Beloved Pentangle bass player Danny Thompson dead aged 86
Danny Thompson, a virtuoso acoustic bass player and the founder of British folk-rock band Pentangle, has passed away at the age of 86.
His manager shared the tragic news, stating that the musician died “peacefully” in his home in Rickmansworth on September 23rd. The statement continued: “A musician who was both beloved and admired by everybody he worked with, his body of work is unparalleled in its quality and also in the incredibly varied number of musicians he worked with.”
It added: “Danny was a force of nature. A player who served the song and who enriched the lives of every single person he met. He will be sorely missed.”
Thompson made his first bass from a tea chest when he was 13. By 16, he was playing in Soho clubs, and eventually, after playing trombone in an army band in Malaysia during his national service, he went on tour with Roy Orbison to play the electric bass.
He formed the folk-rock band, Pentangle, in 1967 along with Jacqui McShee, Terry Cox, John Renbourn, and Bert Jansch. Their 1969 release, Basket Of Light, reached the top five in the UK album charts.
During his time in Pentangle, Thompson became known as a raver, and later confronted his alcoholism several times. He formed an especially tight bond through these years with British singer-songwriter John Martyn, who passed in 2009.
Thompson left the group after a few years, but continued to collaborate with various artists such as jazz musicians Tubby Hayes and Stan Tracey, as well as Richard Thompson and Nick Drake. He can also be heard on the theme tune for the sci-fi series, Thunderbirds.
In 1987, after playing for Kate Bush on Hounds of Love and The Dreaming, he released his own solo project called Whatever. His last release was the lovely, tender Song of Joy for Christmas – An Album of Christmas Carols.
The beloved musician is survived by his wife Sylvia and his son Dan Junior.
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