Mayo Thompson | |
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 Mayo Thompson live withthe Red Krayola (Münster, May 2005) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Mayo Joseph Thompson, Jr. by Father Mayo Joseph Thompson and Mother Hazel Margaret Muhl[1] (1944-02-26)February 26, 1944 (age 81) Houston, Texas, US |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
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Mayo Joseph Thompson Jr. (born February 26, 1944) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of theexperimental rock bandRed Krayola. He released his only solo albumCorky's Debt to His Father in 1970, and later collaborated with the Englishconceptual art collectiveArt & Language. He formed the band Saddlesore withRick Barthelme, Frank Davis andCassell Webb in 1971, as well as the Rockin' Blue Diamonds withRock Romano among others in 1972. He later worked with Greek composerManos Hatzidakis and artistRobert Rauschenberg.
By the late 1970s, he moved to England, and began working withRough Trade where he co-produced releases withGeoff Travis. Artists such asthe Monochrome Set,Stiff Little Fingers,the Raincoats,the Fall,Scritti Politti,Blue Orchids,LiLiPUT andCabaret Voltaire. Thompson briefly joined the bandPere Ubu and was credited as an associate producer forthe Smiths'The Queen Is Dead music video. He contributed to film soundtracks forLizzie Borden'sBorn in Flames andDerek Jarman'sThe Last of England. He producedthe Chills,Felt,Shop Assistants andPrimal Scream onFlying Nun,Creation, Blue Guitar andElevation Records. He later moved to Germany and worked with artists and musiciansAlbert Oehlen,Dieter Moebius andConny Plank.
During the 1990s, Thompson moved back to the United States, signed to the labelDrag City and briefly joined the Germanfree improvisation group COWWS Quintet. In 1994, he taught at theArt Center College of Design inPasadena until 2008. His paintings and visual artwork were later exhibited atGalerie Buchholz. He released two novelsArt & Mystery (2018) andAfter Math: Art, Mystery - Part II (2023).
Mayo Joseph Thompson Jr. was born on February 26, 1944 atSt. Joseph Medical Center in Houston, Texas, to father Mayo Joseph Thomson Sr. and mother Hazel Margaret Muhl.[2] Shortly after he was born, his parents divorced. Thompson grew up alone with his mother in Houston, who became a teacher atSan Jacinto High School. His father, Mayo Thompson Sr. had previously been in thearmed services, and later became a lawyer and member of theFederal Trade Commission.[3][2]
Thompson's formal education includes Garden of Arts Kindergarten until Holy Rosary Elementary School through fifth grade, then Moye Military School until high school at Cascia Hall College Preparatory School, from which he received a diploma in 1962. He went on to study at theUniversity of St. Thomas, where he tried variously, off and on, pre-Law, Creative Writing, English and American Literature, Philosophy, and Art History, before dropping out.[4][5]
In 1955, Mayo Thompson began takingpiano lessons at the age of 11, where he first became interested in composing music. In 1958, he started a short-lived band with a friend he met in boarding school.[6] He went on to study at the University of St. Thomas, where he found an "affinity for jazz".[7] In 1963, he metFrederick Barthelme (brother of novelistDonald Barthelme). On November 15, 1964, Thompson performed a cover of "Baby, Please Don't Go" at the University of St. Thomas. At the time, Thompson was a part of afolk musicparody band known as the Seventy-Three Balalaikas, which consisted of Sam Irwin of theSixpence, Bob Raines and Paul Norris.[8]
In 1965, Thompson embarked on a school trip to Europe.[5] On returning, he was inspired byBeatlemania to start a rock band.[7] He later stated he was "more interested in creating new material than interpreting old material".[7] In mid-1966, amid the burgeoning Houston psychedelic scene, Thompson formed the bandRed Crayola with Rick Barthelme and Steve Cunningham, they signed toInternational Artists after being discovered by producerLelan Rogers performing for radio stationKNUZ's Battle of the Bands event at theGulfgate Mall. They became labelmates with the13th Floor Elevators, withRoky Erickson performing on theirdebut album.[5][9]
In late 1967, Rick Barthelme left the Red Crayola, leading to Thompson briefly working as a sound man forJoseph Byrd and his bandthe United States of America in Los Angeles.[10] In March 1968, Thompson began working with local musician Johndavid Bartlett atGold Star Studios, the same place where "She's About a Mover" was recorded.[11] Bartlett had joined in on rehearsals during the Red Crayola's early days and would sometimes get the opportunity to play his own original songs. Because of this, Thompson took an affinity for his songwriting and got him signed to the International Artists record label. He started producing the album which contained instrumental cameos fromJohnny Winter,Jimmy Reed andStacy Sutherland of the13th Floor Elevators. The album was to be calledMother's Milk; however, by the time it was supposed to be released, the label folded and the tapes were lost.[12]
In 1970, Thompson released his only solo album to date,Corky's Debt To His Father, which employed "the best session musicians in Houston" and was recorded at Walt Andrus' Andrus Studio and released on his label Texas Revolution.[13][14] However, because the label's executives did not like Thompson's voice, the album was made available only by mail order.[13] Subsequently, Thompson and Barthelme formed the Houston band Saddlesore withCassell Webb. The trio released one single on Texas Revolution, with "Old Tom Clark" on the A-side and "Pig Ankle Strut" on the B-side.[13][14] The label later folded and the band split up.
In 1971, he moved from Houston to New York.[15]Christine Kozlov, whom Thompson had met in 1969, introduced him to the British art collectiveArt & Language, whom he described as "the baddest bastards on the block".[16][17][18][19][20] At this time, he also metMel Ramsden.[21][15] In 1972, he formed ajam band known as the Rockin' Blue Diamonds. The group consisted ofRock Romano and Tucker Bradley on vocals, Fred McLain on lead guitar, Bob Henschen on piano, Bernard Sampson on saxophone and flute, Don Jones on bass, Art Kidd on drums, and Thompson on rhythm guitar and as the primary songwriter. They performed a few shows, and Fahey offered Thompson $250 to record a demo. However, Fahey and his wife did not like the recording, and the group later disbanded.[13] Thompson later sampled Bob Henschen's 1971 piano recordings at the end ofFingerpainting.[22]
In 1973, Thompson began working with Greek composerManos Hatzidakis on an album that was later cancelled.[15] He later worked as a studio assistant forRobert Rauschenberg, whom he met by chance in Paris.[23][24] They collaborated on an unfinished film titledMostly About Rauschenberg (1975), produced byReiner Moritz.[23] Thompson also worked with Rauschenberg in Greece and Israel, alongside Christine Kozlov.
In 1974, Thompson and Art & Language began recording the albumCorrected Slogans (1976) in England. The album featured drummer Jesse Chamberlain, who later joinedArthur Russell's band the Necessaries and who was the son of sculptorJohn Chamberlain and Lorraine Belcher Chamberlain,Frank Zappa's former girlfriend.[25][26][27][28] In 1976, the New York branch of Art & Language recordedvideo performances entitled "Struggle in New York" and "Nine Gross and Conspicuous Errors", which featured Thompson and Jesse Chamberlain. The former featured filmmakerKathryn Bigelow, who at the time was a member of the New York underground scene.[19][29][30]
After the release ofCorrected Slogans, Thompson fell out with Art & Language and remained in England. He was interviewed byPete Frame, who was working as the press agent forStiff Records, and he met withVirgin Records’ Simon Draper, who expressed interest in issuing a one-off single. He also metAndrew Lauder who'd later formRadar Records and reissue the Red Crayola's original material, with Thompson releasing new Red Crayola singles under Radar. Thompson also became involved withGeoff Travis's distribution business atRough Trade Records.[31] When the label decided to begin releasing records in 1978, Thompson was asked by Travis to assist in producing "He's Frank" bythe Monochrome Set, because Travis did not feel confident in the studio.[32] Thompson would produce and co-produce releases for several other acts such asStiff Little Fingers,the Raincoats,[33]the Fall,[34]Scritti Politti,Blue Orchids,LiLiPUT andCabaret Voltaire.[35]
In 1980, Thompson wrote and composed the song "Born in Flames" with Art & Language, the track would later be featured in directorLizzie Borden'sfilm of the same name. He later joinedPere Ubu on their albumsThe Art of Walking(1980) andSong of the Bailing Man(1982) as well as on several tours and live albums such asOne Man Drives While the Other Man Screams.[36] Thompson had originally met the band through a joint tour with Red Krayola in 1978.[5]
He played accordion on theDavid Thomas and the Pedestrians albumThe Sound of the Sand and Other Songs of the Pedestrian(1981), and also appeared with the band in the 1982 filmUrgh! A Music War. That same year, he started to compose the musical score ofVictorine, the opera written byArt & Language for theDocumenta 7. Pere Ubu disbanded later that year due to tensions surrounding the recording sessions forSong of the Bailing Man. Thompson stated, he andFeelies drummerAnton Fier "didn't get along well at all", reportedly due to Fier's perfectionism in re-doing takes.[37][11][36][38]
In 1983, Thompson moved to Germany and joined its contemporary art scene, he recorded a series of monologues and vocal tracks for a collaborative effort with German musiciansDieter Moebius andConny Plank. The recordings were shelved for 15 years but were finally released asLudwig's Law in 1998. He also recorded "commercial jingles" for companies such asC&A andAdidas.[39] In 1987, he began collaborating with the German painterAlbert Oehlen,[40] first on a soundtrack for the filmThe Last of England byDerek Jarman. Additionally, through working for Rough Trade, Thompson persuaded Jarman to film a promotional video forthe Smiths, which became the music video forThe Queen Is Dead. Thompson was credited as an associate producer.[41][42]
At around that time, he'd continue to produce records foralternative rock bands, with notable releases including the 1986 single "I Don’t Wanna Be Friends With You" by theShop Assistants as well as theirdebut album. While in 1987, he producedBrave Words bythe Chills,Poem of the River byFelt andSonic Flower Groove byPrimal Scream.[11]
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Thompson continued to produce releases for artists and collaborate on several projects. He joined the Germanfree improvisation group COWWS Quintet, which was led by artists Rüdiger Carl and Irène Schweizer.[43] In 1994, he accepted a teaching position at theArt Center College of Design inPasadena, which ended in 2008.[40] The following year, he released the albumShotgun Wedding with Sven-Åke Johansson Quintett.
In the 2010s, his paintings and visual artwork were exhibited atGalerie Buchholz.[44][45] In 2013, Thompson formed the Corky Band and performed the entirety ofCorky's Debt to His Father for the first time at theCropped Out music festival inLouisville, Kentucky. He later performed the album at New York's(Le) Poisson Rouge in 2019 and the following year at California'sHammer Museum.[46][47]
In 2018, he released the novelArt & Mystery and later its sequelAfter Math: Art, Mystery - Part II in 2023, which was accompanied by anaudiobook that he self-read.[48][49]
On February 19, 1969, Thompson married "Daniella" born 1946.[50] The marriage would be mentioned in Rick Barthelme's second novel "War and War" released in 1971.[51][52] The pair divorced on June 20th, 1972.[50] He later married conceptual artistChristine Kozlov. Thompson and Kozlov divorced in the mid-to-late 1980s.[53]
Since 2009, Thompson has lived with his wife Maria Vogelauer and their dog in California.[5]
Pitchfork attributes Mayo Thompson as "the primary oracle for a generation ofart punks,industrial savants, andnew-wave scientists".[54] His production credits were associated with "classicpunk albums",[55] while writer Rob Young noted him as a "fully fledged professional producer" and "a crucial addition to Rough Trade's floating collective of associates".[16][35] Music criticSimon Reynolds argued Thompson co-produced with Geoff Travis "many of the best postpunk bands of the era".[56] Thompson's solo work has influenced artists such asDavid Grubbs,[57]Jeff Mangum,[58]Peter Kember,[59] andAndrew VanWyngarden.[60]
In 2009,Paul Haig covered "Horses" fromCorky's Debt to His Father.[61] While in 2011,Lower Dens covered "Dear Betty Baby", later covered byGalaxie 500'sDean Wareham in 2025 on his solo albumThat’s the Price of Loving Me.[62]
| Title | Album details |
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| Corky's Debt to His Father |
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| Title | Album details |
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| The Art of Walking |
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| Song of the Bailing Man |
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| Shotgun Wedding |
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| Title | Album details |
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| Ludwig's Law |
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| Book |
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| In the Beginning |
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| National | |
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