Actually no - it was the Larmer Tree festival on the Wiltshire/Dorset border about 5 or 6 years ago.
It was hosing down so most of us tried to shelter under the awning of the stage, whilst the rest braved having their eyes poked out via umbrellas.
Needless to say RT found it quite amusing.
At Cropredy it was a well-known âfactâ that it rained heavily every year that RT played, Simon Nicol his old friend from Fairport refers to him as the rain god.
I have been a fan of Richard Thompson and his music from the album âUnhalfbrickingâ onwards, and last saw him play live a couple of years ago or so.
However, I did not know that (if indeed you are right) that he might have effectively sanctioned the Fatwa on Salman Rushdie. I really hope that you are wrong and that this isnât so. It would certainly diminish my own respect for the guy.
Youâre not thinking about Cat - interesting reaction from Ten Thousand Maniacs who removed Peace Train from their In My Tribe album.
I was aware of Cat Stevenâs controversial views on Rushdie. He genuinely seems like a nice guy now and he claims that he never called for the murder of Rushdie. However, my respect for Stevens and his music was certainly diminished by some of the comments attributed to him at the time of the Fatwa.
I might add that I have never read âSatanic Versesâ, nor for that matter any of Rushdieâs novels, but nothing in them could possibly justify the Fatwa.
I didnât know about the Ten Thousand Maniacs removal of âPeace Trainâ from their album.
Itâs well documented in Patrick Humphries 1996 bio âStrange Affair.â âIf they handed me the gun, I wouldnât shoot him⌠I wouldnât have killed him for itâŚBut he knew what he was doing and I think he has to accept the consequences.â p. 270.
As I say the book was published over twenty years ago and he may have revised his opinion.
Cat Stevens said âI never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini â and still donât. The accusation that I supported the Fatwa, therefore, is wholly false and misleading. It was due to my naivety in trying to answer a loaded question posed by a journalist, after a harmless biographical lecture I gave to students in Kingston University in 1989, which unleashed the infamous headlineâ.
Richard Thompsonâs comments seem as if they are promoted by a journalist.
It is often best not to delve too far into the personal beliefs of an artist or you can end up disliking artists you have enjoyed for years. Remember, it is the song you liked not necessarily the artists personal beliefs or actions. Though we did dump our Rolf Harris box set: unfortunately my favourite Alice Cooper album ends with a Harris track (Sun Arise).
FWIW I donât think Cat or Richard are unpleasant people and they both have written some fantastic songs. When you think about it you have to admit itâs a wild world and Itâs hard to get by just upon a smile.
As for Richard Thompson, my favourite album of his outside of Fairport is
I do agree with you on this & hope that their position with regard to the Fatwa has been as you suggest.
Yup, Al Bowlly is one of his best ever songs on any album. Missie How You Let Me Down is another cracker from DA.
âIt is often best not to delve too far into the personal beliefs of an artist or you can end up disliking artists you have enjoyed for years. Remember, it is the song you liked not necessarily the artists personal beliefs or actions.â
Completely agree. I try not to pay too much attention to some of Bob Dylanâs pronouncements, and Neil Youngâs support for Ronald Reagan is now just a distant bad memory. But I do find Thompsonâs conversion to Islam interesting. It went against the grain at the time when most of his 60âs contemporaries, if they were seeking God, usually got into Hinduism. He has adhered to the faith for decades now, proving it wasnât just a phase a la Dylanâs evangelical Christianity or the Incredible String Bandâs dalliance with Scientology. Being a white convert to Islam living in the USA, especially under Trump, canât help, I believe, informing his artistic output.
That does not in any way mean that he sanctioned the fatwa on Rushdie !!!
He simply said that Rushdie would have known the consequences of his actions. A totally different thing.
Nope, sorry but that is a cop out. He stated Rushdie âhas to accept the consequences.â The consequences were death. Thompson was given the opportunity to denounce or reject the Fatwa as wrong. He did not, he merely stated that he would not personally be prepared to carry it out. I have no particular axe to grind here. But I think we, as Thompson fans, have to acknowledge that he gave his tacit support to a very unpleasant incident. Hopefully he sees things differently now. We wonât know until he is asked the question.
Well said - and my favourite Alice Cooper album.
I always liked that 52 Vincent Black Lightning song.
Being a talented musician doesnât mean you canât also be a bit of an a**e as a person.
Nope, sorry thatâs just you twisting it round. âThe consequencesâ were that there would be a fatwa and a lot of muslims would want to kill Rushdie.
It was true. There was and they did.
This has nothing to do with Richard Thompson agreeing to anything !
Ok fine, youâre free to interpret it however you want. My understanding is however, if you say someone âhas to accept the consequencesâ then thatâs not a disagreement. When youâre given an opportunity to voice a moral objection to something but are equivocal at best then that, as far as I can see, amounts to tacit support. He could have said he disagreed with the Fatwa, that it was wrong, and that Rushdie did not deserve a death sentence. He did none of those things. Letâs just agree to disagree.
My music collection is going to take a hit if I start judging all the personal actions or missteps of the musicians in it.
Yep, all that would be left is St Winifredâs School Choir. 
You can pick this up for a give away price on Qobuz at ÂŁ6.99. It features two of RTâs best recorded guitar pieces both weighing at over 10 minutes Night Comes In and his masterpiece The Calvary Cross.
