog, most of them written prior to 1983 and arranged in mostly chronological order.The opening "Watch Me Go" had been...	Richard Thompson	2004
2009	Live Warrior Live Warrior (album) Live Warrior is a live album by Richard Thompson recorded during the 2007 tours of the UK and USA to support the Sweet Warrior album. It is released on Thompson's boutique Beeswing label....	Richard Thompson	2007

Compilations

Year	Title	Credited To
1976	(guitar, vocal) (guitar, vocal) is a 1976 album by Richard Thompson. It was released by Island Records as a career retrospective after he and his wife Linda had gone into semi-retirement from the business of making and performing music following the release of Pour Down Like Silver .Most tracks are unreleased recordings from...	Richard Thompson
1976	Live! (more or less) Live! (more or less) Live! is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1976.This was a U.S. only release. The first disc of the two-disc set is, in fact, the 1974 release I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight by Richard and Linda Thompson...	Richard Thompson
1985	Doom And Gloom From The Tomb, volume 1	Richard Thompson
1991	Doom & Gloom II (Over My Dead Body)	Richard Thompson
1993	Watching the Dark Watching the Dark Watching the Dark is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1993.This 3-CD retrospective set was compiled with Thompson's co-operation and consent...	Richard Thompson
2000	The Best of Richard & Linda Thompson: The Island Record Years The Best of Richard & Linda Thompson: The Island Record Years Island Records issued this compilation in 2000 as the first step in a program to re-master and re-issue the albums that Richard and Linda Thompson had cut for them....	Richard and Linda Thompson
2001	Action Packed Action Packed Action Packed is a music album by Richard Thompson released in 2001.The album is a retrospective look at Thompson's time with Capitol Records and brings together songs from each of the albums that he recorded for that label....	Richard Thompson
2006	RT - The Life and Music of Richard Thompson RT - The Life and Music of Richard Thompson RT: The Life and Music of Richard Thompson is a box set by Richard Thompson, released in February 2006.This box set gives an extensive overview of Thompson's long career without including content from any of his mainstream albums....	Richard Thompson
2009	Walking On A Wire Walking On a Wire Walking on a Wire is a 4 CD set issued by Shout! Factory in August 2009 covering the bulk of Richard Thompson's career. There are no unreleased tracks on this collection and for this reason a BBC review noted that it may be of little interest to committed fans....	Richard Thompson

With Fairport Convention

Only albums recorded whilst Richard Thompson was a member of Fairport Convention are listed here. For more details of Fairport Convention's album releases see Fairport Convention discography

Fairport Convention discography

This is a list of recordings by the folk rock group Fairport Convention, usually credited as the first English electric folk band. Founded in 1967 and initially covering songs by artists such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, they developed a devoted niche following by providing electrified and...

Original albums

Year	Title
1968	Fairport Convention Fairport Convention (album) Fairport Convention is Fairport Convention's debut album. The band formed in 1967, with original line-up Judy Dyble and Ian MacDonald , Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol , Ashley “Tyger” Hutchings and Sean Frater, replaced after their first gig by Martin Lamble...
1969	What We Did on Our Holidays What We Did on Our Holidays - Personnel :* Sandy Denny - vocals, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, organ, piano, harpsichord* Iain Matthews - vocals, congas* Richard Thompson - electric, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, piano accordion, vocals...
1969	Unhalfbricking Unhalfbricking The band's male vocalist Iain Matthews left during the recordings for Unhalfbricking to make his own album Matthews' Southern Comfort, after recording just one track, "Percy's Song". Sandy Denny sang lead vocals on all the other songs, including her own compositions, "Autopsy", and "Who Knows Where...
1969	Liege and Lief Liege & Lief Liege & Lief is the fourth album by the English rock band Fairport Convention. It is the third and final album the group released in the UK in 1969, all of which prominently feature Sandy Denny as lead female vocalist...
1970	Full House

Live albums

Released	Title	Recorded
1976	Live at the L.A. Troubadour Live at the L.A. Troubadour Live at the L.A. Troubadour along with its reissued counterpart House Full are the only live Fairport Convention albums to feature Richard Thompson. It was recorded in 1970 on the Full House tour and was reissued in 2007. Some of the material is available on House Full but a number of tracks can...	1970
1986	House Full House Full House Full: Live at the L.A. Troubadour not to be confused with its earlier counterpart Live at the L.A. Troubadour is the only currently available live Fairport Convention album to feature Richard Thompson.-Track listing:Side 1...	1970
1987	Heyday: The BBC Radio Sessions Heyday (Fairport Convention album) Heyday: the BBC Radio Sessions 1968–69 is an album by English folk rock band Fairport Convention first released in 1987. As its title suggests, it consists of live versions of songs recorded for John Peel's Top Gear radio programmes.-Side one:...	1968 & 1969

Soundtracks

Soundtrack albums on which a Richard Thompson recording or composition are included are not shown here. Listed here are soundtracks in which Thompson was involved in the actual recording

Year	Title
1987	The Marksman (Music From The BBC TV Series
1989	Hard Cash
1991	Sweet Talker Sweet Talker (soundtrack) Sweet Talker is a soundtrack album by Richard Thompson released in 1991.Thompson had worked with composer Peter Filleul on various other soundtrack projects, notably the TV shows "The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil" and "The Marksman". In 1990 film producer Taylor Hackford made the movie "Sweet...
2005	Grizzly Man Grizzly Man (soundtrack) Grizzly Man is a soundtrack album by Richard Thompson released in 2005.After the problematic production of the Sweet Talker soundtrack album, Thompson was disinclined to do any more movie soundtracks...

Collaborations

Albums on which Thompson has guested or worked as a session musician are not shown here. Listed here are albums on which Thompson played a significant creative role in the group or on the recording.

Year	Title	Credited To
1972	Rock On Rock On (The Bunch album) Rock On is a 1972 one-off album of oldies covers by the Bunch, a group of English folk rock singers and musicians. The Bunch got together in late 1971 to record their one and only album, Rock On...	The Bunch
1972	Morris On Morris On Morris On is a folk/rock album released in 1972 under the joint names of Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield...	Morris On
1987	Live, Love, Larf & Loaf Live, Love, Larf & Loaf Live, Love, Larf & Loaf is a studio album by the United States experimental rock quartet French Frith Kaiser Thompson. It was the group's first album and was recorded at Mobius Music in San Francisco in March 1987. The album was released in 1987 in the United States by Rhino Records on LP, CD and...	French, Frith, Kaiser and Thompson
1990	Invisible Means Invisible Means Invisible Means is a studio album by the United States experimental rock quartet French Frith Kaiser Thompson. It was the group's second album and was recorded at Mobius Music in San Francisco on 19–23 March 1990...	French, Frith, Kaiser and Thompson
1997	Industry Industry (album) Industry is an album by Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson released in 1997.The two unrelated Thompsons had known each other since the late sixties, and had toured together throughout the nineties...	Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson
1998	The Bones of All Men The Bones of All Men The Bones of All Men is an album by Philip Pickett.The exact credits on the front of the album are "Mr Philip Pickett with Mr Richard Thompson and the Fairport Rhythm Section" - giving a mock-formality to the event, as if it were a classical music concert. All of the tracks on this album are...	Mr Philip Pickett with Mr Richard Thompson and the Fairport Rhythm Section

DVDs and Videos

Released	Title	Credited To	Recorded	Format
1985	Across A Crowded Room	Richard Thompson	1985	VHS
2004	Live in Providence	The Richard Thompson Band	2003	DVD
2005	Live From Austin, TX	Richard Thompson	2001	DVD
2006	1,000 Years of Popular Music	Richard Thompson	2005	DVD

Instructional tapes and discs

Released	Title	Credited To	Format
1983	The Electric Mandolin 1 and 2: Mandolin Theory, Technique, & Improvisation	Niles Hokkanen and Richard Thompson	Casette
1991	Rock Guitar: A Guide From The Greats	Ron Wood, Michael Schenker, Richard Thompson, and John Wilson.	VHS
1998	Richard Thompson Teaches Traditional Guitar Instrumentals	Richard Thompson	CD & Book
2001	The Guitar Of Richard Thompson	Richard Thompson	CD & Book