TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

RT has been awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours. Well deserved.

should have told them where to stick it

wd Richard  ;D

Dave P

I have been overlooked. Yet again.

Congratulations to RT. Have we ever had an OBE in the kitchen before?

come clean old boy, you told them just where they could stick their useless bauble, didnt you?

I agree with everybody.  

a) Congratulations.  b) He should have told them to stuff it.  And, c) I do (genuinely) have one in the kitchen(/diner) (my late Uncle's).   ;D

I always thought he'd do well..... ;D

Why not a knighthood? ;D

Well deserved and long overdue. Congratulations to RT.

Huzzah! Jolly well done old chap!  ;D
 

::)

Hey, he did come straight in at OBE, rather than bottom-rung MBE!

Richly deserved, I say.

Presumably the evidence of (c) has no bearing on the advice of (b)?  :-\
Mind you, next thing he'll be sending it back in order to complain about the low chart position of Front Parlour Ballads.

When I heard the news on the radio early this morning I wondered who'd be first, I was right ;D

About bloody time............   ;)

Congratulations  :)

Cheers Nigel

Where the wind don't whine, presumably?  ;D

Good call Goaty - we should have had a sweepstake on it...

Oooo  congratulations to RT...  brilliant!!

I bow and take off my beret!
Congrats!

Well done Richard!

I was going to post a "congratulations" but now I'm not so sure.  ???
Jeez, the article gives him short enough shrift doesn't it. >:(


Edit: Of course congratulations are in order, if only for the opportunity to tell them to "shove it". Still, isn't it great to see this talent recognized?

do i win anything?

Don't quite understand that point.  I can't exactly send my Uncle's back now, can I?  If it was mine though, I certainly would.  I agree with an egalitarian awards system...this isn't it.  I certainly don't agree with one based on some mythical over inflated pompous idea of 'Empire'.  My Uncle got his for being a career 'civil servant' (aka spy) and keeping his mouth shut when his cousin (Philby) jumped over the Wall.  The fact he mysteriously retired in 1963 aged 46 and never worked again might also be related!  Unfortunately I only got his medal and a few books, my beloved brother got the £1.5m.  That will teach me to read the Guardian, then  ;D

There's a flaggon of StuffYerOBE waiting for you in The Arms Jim.

Hearty congratulations to RT, recognition for single-minded dedication and talent.

Well I'm delighted for him and if he had turned it down none of you would probably ever have known he'd been offered it

Sometimes there is such a sourness on this board..... :(

And I wonder whether there'd be a change of mind if those complaining were actually honoured....

It's no Hancock though, is it?  [;-)

yes but he's got one of them hasn't he? ;D

Hearty congratulations to him, I say. Well deserved and long overdue. Now the only question remaining is why has Bruce Forsyth been cruelly overlooked yet again? Give that man a gong!

And may get another.

Maybe has has sent it back?.....you'll never know, I guess.

But why is Simon Cowell's name being mentioned as not having been given a gong? He's not the entertainer, nor has he been doing this very long either.....

I understand that the suggestion was he'd get one for his charity work.

Well RT gets my congratulations  :)

DC

thanks to all concerned.
 i d like to thank My mam amd dad, the lady wife and the kids , bt for all the beer tokens over the years, the inland revenue for reclaiming so many beer tokens i could go on further.



I genuinely do dislike the honours system and the random  way it is used by the authorities. When the rich and famous are further feted while a few minor awards are made to the people who probably deserve most recognition, those who actually do stuff for the less fortunate in our country, giving up their time and money while those who get the big gongs are already well rewarded without any further need from a grateful nation.
    However its up to everyone to make up their own mind and if Richard wants to accept a gong from the british estabishment thats his prerogative, good luck to him.

It isnt ever going to happen but i wouldn't accept anything of that kidney from the British government or monarchy

No, I scent a conspiracy. If BF goes unknighted after fifty years of tickling the nation’s funny bone, there’s something fishy.

What does all this have to do with Fairport? Well, Brucie got his first break after he was spotted playing in summer season at Babbacombe, where an agent recommended to him to Val Parnell who was looking for someone to replace Tommy Trinder as host of Sunday Night at the London Palladium.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/arise-sir-bruce-forsyth-2164171.html

But wouldn't your being offered the gong signal a change in the policy you despise? :)

Congrats to Richard.  A hurdy gurdy first I think :)  Annie Lennox says she is dusting off her pillbox hat for the trip to Buck House.  Any bets on Richard's choice of headgear?  I think he'll look rather dapper in a topper!

Stupid boy

For expressing an opinion and explaining why ???

If RT wants to accept a gong then fine. No-one has the right to make that choice for him apart from him.

Let the insults cease.

Dougie Maclean got one too.

Congratulations to RT & to Dougie; I think it's good to see music based upon the folk tradition being recognised in the "mainstream"; and if people turn on the telly/radio or read the paper & wonder who RT or Dougie are or what their music is like, then just maybe they might investigate deeper...

Top of the class, Mr Thompson.

This is such good news!!

I find it very childish to "tell them where they can stick it". I would have thought that it should be regarded as a great honour to receive an OBE.

Excellent.  He long been on my list of "want to see" artists.

That is your opinion which, like Jim, you are entitled to.  I find calling someone you don't agree with a 'stupid boy' quite childish and utterly pointless, that is my opinion to which I am also entitled.

My thoughts, for whatever they're worth, if Richard's happy to accept, good for him.

Well, whatever you may think of the awards system as a whole, well done to RT and to whoever thought of giving one to him in the first place.

Mmmmm there are clearly veiled political comments appearing - not good, thought they were banned!!

I meant thinly veiled - where is the edot button?

edit button???

It's labelled Modify, to the top right of your post, between Quote & Remove.

When I started this topic last night I was really pleased that RT had been awarded an OBE for services to the music we all love.

Sadly it now seems to have degenerated in to political point scoring. Can't we just be pleased for Richard and if you disagree with the awards system this is not the thread for it.

What - putting out singles that *we* pay for and contribute to Military charities?.....hmmmm

I don't think they can really be termed political comments. There has been some criticism of the honours system and some questioning of the point of it but the system applies irrespective of the political stripe of the incumbent government.

It is nice to see that if somebody is going to be honoured for their artistry it is someone like RT rather those we might regard as less deserving but I have to say I have no real comprehension of what it really means in the grand scheme if things.

I see The Guardian refers to "guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson, once of Fairport Convention but also a writer of lyrics for Robert Plant and Elvis Costello".

Did I miss something?!!

It's great that he's got the recognition, whether you agree with the system or not, IMHO.

I'd be really grateful if someone could point out exactly where I've made a comment on my opinion of the awards system, thinly veiled or otherwise, all I objected to was someone being called a stupid boy for expressing, and explaining, their opinion.

Actually, don't bother, I really couldn't care less.

Your own advice from the other evening about not feeding Trolls is probably best, Goaty.

Indeed Rory.  I'm off down the pub, where I *will* raise a glass to Richard.

Happy New Year, mate.

Thanks but I only see Quote, do I need to update something somewhere perhaps?

No, the option of modifying or removing a post expires after a certain time.

Maybe. Are you aware that Percy covered RT's House of Cards on his latest release, Band of Joy? And that Elvis has covered a few of his songs ... 'course RT wrote more than the lyrics, so the article is inaccurate in that respect,

I'm really chuffed for Richard, it's splendid news (but maybe it should have been a CBE).

Somehow I have this mind picture of a tall figure in a long black coat and topper, walking into the audience chamber playing the hurdy gurdy and singing "Calvary Cross". AAARGH!  ::)

Happy New Year everybody!

Well done that Thompson and folk importance recognised as well

Indeed. I would, perhaps pedantically, point out that 'being covered by' is different from 'writing lyrics [and/or music] for'. It just annoys me when journalists don't do their research - it wouldn't have taken too much digging to get it right.

Let joy be unconfined. A genuine piece of good news that I, for one, heartily applaud. :)

About bloody time - Congrats to RT

 ;D

From the Daily Telegraph New Year's Honours List:

Richard Thompson. Folk Musician and Songwriter. For services to Music.

Great news indeed - we are not allowed much good news by the media, so we should make the most of it.

Immediately after posting I don't have an edit button - I must type more slowly.

I assumed Jamie's original comment was referring to the complete omission of any reference to Richard performing his own songs...

The Guardian is usually more accurate than this, having had one of the best writers on folk/roots music (Robin Denselow) on its staff for donkey's years; I can only assume the original Guardian piece was written by the Court Correspondent  ;)

DC

Bloody Fantastic :D

Now which song should he sing to celebrate this...?

Charming.

Now be Thankful?

DC

Well done... Good to see someone out of the mainstream recognised.

I believe you can't actually turn down a honour - you are asked if you'd be interested in receiving one before you're awarded one... At least that's what someone told me.

As RT has accepted, he's clearly honoured to have been asked...

By the way, as he's also been nominated for a Grammy, wouldn't it be fabulous if he did the double and won his category as well ?

Seconded........well done RT.

Excellent news! First John Martyn and now Richard Thompson - seems the awards committee are getting their acts together.  :)

Congratulations Mr T  :)

bread and circuses

Congratulations that man.

Although technically correct, I think this probably refers to a couple of under-publicised court cases from the mid-eighties. Around the time that Led Zep were being pulled up for 'borrowing' certain lyrics (the most famous being either the lemon-squeezing reference or Howlin' Wolf's You need love refrain) the blanket case also threw up a few other examples - one of which was the blatant cut & pasting of certain RT lyrics into The Battle of Evermore. At the time there was an attempted defence that Sandy Denny had simply unconciously repeated a few phrases from unfinished Fairport demos, but the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. This is also the reason they never used another outside singer again, for fear they would be landed in the same position vis a vis legal fees.
Similarly, passages from Henry The Human Fly's The Angels Took My Racehorse Away turned up in Elvis Costello's The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes and the case was quietly settled without recourse to m'learned friends, one of the conditions being that Costello record a number of RT songs in order to provide a secondary stream of income from the subsequent publishing rights.
 It is no coincidence that shortly after these two settlements were reached Thompson was able to afford to move to California. In a similar vein, should Simon Nicol ever become enobled, there will probably be some reference to him writing songs for Tom Robinson, after segments of M1 Breakdown (from the eponymous first album) were used in 2-4-6-8 Motorway.
 It's all there on Wikipedia, so lazy, but not necessarily innaccurate reporting! I blame the sub-editor.

Simple. We Sing Halleluja.

Congratulations dear Henry, and HNY a tout ensemble.

Can we all calm down a bit now please?

Outta Body Experience?  Yeah, he's been responsible for a few of them.....for me at least!

??? ??? ???
Several bizarre claims here. Can you produce any sources?

Of course. The notorious Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel vs. Goatboy case of 1974. There was some unpleasantry involving the provenance of a theramin riff, as I recall. Very unsavoury. It was referred to in Hansard at the time and there's a mention at pp. 274 of The Electric Muse by Rob Young.

I shall talk on this very subject to my nephew who has list for a barrister (??) - might prove interesting.  :)

Ah yes, terrible business that was, still, all water under the bridge now.

You been overdoing the New Year vino, mate?

Well done RT! Great to see recognition for folk music (which someone has already said elsewhere). If gongs are good enough for the likes of Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi, then by heck it's time Richard got one.  ;D {:-)

RT gets a gong, eh?  I didn't see that one coming!   :o

Jules

Can't say I'm all that bothered about the Honours List but if it brings his music to a wider audience then that can only be a good thing.

But it's nice to see him get some recognition and I've found a web site that doesn't just mention Fairport...  

http://timberandsteel.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/richard-thompson-awarded-obe/

More importantly it's not long now til his gigs at The Lowry. I'll be there on the Saturday. 8)

This is fun - and quite illuminating, in its way:

http://wrongagain2.blogspot.com/

Hmmm - Indeed, the blogger is 'wrong again' to omit to note that members of the public can *also* nominate worthy individuals, along with the committee he does mention.

I think it is highly likely that someone from amongst hias fanbase (which includes his fellow musicians, of course) nominated him via the forms on the DirectGov website.

The blog does make a reasonable point that the only reference the average person has to RT is Fairport Convention, and, of course that The Guardian should've known better. For instance, whenever I'm explaining to someone who RT is, I've always found it mildly frustrating to refer to him in terms of a band he left nearly 40 years ago. So I describe him as "an amazing English singer/songwriter/guitarist who started his career with Fairport Convention."

Cue next line : "Fairport Convention ? Oh yeah, I remember them, are they still going ? " !!!! ???  ???

whenever I'm explaining to someone who RT is, I've always found it mildly frustrating to refer to him in terms of a band he left nearly 40 years ago. So I describe him as "an amazing English singer/songwriter/guitarist who started his career with Fairport Convention.

That doesn't work in Merka, where precious few of my peers have heard of either RT or FC.

I describe him as the English Bob Dylan, after which I say it's more appropriate to describe Bob Dylan as the Merkin Richard Thompson.

That doesn't cover his guitar playing though, for which you have to add that he's the English Neil Young as well.

Jules

I describe him as the English Bob Dylan,

Much as I love RT, if we are talking lyrics -especially in recent years - that's a bit over the top IMHO.   ???

I always like Nick Hornby's description from High Fidelity: 'He's a singer-songwriter and Britain's finest electric guitarist' or words to that effect.

The OBE will further restore Richard Thompson’s status at the top table of British musical heroes as a folk revolutionary, one of the world’s greatest guitarists, a must-see performer and one of the finest songwriters this country has ever produced.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts-and-culture/touching-from-a-distance/6586998/music-richard-thompson-obe.thtml

If we are comparing Dylan's most recent output to RT's lyrical inventiveness then to promote Dylan as a superior to Thompson lyrically is a fallacy.

Anyway congratulations on the OBE are in order, recognition even in a flawed system is often hard to come by for artists on the fringe and should be celebrated and in this age of political stance for the sake of headlines than acceptance may very well be the most subversive thing to do.

I say congratulations. When Martin Carthy got his MBE (I think...American speaking here, I may have gotten that wrong, but thought it was MBE) a few years ago, I believe he really had a crisis of conscience about it. I could have imagined Martin especially saying stuff it, and storming off. I seem to remember reading at the time that he decided to accept it in the name of all the unsung folk singers like Walter Pardon, Copper Family, Sam Larner, etc, who inspired and influenced him. Maybe thats the spirit Richard views it in...maybe he views it the same as being elected to the Nebraska Folk Music Hall Of Fame...a somewhat hollow honor, but an honor nonetheless. Congratulations Richard.

I've alway described him as such:

You can find a better singer, and perhaps a better songwriter......and maybe (shutter)......even a better guitar player.  But - you'll never find a better singer/songwriter/guitar player out there - period.  

That's it - in a nutshell.   [;-)

I prefer to think of Bob Dylan as the American Richard Thompson.