Chris Thompson "Echoes from the Pit" 1976

This Chris Thompson should not be confused with Chris Thompson, the vocalist from Manfred Mann's Earth Band, who also spent time in Hamilton, including attending Hamilton Boys High School...

…Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Chris Thompson started out in the Kon-Tiki Folk Club in Hamilton, and other coffee houses. He found some initial success in Auckland with country and blues bands like The Stillwater String Band, The Medicine Show and The Myers Park Shufflers, and with regular television appearances on AKTV-2's 'On Camera' show in 1969. In the early '70s he moved to England, where he played in the band of Californian folk singer Julie Felix and played with British folk-blues legends Wizz Jones and Davey Graham. Chris moved to Ireland to live and became a 'musician-in-residence' at Trinity College, Dublin, opening shows for bands like Quintessence, Planxty and Horslips, and touring solo in Belgium in 1972. Chris also appeared on television in Dublin and Belfast. In 1973 he made his first album, which is recognised internationally as an underground classic, and is currently in its fifth edition. Back in New Zealand in 1974, Chris toured with bluesmen Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee; he maintained a lifelong friendship with Brownie, for whom he wrote the song "Letter to Brownie". "Letter to Brownie" later had a video directed by Adam Hyde, then a student at Waikato Polytech. It was filmed by Wayne Green, and presented to TVNZ as a demo. It engaged their interest and they re-shot the film in a bar in Auckland, screened it on 'The CV Show', and sent a copy to Brownie McGhee who enjoyed it thoroughly. In the mid-'70s Chris toured with New Zealand singer/songwriter John Hanlon, backing him up on stage and in the studio, and in the '80s Chris toured with Texan blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Chris married Canadian musician Lynne Bradstock in 1985; they toured successfully as a duo, and made two albums for Ode Records. Together they have one daughter, Lora, who plays guitar in the Hamilton band Empress. Regular gigs Chris has had in Hamilton include The Hillcrest Tavern Wine Bar (1982), Ruby Blacks Coffee House (2007), The Brothers Seafood Restaurant (1979), Cafe Centrale (1998) and La Commune Cafe (2008)… to be continued

trax:
1. Brazil 2. A Victim Speaks 3. Why Weep Ye Lady? 4. Wild About My Lovin' 5. Upstairs? Downstairs? 6. Hugo 7. Barcelona 8. The Station Mistress And The Express Driver 9. Fox's Minstrel Show 10. Joshua Gone Barbados 11. Young Lust 12. Chelsea Style 13. Stand Before Me Oh My Sou 14. The Story Of My Arrest And Trial
…served by Gaius + zigzagwanderer…