Richard and Linda Thompson

Richard and Linda Thompson from a BBC series " A Little Night Music" first broadcast in August 1981.
With Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Pete Zorn
1) Night Comes In
2) I'm a Dreamer
3) I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
4) Shoot Out the Lights
5) You're Going to Need Somebody
6) Dargai
7) Dimming of the Day

[@chesterwilberforce9832]

Trigger warning: Dimming of the Day is NOT recommended for anyone with a broken heart. Absolutely the saddest most beautiful song ever recorded.

[@gavinkeown6488]

Agree, have you heard the blind Boys version on the tribute album? Check it out. RT's songs lend themselves to interpretation in the same way as Dylan's.

[@michaell1751]

Tell me about it.

[@johnjarpe3494]

I got to meet her after one of the shows in 2004 ( After I got to hear her sing DIMMING OF THE DAY. ). The applause was so loud and sustained that she was a bit taken aback, in a good way that people would have even remembered who she was. That was an audience that I was proud to be a part of because of the positive impact that it had on the artist.

[@bobgallagher3674]

I was17 when I first saw and heard Richard as a Fairport in August 1968 at dawn in a field in the Isle of Wight. THANK YOU for all that followed....

[@andrewhedgecock9749]

Linda is massively underrated. A really great voice.

[@davidames1746]

uNDERRATED? wHO SAID SHE WAS LOUSY?

[@redrover3259]

hey! Linda on Tele!

[@grifftrain]

I’m secretly in love with her voice

[@zhanay]

No one...just not enough who say how amazingly wonderful she us.

[@paddymeboy]

I dunno, her voice works well on RT's songs but I don't think she's enough of a show-stopper to have made it without that association (she paid the price, though, in the self-lacerating songs she had to sing on their last album). Her voice is subtle, a connoisseur's choice.

[@Pwecko]

Remember when the BBC used to have great stuff like this on?

[@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888]

Before you voted for decades of Tories ruining everything we once had.

[@Pwecko]

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 You must be mistaking me for someone else.

[@billking8843]

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 Anyone with the soul to love Linda Thompson would not vote Tory. Perhaps you meant 'you' to mean the British people collectively.

[@frannieo1707]

Yeah, back in the day. Now their content can be found anywhere.

[@deancarter9210]

In a sane and just world everyone in this video would be household name.

[@deancarter9210]

I'm A Dreamer is one of Sandy's songs...how wonderful that this performance has been preserved. The ability of these musicians are beyond words and probably beyond the comprehension of most people...

[@grantross2609]

Sandy knocks spots off this tho !

[@herdinglemurs]

The world really missed appreciating a great group. Linda is a wonderful singer and Richard is not only a great guitarist but perhaps the best at duetting his guitar to a woman's voice.

[@joedunne6737]

I'm always amazed how much I learn about artists from people's comments.

[@SerafEnd]

😆... Me too

[@andrewhedgecock9749]

Brilliant performance. Linda is a massively underrated vocalist.

[@alanwhitefield250]

I've loved Richard Thompson since about 1969, and I've lost count of the times I've seen him either acoustic, electric with great bands and always great great gigs. But always, and I mean ALWAYS there was something about that just wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be., something missing And here it's clear. He has the perfect voice, for supporting Linda. What a loss to music that Linda developed dysphonia. Truly wonderful. 24 minutes Dimming of the Day. Has there ever been a more beautiful song more beautifully sung.

[@CastleMc]

Delighted to find this. Musically, they were so great together. Very glad she regained her spirit and her voice after losing them for years after he suddenly abandoned her and their family.

[@haolefly]

R.I.P. Pete Zorn. Man of all instruments. Cog in the wheel of the R.T.B.

[@alastairthomson2835]

And Steeleye Span and the Albion Band too.

[@kurtmorrissey]

What a fantastic performance. Linda is sublime and Richard is delivering big time. What a partnership. We were blessed and lucky for it how brief and brilliant it was.

[@EnosEverything]

Absolutely fantastic - this must have been only a short time before Richard and Linda parted company as man and wife.... Very sad.. And then Linda lost her beautiful voice completely for a number of years.. Thankfully it is back now - I was fortunate enough to see Richard in concert here in Brisbane and talk to him after the show.. He is not only a supreme guitarist that few could ever match and a brilliant singer songwriter, but he's a lovely man as well.... It's lovely to see the two of them in unison as they were for the magnificent I WANNA SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT... We need talent like this in the dim times of Covid 19 and Trump.

[@MrBrindleStyle]

wasn' expecting BrisVegas to be in the comments

[@vanu49]

Linda is the only one who can sing the RT songs the right way. Great. Thanks for the sharing.

[@vanu49]

@Caroline Baker Have a nice day and stay safe!

[@huwpryce1684]

Pre VCR in my house. I watched it (booked the living room). Dad sat through this one with a whiskey and a fag and didn't make snarky comments, because while he didn't like it, he was more than a good enough musician to know this was something special. The whole series was a high watermark for me. It had sets from John Martyn and The Home Service as well (Dad loved the Home Service). Required viewing. I was so used to these musicians by this time, that I didn't really appreciate how special this lineup is. I'd met some of them and seen most of them live at one time or another. Dad was classically trained and had roots in the jazz scene of the 50s and 60s. He could hear how Richard wanders outside the lines, pulling the melodic line into wild new shapes, and resolving perfectly in a way Coltraine or Davis would understand. He was grudgingly impressed. I was ecstatic. Great to find this here.

[@BryanPetifer]

Good memories Huw, if you are interested I found the Home Service set a few years ago after having the audio on cassette for years without realising it was in the same series. You can find the Home Service set here kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIGqqHp_pZWjqNE

[@huwpryce1684]

@@BryanPetifer Superb! Thanks

[@williammohan9784]

the Dimming of the Day is one great great song

[@philmus1]

Richard in full emotive solo mode, Director: 'let's focus on the Rhythm guitar

[@paulgriffiths3082]

Looking at when this was broadcast 1981 we were in a musical wilderness just coming out of punk and just entering new romantic this must have been a breath of fresh air as it still is in today's desperate musical desert

[@conorsullivan8108]

Paul still plenty of fertile music now, as there was then.

[@finosuilleabhain7781]

@@conorsullivan8108 And always was and ever shall be.

[@jayrox40]

Certainly a breath of fresh air now.

[@BenLubin]

There tons of incredible contemporary music.

[@atleengelstad5303]

This upload is what youtube is all about..., a true gem... thanx for uploading

[@michaelwinston713]

I saw him (R T) at Mothers in Erdington High Street, Birmingham, Christmas 1970. Cold, snowy etc, but the beer soaked club allowed me to watch a miraculous player perform. Wonderful.

[@michaelwinston713]

P.S. Had a beer with Dave Mattacks too. Fairport Convention were a very accommodating band.

[@annquinn6780]

I wish I’d known , I was just down the road in Solihull . Only 14 at the time though and got seriously into both of them a bit later 7:39 in 1975 . So so good . I listen to A Sailors Life by Fairport regularly and marvel .

[@frankmorgan6173]

Thompson's guitar solo on Shoot Out The Lights is astonishing. Wonder how many later guitar "heroes" were influenced by it! So lucky to have seen this band at the time.

[@BryanPetifer]

Absolutley agree but wonder if RT was influenced by Link Wray's Rumble?

[@MissAstorDancer]

@@BryanPetifer Pretty hard not to hear that influence!

[@AMEER-114-]

​@@BryanPetifer Marquee Moon wouldnt have happened without CALVARY CROSS

[@AMEER-114-]

Marquee Moon wouldnt have happened without CALVARY CROSS

[@ryreinhardt]

Richard is so heavily influenced by Ry Cooder

[@stevengaber7977]

"Dimming of the Day" is one of my favorites among Richard's hundreds of songs.

[@danielgiraud2854]

Steven Gaber, listen to the Corrs ' version of "Dimming of the day". Very interesting

[@stevengaber7977]

@@danielgiraud2854 Here's another very nice version by Alison Krauss kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5rcZKR9eL-Ne8U

[@haroldsteinblatt2567]

Yes, she is in her best voice of the performance, the voice I think made her the greatest of all women singers on both sides of the Atlantic.

[@Stewart2240]

Another great version from him and Bonnie Raitt. She's exceptional kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6Cbfmpqqst5arM

[@ParcelOfRogue]

Fantastic that this has been found and put on youtube. I had it for years on VHS from about 81 when I discovered them, then lost it in a move or loan. Can't recall. As fantastic as this is, with superb atmosphere created by the brilliant BBC, you can see how RT's guitar has become even better with every decade since. Now the best guitarist who ever lived. Just saw him at Cropredy - unbelievable!

[@ДжорджОКузьменко]

Фигня...Скажите, что они создали после "Файрпорта" ? Зачем раздробили такой КОЛЛЕКТИВ ? 69-72 - Вот это зажигали !

[@ParcelOfRogue]

@@ДжорджОКузьменко That 1968- 1972 an a few years building up to it was the most creative little period in human history. Pity I was a bit too young to appreciate it or live it at the time. But what Richard has done since is also extraordinary and he's still adding to it and getting better in his 70's. There's not much about of that quality now. Thanks Google translate by the way.

[@ParcelOfRogue]

May the wonderful Pete Zorn rest in peace carried by great musical vibes.

[@blairhelsing630]

Fantastic as always. June Tabor and the Oyster Band covered "Night Comes In", a very fine version off a great album by them.

[@joemarquand1746]

She is magnificent.

[@azdinak]

Great to hear "You're Going to Need Somebody", one of my favorite R&L tracks.

[@MissAstorDancer]

Did David Byrne get his influence from Richard?

[@w.872]

Always loved Linda's version of Sandy Denny's "I'm a Dreamer."

[@Stewart2240]

She would have made a good successor to Sandy with Fairport.

[@uncleambient]

@@Stewart2240 Said no one ever.

[@michaelwells7792]

What a line up! All top of their own ranges. Saw Pete Zorn with Richard at Derngate Northampton and he was one of the great multi instrumentalists. RIP.

[@iskandermakhmudov]

Was Looking Through Q Magazine's List Of 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever - And Found This Gem!

[@keithkeller4156]

Thanks for making this concert available and love the music...

[@alanknight3778]

I remember when this excellent special was broadcast. I had the TV turned down and was just enjoying a 'Jazz Woodbine' before turning in for the night. Suddenly THIS came on and I couldn't believe I hadn't KNOWN they were showing it!

[@buddyakin]

Real heart and soul for days with these two, not to mention some of the best guitar playing ever. What a treat.

[@raynoseegers3215]

Buddy Akin i

[@namcat53]

Absolutely great; such soulful, timeless and far reaching music. It is magical and true. THANKS.

[@chriskungie5552]

Best live performance by RLT I've heard yet. Very good sound for the era. A real treat.

[@ralphd35]

It's so good to see this again after all these years. I'd given up hoping that it would surface again. Thanks very much for posting.

[@damienmichaelaulsberry9450]

The most beautiful sound I have ever heard...musical perfection RT, LT

[@apollo3021]

Wow!!! I can hardly believe how good this is.

[@ParcelOfRogue]

Total Class in every way! I too recorded this on the first BBC2 broadcast with the old Fergusson Videostar. Spoilt at the age of 20.

[@goodun2974]

At 7:00, video shows an acoustic guitar being strummed while somewhere off-camera Richard is playing a tasty solo. Damn you, BBC video editors!

[@nicholassgouros8612]

🤦🏻‍♂️

[@lindsayheywood7195]

Yes, and all those still photos when we would all much rather see video of Linda singing and Richard playing!

[@rhessex]

Wonderful. Thank you.

[@dolphabernethy9723]

Thanks for posting this! Richard and Linda are my all-time favorites, ever since I heard their “Bright Lights” album.

[@matspersson1259]

My number four.

[@ParcelOfRogue]

Fantastic stuff Brian. I had this from '81 for years on VHS until recently, then lost it in. a move or something. It converted me for a lifetime.

[@thesoundtrackofmylife]

Linda does a great job on Sandys I’m a dreamer

[@lovewalruss]

Nice thanks

[@carlgold3366]

Great performance. Thanks for posting it!

[@derekbiggerstaff]

Linda was soooo good.

[@susanfriedman7520]

Derek Biggerstaff b

[@DavidAndrewsPEC]

Still is, when the spasmodic dysphonia will fuck off for a while.

[@krisscanlon4051]

If I should ever come back in the next life I hope I find a woman nearly as breathtaking as Linda Thompson but hey I'll settle for the video for now LOL

[@selewachm]

Linda's voice is fantastic. Brings back some great memories. Interesting how they changed Dargai and Dimming of the Day around. Those last two songs were recored the other way so it threw me for a bit. I think I prefer the original order. But the electric version is WOW!

[@braincurlH]

Tremendously powerful! Thanks for posting this. TRULY!!

[@mikhorstman]

This is fucking terrific! What a great find!

[@qtpwqt]

I got to see this band at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto , great show.

[@beardyrecordbox4069]

This is incredible. Thank you for posting this.

[@SarahJonestoo]

Blimey. Wow. Thanks for posting this gem.

[@UncleBoko]

Somewhere I have a copy of this from the BBC master, hopefully one day I'll find it!!

[@gregmeagher3945]

when Linda sang, "Dimming ot the Day," she knew that Richard was cheating on her, thus the increased intensity of her vocal performance

[@barneybyron8438]

Amazing

[@landlinesandpercolators8822]

I mean, watching this incredible, precious performance footage, and then you have to look at pictures of homeless people...maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time....

[@apolloc.vermouth5672]

I think it was an attempt to illustrate the subject matter of the songs. It doesn't quite work, I agree....

[@NicoWright-s4q]

Right, when I listen to I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight, I don't think of the Sex Pistols.

[@ronaldzwicker5537]

I saw Richard & Linda on the "Shoot Out The Lights" tour in the states. (Same band I believe, although I'm not sure about John Kirkpatrick.) Watching this clip, now nearly 40 years old, I'm struck by what a good electric bass player Pete Zorn was.

[@bucknbronx13]

Pete Zorn played all instruments, and played them all well, and could sing!! His bass playing here is so good.

[@maxmerry8470]

Saw this line-up, apart from John Kirkpatrick and Linda (who pulled out at some time before the performance) the following year at a small club, The Blue Note, in Derby. Superb, as always, but I remember being disappointed by Linda's non-appearance. Didn't realise at that stage she and Richard were finished as a couple......

[@triciathompson5528]

and also that she has suffered for some years with - i think it is called dysphonia, where her voice just disappears for long periods of time ... to quote: "Afflicted by dysphonia since 1973, the condition has more or less guaranteed that live performances these days are non-existent, and records come every six years or so ..." www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/linda-thompson-a-special-voice-that-keeps-disappearing-8933483.html

[@jayrox40]

This is gold. Thanks for posting.

[@julesakers3051]

Bright Lights!! Love that intro too :)

[@Nazzz65]

Bryan, you are my hero! Thank you so much for this upload! Thank you for sharing it, you are a gentleman!

[@NigelDraper-vu6ns]

Until I noticed the different spelling, I assumed it was Linda's brother Brian Pettifer!

[@joerenehan2866]

Wow . Gotta love em

[@Teddyb1939]

Magical.

[@RayJones-o3t]

Pete on bass is amazing

[@billkrouwel8827]

RIP Pete...

[@honeychurchgipsy6]

thanks for posting this - fancy seeing Linda playing a Telecaster - seen her playing an acoustic guitar more recently on Jules Holland, but didn't know she ever played electric.

[@napoleonwilson6499]

Only hardcore folkie freaks completely eschew electrics. Everybody needs the juice sometimes

[@buzzawuzza3743]

Would anyone in 2024 ever think of filming this in such a low key way?

[@grendel_nz]

Night Comes In 💞❤💜

[@CDB97]

She knew just where he kept his better side.

[@BradGrit]

I'm a dreamer. Linda is the best. Reminds me of GP....not always the best, but when she hit's it, its the best!

[@lyndamiller9413]

@Yeah right! I'm guessing Gram Parsons?

[@williamjoshualucas6503]

Richard being on stage and singing "Shoot out the Lights" with Linda right there is comparable to Lindsay Buckingham standing on stage singing "Go Your Own Way" or "Second-Hand News" with Stevie Nicks standing right there. Or, if you're Stevie, singing "Gold Dust Woman" with Lindsay standing right there. How do people go through these horrid breakups and make such amazing art?

[@sneakykoala]

A joy....thanks for posting it :-)

[@charold3]

Marriage on rocks, music the jagged edges. (Note they're not anywhere near each other.) Oh well, we got them together for a few years. Linda not in good shape but still better than 90% of other singers. Richard the gunslinger he's been since the age of 17 (and still is). What great music though questionable camerawork.

[@redrover3259]

really stupid camera

[@carlgold3366]

@@redrover3259 You folks are right about the camera work, but it sounds great and it's a real treasure. I didn't know much about them at this point and never got to see them together. I'm just glad I lived long enough to see and hear so many great live performances I never dreamed I'd get to experience.

[@jonathanh8187]

Heaven.

[@SarahJonestoo]

Wow. Be still my beating heart @8.25

[@gordondarker916]

good looking woman

[@Sea-Bear]

Brilliant music pity about the crap camera work and video editing.

[@jakeg.7562]

Brilliant and timeless music. Sublime performance. Pisspoor shite for video production overkill...

[@ryreinhardt]

At some point, Richard must have been a huge Ry Cooder fan, just listening to his guitar sound and style

[@lesleyhouston3503]

Fab

[@bustedfender]

DM and the sadly missed Pete Zorn in good form.

[@troygaspard6732]

Doing a great cover of Sandy Dennis's I'm A Dreamer.

[@Nummymuffincocobutter]

this is on the LIVE AT THE BBC box set....

[@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888]

Oof. "Bright Lights" really isn't in Linda's key here is it. Ouch.

[@joedanaher1202]

I saw the bright tonight.

[@ebeep]

Let's talk signal chain here, especially "Shoot Out the Lights." '59 strat with '55 neck, original pickups, formvar-coated windings, 0.09's Maybe a Deluxe Reverb? I can't see Richard's amp in this footage. I assume he's using the amp's trem and verb. I hear slapback delay, also hear chorus on "Night Comes In", there are clearly pedals at his feet, just too low resolution to make any of them out. Anyone have any idea what pedals Richard used in this era? His tone in this era is unbeatable. It destroys me. I gotta know!

[@mindcontrol67]

Why is this? It even looks as the pickup screw is gone,I've heard of lowering the bass side of the pickup but damn.

[@ebeep]

I was happy to see Richard's pickup heights/tilt as it's similar to how I have my strats set up...of course because I'm aiming for this tone :)

[@cycloptical26]

@@mindcontrol67 Doubt that it was intentional. Really needed a set up, but when you're that good, it just doesn't matter.

[@iagobroxado]

@@mindcontrol67 He said in an interview that the low E pole piece of that neck pickup was causing the E to sound out of tune (probably refering to the "warble" you get when a pickup's magnets are too close to the strings).

[@iagobroxado]

The chorus could be a Boss CE-1 or CE-2.

[@elfpix]

What a mix. That squeeze box player makes such a difference. How does he do it?

[@mscottbice]

This has to be one of the most frustrating yet awesome videos. Worst directed music video Ever. Maybe they said to not get Simon's or Dave's, or, barely, Richard's face during filming. 300-foot shots of a guitarist? Really?This is such a signature moment. Not just to see what R&L were like together, but doing a Sandy Denny song right after she died. Maybe that's why they didn't film them because it had to hurt all of them. Linda Thompson, I know why the camera guy went to you. Beautiful.

[@mlwsf]

Marshall Bice it was common practice to smear the camera lens with Vaseline...to hide the wires in Kung fu movies Have no idea why they did it here.

[@lyndamiller9413]

It was the 80s. Everyone was trying crazy shit with video. They totally ruined this. But the audio (and performance)are fantastic!

[@lindsayheywood7195]

Terrible video with regards to camera work and lighting!

[@bosssho]

Is there at least one other good song out there besides "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight?"

[@Neitherherenorthere970]

RT in pre-beret days lol

[@apolloc.vermouth5672]

As they're doing 'Shoot Out The Lights', presumably this was during the Tour From Hell of 1982?

[@paddymeboy]

RT's songs with Linda were real and personal, where his later work often feels a bit detached. I haven't heard the whole of his massive back catalogue but I doubt he ever did a song as intense and sinister as Shoot Out the Lights. Turned out to be the pivot of his life.

[@TheClemcaster]

Wonderful version of 'I'm a dreamer'. Photographs of Bristol; was the set recorded there?

[@52stations]

I'm just watching this for the first time and noticed the Bristol photographs. Lovely!

[@Umbrey_Dunctum]

More importantly, we demand to know if that's Brum's Mayfair Suite at 8:13?

[@goodun2974]

Stunning version of Dimming of the Day, but we cant see if it's Richard, or Pete Zorn, playing the banjo. I cant hear any acoustic guitar in there......PS, the video ends with the first bars and chorus of Night Comes In; I wish they hadn't cut it off !

[@joedanaher1202]

Sorry! I meant to say, I saw the bright lights tonight