Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Danny Thompson, Pentangle Bassist and Studio Mainstay, Dies at 86

His management said he died peacefully at home in Rickmansworth on September 23.

Overview

  • The death of the English double-bassist was confirmed by his management, who said he is survived by his wife, Sylvia, and his son, Dan Junior.
  • A founding member of Pentangle, he helped shape British folk-jazz and appeared on the group’s 1969 top-five album Basket of Light.
  • His six-decade career spanned collaborations with Kate Bush, John Martyn, Roy Orbison when the Beatles were the support act, Nick Drake, Tubby Hayes, Stan Tracey, Talk Talk and Peter Gabriel.
  • Born in Teignmouth in 1939, he played his first professional gig in Soho at 16, served in Penang during national service playing trombone, and as a teen fashioned his first bass from a tea chest.
  • Career honors included two BBC Radio 2 Folk Lifetime Achievement awards in 2007 and the Chris Squire Virtuoso Award in 2015, with notable session credits such as the Thunderbirds theme.