Chris Thompson – The Final Round Era
1. “The Final Round” marks your final live album—how did it feel stepping on stage during that tour knowing it would be your last round with the band?
I had mixed feelings of course, as well as being my band of 21 years, we were good friends and so much of being on the road is the social aspect of being together, as well of course the concerts. So, I knew I was going to miss being with the guys a lot, but also, I had been playing concerts for 6o years and I knew it was time to stop, so that part of it seemed a natural thing to do.
As an artist you will always miss being on the stage performing to people, that is always the thrill.
2. You’ve played with your current band for over two decades—what makes this lineup so special to you, and how did they shape the sound of this final recording?
As I say on the CD cover, to me they are the ‘best band in the land’ and every time we started to play, it was like the first time as things were never exactly the same, but at the same time it was always like wearing your most comfortable glove!! We knew each other’s playing so well and simply loved playing together. The Band are the sound of this final recording captured exactly as it was.
3. The album dives deep into Earth Band classics like “Messin’” and “Buddha”—what was it like revisiting those early tracks with fresh energy?
Although we followed the original blueprint for those songs, from the minute we started rehearsing and playing them, they became the bands interpretation of the songs, so by definition, they had fresh energy. The more we played them the tighter the arrangements became although the solo sections were always different. Both Mads and Gunnar, guitar and keys had a fresh approach to the solos every time which made them very exciting and interesting. We wanted to play somethings a bit more progressive, and that led to two new original songs that we have recorded for my new album.
4. You included “You’re The Voice” in the setlist—a track you originally co-wrote that became a global hit for John Farnham. How does it feel to perform that song today?
It’s always great to play “You’re the Voice”, it’s such an anthem and people love to sing along with us, which makes for a high point in our show.
I feel so lucky and very proud to have been involved in that song. There have been many cover versions of it over the years, in fact there is a really great version in Greek called “.Rixe Kokkino Sti Nihta” by Lavrentis Machairitas, which we always hear on the radio when we visit.
5. What drew you to include a drum solo and a reprise of “For You”? That section feels like a climactic centerpiece of the live set.
Zsolt, our drummer always did a drum solo in the show. He is really great and that night it was a particularly good one, which leads so perfectly into the Reprise of ‘For You’ that it would have been crazy to leave them out, as you are right it was a climatic build up to the end of the show”, and another song (For You) that has a sing along part that the audience love, to get us all ready for ‘Mighty Quinn’.
6. The energy and production quality of “The Final Round” really capture a ‘greatest hits’ live experience. Was that the intention from the start, or did it evolve that way on tour?
I think that particular set list evolved over the last couple of years on the road.
We looked for all the songs I was known for and that were audience favourites, we wanted to fit them all in somehow. Most of the concerts we played on the ‘Final Round’ were 2 hours and 15 mins long. There were a couple of songs that didn’t make it to the CD, mainly because of time on the 2 CDs. We tried many different set lists for the songs, but in the end, we came back to that set list.
For many years I tried to find a way to start the show with ‘For You “and end with ‘For You’, but nothing was as good as “Davy’s on the Road Again”, as the Final song.
7. You’ve chosen to donate signed physical copies of the CD to raise money for a Kids Cancer Station in Karlsruhe, how did that cause become so meaningful to you?
I have a great friend who lost a child. He was supported and helped by the people who work there and the organisation itself. Each year they have a ‘Marathon’ with teams… to raise money for the Charity. He put together a team and I donated my signed CDs for a donation to the cause. So far we have raised over 6000 euros.
We still have CDs available for a donation. If people would like a signed CD sent to them, they can go to my website…christhompson-central.com and make a donation. Every single donated penny goes to the Charity and we pay the postage. Later this year I will be auctioning off some of my objects from ‘War of The Worlds LIVE’ for this year’s Marathon in September.
8. After 21 years with this band and a career that spans decades, what do you think is the secret to staying inspired as a performer?
The audience, the people who come to see us. They always have been and always will be our inspiration. It’s the thrill of stepping on to the stage.
Sound checks are always great fun too!
9. Are there any songs on The Final Round that surprised you in how they translated live—maybe ones that grew in a new direction on stage?
I think the biggest surprises were ‘Angels at my Gate’, ‘Waiter there’s a Yawn in my Ear’, Messin’ and ‘Woe is Me’. They became audience favourites as well and grew the more we played them.
10. Now that you’ve said farewell with this final tour and album, what’s next for Chris Thompson—musically or personally?
Right now, I’m working on a new Album. (I say Album because we are going to only print in Vinyl). Some new songs with the band and then an eclectic mix of new songs with various friends. I’m close to finishing the last 3 songs, so probably available around April next year.
My wife and I are nearly finished a Musical from an original idea of ours, we wrote the script and 23 new songs.
Personally, my wife and I have places we love to visit and some new destinations to plan. We are looking forward to a New Zealand visit in March next year.
11. Looking back, what was the most creatively satisfying part of your time with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band?
I think that the “Somewhere in Africa” tour was the most creatively satisfying part. I didn’t have anything to do with the concept of the Album which was mostly Manfred with some help from Matt Irving. I got involved as the album began to take shape in the studio. Manfred called me to come in and sing “Redemption Song” which we had played live before, that fitted the concept.
He kept calling me back for other songs and bits and pieces.
Mic Rodgers came back into the band, so we had some harmony things to do which was great and sing together with the pre-recorded African choirs.
There were also great films which made the tour very special and I had lots of space to play guitar, which I loved.
12. “Blinded by the Light” became such a massive hit—did you sense it would be that big when you were recording it, or was it a surprise how far it went?
Recording “ Blinded” was such an arduous process, because of the tracks limitations that we had that forced us work to with 2 tape machines running in sync. This was a new system that was fraught with problems. We ended up also having to ‘fly’ in certain bits and pieces to get the transition between the chorus’s to the verse, which was in half time, and various other technical issues etc. So by the time we had finally finished that track we had no real objective feeling about how well the song would do, but it was one of the songs that Manfred was kind of staking his reputation on (as a producer of hit records).
Manfred and I did a 50-radio station tour in America in 30 days when the single came out, so we began to see how audiences were reacting to the song and how it became a much requested song on FM rock radio, especially with the discussions on what the lyrics actually were, because one of the technical issues had made it hard to decipher. That in itself made people want to listen to it over and over, which as we know as a recipe for success.
In the end it got to number one, and I don’t believe that felt like a possibility when it was first released.
Information: christhompson-central.com – – official Website
