Hello Teddy.
Hi Slashmusic!
How's it going?
Well I'm trying to work out where I am. I’m in London, but I flew in from Seattle last night, so I’m jet-lagged and confused.
'Separate Ways' is in fact your second album, your first was six years ago. Why did you keep the world waiting?
After my first album came out, nothing happened, and then I got dropped by Virgin. It wasn’t a very nice experience, so I wanted to take some time off to think about what to do next, how to approach things. I worked on my mum’s album, and I toured with Rufus Wainwright, and then I spent some time writing songs. I wanted to make sure I was happy with them. Then I recorded them myself, without any record company help. Once the album was finished, I decided to see if anyone wanted it. If I hadn’t have got a record deal, I would have released it myself.
Quite right. When you worked on your mum’s album, 'Fashionably Late', would she call you Terrence and send you to bed early if you played a bad guitar solo?
Ha ha. Well, she’s not really like that, but if she wants to pull me up like that she’ll call me Adam, which is actually my first name. Teddy is my middle name.
Good job you changed it then. Your parents were both big folk stars when you were growing up, was that amazing or annoying?
I suppose it was quite a different upbringing. We lived in a commune for several years in the 1970s. I remember mealtimes seemed like something out of Ali Baba, with trays and trays of food piled up into pyramids being brought to the table. That was quite exciting.
Did it cause you any 'bother' at school?
Not really, because they were the right kind of famous. They weren’t on TV or anything like that, so it was quite easy to ignore it and just get on with things. I suppose I was quite embarrassed about it, because it wasn’t what was considered ‘cool’ music or anything, it wasn’t like mum and dad were cool rock stars.
Were any of your teachers folky types who knew who your parents were?
I went to a boarding school, where there were quite a few hippyish types, so yes. But I ignored them.
You weren’t ever tempted to rebel by being in a punk band?
No. I couldn’t really have done anything rebellious in music. That wouldn’t have upset my parents because of the kind of people they are. If I made bad music, that might have been difficult. All the music I discovered, like American music from the 1950s and 60s, they loved anyway. It’s always been like that.
So, is 2006 the year of full-on folkiness?
Maybe. It’s certainly feels like a better atmosphere for my music. I wasn’t surprised when I was dropped, major labels need artists to sell a million albums to make it work for them, and I was never going to do that.
Blimey! You seem to have your head 'screwed on' anyway. Thank you very much, Teddy Thompson!
No Slashmusic, thank you!
