Danny Thompson, the legendary acoustic bass player and founding member of British folk-rock band Pentangle, died peacefully on September 23, 2025, at his home in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. He was 86 years old.
Thompson’s management team confirmed his death in a statement, describing him as a musician who was both beloved and admired by everyone he worked with. The statement noted that Thompson was “a force of nature” whose body of work was unparalleled in quality and the incredibly varied number of musicians he collaborated with throughout his career.
Born in Teignmouth, Devon, on April 4, 1939, Thompson never knew his father, a miner who enlisted in the Royal Navy at the start of World War II and was killed in action. After his sister died, Thompson and his mother moved to Battersea, south-west London, where he attended Salesian college and excelled in boxing and football while learning various instruments before settling on the upright bass.
Thompson’s musical journey began at age 13 when he built his own bass from a tea chest, inspired by Lonnie Donegan’s skiffle hits of the mid-1950s. By age 15, he had left school and home to earn a living playing bass in Soho strip clubs. At 16, he was playing his first professional gigs in Soho clubs and later worked the American airbase circuit.
After being arrested for failing to report for national service, Thompson married his girlfriend Daphne Davis three days before being sent to Winchester barracks. He was then posted to Penang, Malaysia, for two years, where he played trombone for the army band and, against orders, became involved with the local music scene.
Returning to England in 1963, Thompson took a job backing American singer Roy Orbison on a UK tour while watching headliners The Beatles launch Beatlemania. This marked the only time in his career that he played electric bass. In 1964, he spent five pounds purchasing his acoustic bass “Victoria,” a 1865 Gand double bass that he would use throughout his entire career.
Thompson joined Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated in 1964, where he worked alongside emerging talents including Ginger Baker, Charlie Watts, Eric Clapton, and Brian Jones. This experience led to collaborations with jazz musicians such as John McLaughlin and Tubby Hayes, as well as folk artists like Davey Graham.
In 1967, Thompson and drummer Terry Cox, both from Blues Incorporated, joined guitarists Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, along with vocalist Jacqui McShee, to form Pentangle. The band’s debut concert at the Royal Festival Hall in 1967 was a huge success, followed by their acclaimed debut album “The Pentangle” in 1968. Their 1969 album “Basket of Light” achieved even greater commercial success, reaching the top five in UK album charts and containing the hit single “Light Flight,” which served as the theme for BBC TV drama “Take Three Girls.”
After Pentangle disbanded in 1972, Thompson chose to concentrate on session work rather than joining another group. Record producer Joe Boyd had already paired him with Nick Drake for “Five Leaves Left” in 1969, and later with John Martyn for “Solid Air” in 1973. Thompson and Martyn developed a close partnership, with both musicians sharing a reputation for heavy drinking and disruptive behavior while touring.
Thompson’s alcoholism led to a notable decrease in session work during the 1970s. However, after sobering up in the late 1970s, the reverence for his recordings with Drake and Martyn eventually brought him back into high demand. During the mid-1980s, artists including David Sylvian, Kate Bush, Talk Talk, The The, Everything But the Girl, Graham Coxon, and Skin employed him for his distinctive playing style.
Bush paid tribute to Thompson, describing him as a rare and special treasure who worked alongside his double bass “Victoria.” She recalled never dreaming she would work with such incredible talent after watching him perform live many times with John Martyn.
In 1987, Thompson released his debut solo album “Whatever,” leading a jazz trio playing the muscular fusion he loved. He released five more low-key solo jazz albums over the following quarter century while continuing extensive session work. He recorded 14 albums with fellow folk scene veteran Richard Thompson and performed at Richard’s 75th birthday concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 2024.
Beyond music, Thompson embraced sobriety and established Hero Productions to produce TV documentaries. His 1983 wildlife film “A Passion to Protect” won a Hugo award at the Chicago Film Festival. He converted to Islam in 1990, taking the Muslim name Hamza, and was featured in the BBC TV series “Faces of Islam” in 1999. The following year, he traveled to Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem as presenter of the documentary “The Furthest Mosque.”
Thompson underwent major heart surgery in 1998, during which he suffered a stroke. Despite health challenges, he organized an all-star charity concert in Sarajevo three months after his operation and continued performing until ill health forced him to slow down several years ago.
Thompson’s first marriage to Daphne Davis ended in divorce in the late 1970s. In 1990, he married his partner Sylvia. He is survived by Sylvia and his son Danny Jr.
