Chris Thompson (English musician)

For other people named Chris Thompson, see Chris Thompson (disambiguation).

Chris Thompson
Born	9 March 1947 (1947-03-09) (age 64), Ashford, Kent
Genres	Rock, Progressive rock
Years active	1970s–present
Associated acts	Manfred Mann's Earth Band Night
Website	www.christhompson-central.com

Chris Thompson, also known as Chris Hamlet Thompson (born Christopher Hamlet Thompson, 9 March 1947) is an English singer and guitarist known both for his work with Manfred Mann's Earth Band and for his solo accomplishments.

Biography

Thompson was born on 9 March 1947 in Ashford, Kent but raised in New Zealand. His early musical experiences were whilst still at school with the band The Paragons that played at weekly church youth club dances. Later, as his talent became clear, the band was reformed as Dynasty with other musicians and achieved much local success on the New Zealand music scene. Chris Thompson's last band in New Zealand was Mandrake, formed with university friends who played the Friday and Saturday night dances in and around Hamilton City. Chris was one of pop music's "nice guys" and was respected as an excellent guitarist and stage performer.

He went to Australia before returning to England in 1973 to pursue a musical career, eventually joining Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1976.

In 1978, he was featured in Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, providing lead vocals for the song "Thunder Child".

After several years with Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Thompson left in 1979 and formed the Los Angeles based outfit Night, which enjoyed two hits during its lifetime. One of them, "If You Remember Me," the theme song for Franco Zeffirelli's remake of The Champ, was initially credited solely to Thompson; later pressings of the single were credited to "Chris Thompson and Night." After the band broke up in 1982, he rejoined the Earth Band.

In 1980, he co-wrote and sang backing vocals on the track "No Stoppin' Us Now" with Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald, on the Doobie Brothers' album One Step Closer. In 1983 he contributed vocals to Simmons' solo album Arcade as well as co-writing several of the tracks.

In 1981, Thompson released his debut album, Out Of The Night. This was followed by five more albums, most recently Won't Lie Down in 2001.

In 1986, Chris was one of the four co-writers of the hit song "You're the Voice" - the others being Andy Qunta of Australian new wave outfit Icehouse, erstwhile Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid and respected backing vocalist Maggie Ryder. He hoped to record the song in London but was turned down by record companies there who stated the song was "not commercial". Chris sent a demo to John Farnham (another Antipodean-raised Englishman) who had recently come off a five-year stint fronting the Little River Band. Farnham liked the song and agreed to record it for his forthcoming album Whispering Jack. Farnham's release of "You're the Voice" was a worldwide hit reaching top ten positions in many countries across the world.

Also in 1986 Thompson sang vocals on a solo album by ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. The album featured performances by artists such as Brian May (Queen), Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Ian Mosley (also from Marillion), and Bonnie Tyler. However, the album, entitled Feedback 86, was not released until 2002.

In 1990, Thompson recorded the single, "This Is The Moment", as the official theme song for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.^[1]

In 1995, Chris performed "You're The Voice" in The Netherlands at the World Liberty Concert as the grand finale of this event.

In 2006, he joined Jeff Wayne for a second time to tour as The Voice of Humanity in the live version of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. According to the special features of the DVD Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds - Live on Stage, Chris designed some artwork for the show.

Thompson has been featured on several albums by artists such as Alan Parsons, Jan Hammer, Steve Hackett, Bonnie Tyler, Mike Oldfield, and Sarah Brightman, as well as providing back up vocals for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and later for Brian May of Queen, during his first few solo concerts, in South America in 1992.

As a songwriter, his greatest success has been co-writing John Farnham's single "You're the Voice."

Thompson has also been involved with the SAS band (Spike's All Star Band) where he has performed numerous songs, especially from his repertoire with Manfred Mann's Earth Band, such as "Blinded By the Light".

Discography

With Manfred Mann's Earth Band

• The Roaring Silence (1976)
• Watch (1978)
• Angel Station (1979)
• Chance (1980)
• I (Who Have Nothing) (1981) single only
• Somewhere in Afrika (1982)
• Budapest Live (1983)
• Criminal Tango (1986)
• Soft Vengeance (1996)
• Mann Alive (1998)

With Manfred Mann '06

• 2006 (2004)

Solo

• If You Remember Me (1979)
• Out Of The Night (1983)
• Radio Voices (1985)
• High Cost Of Living (1986)
• Beat Of Love (1989)
• Backtrack 1980-1994 (1999)
• Won't Lie Down (2001)
• Rediscovery (2004)
• Timeline (2005)
• Chris Thompson & Band - One Hot Night in the Cold (Live at the Private Music Club) (2006)

With Filthy McNasty (before becoming Night)

• A Week At The Bridge E16 (1978)

With Jeff Wayne

• Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978)

With Elton John

• A Single Man (1978)

With Night

• Night (1979)
• Long Distance (1981)

With The Doobie Brothers

• One Step Closer (1980)

With Trevor Rabin

• Wolf (1981)

With John Parr

• Running the Endless Mile (1986)

With Jan Hammer

• Seeds of Life (1986)

With John Farnham

• Whispering Jack (1986)

With Robbie Nevil

• Robbie Nevil (1987)
• A Place Like This (1988)

With Starship

• Love among the Cannibals (1989)

With Peter Maffay

• Tabaluga and the Magic Jadestone (1988)

With Robin Trower

• Take What You Need (1989)

With Gary Moore

• After the War (1989)

With Mike Oldfield

• Earth Moving (1989)

With Alan Parsons

• Try Anything Once (1993)
• Live (1994)
• Excalibur featuring Michael Ernst (2003)

With Bonnie Tyler

• Free Spirit (1996)

With SAS Band

• SAS Band (1997)
• The Show (2001)

With Steelhouse Lane

• Metallic Blue (1998)
• Slaves of New World (1999)

With Steve Hackett

• Feedback 86 (2000)

With Mads Eriksen

• Redhanded (2001)
• Rediscovery (2004)

With Leslie Mándoki

• Soulmates (2002)
• Jazz Cuts (2003)
• Allstars, "Legends of Rock" (2004)

With Lava

• Polarity (2003)

With Michael Ernst

• Excalibur (2004)

With Siggi Schwarz & The Rock Legends

• Live (2005)
• Woodstock (2005)
• Soul Classics (2007)

With Rudi Buttas

• On My Side (2006)

With Sarah Brightman

• "How Can Heaven Love Me" (1995)
• "I Will Be with You (Where the Lost Ones Go)" (Pokémon 10: The Rise of Darkrai) (2007)
• "The Phantom of the Opera" (Symphony: Live in Vienna) (2008)

With Nicole

• Mitten Ins Herz (2008)

With Lindy Bingham

• Make Me an Offer (2009)

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

• Chris Thompson's official site
• Chris Thompson page at the AMG website
• August 2006 Chris Thompson interview at Classic Rock Revisited
• [2]

Persondata
Name	Chris Thompson
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 March 1947
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death