Teddy was born in London in 1976 to Richard and Linda Thompson in a commune where his parents lived. Just a few years later, Teddy and his two sisters, one older, one younger, moved with their parents to a farm in the country, where they stayed until returning to London when Teddy was about five. When he was seven, Teddy's parents divorced. His father incessantly toured, soon remarried and re-located to America. His mother also remarried, and Teddy grew up with her in London and attended several different schools throughout adolescence.
Teddy wasn't a big fan of homework or studying, and at 13, he changed to Bedales Boarding School where, surrounded by the children of musicians and artists, Teddy felt much more at home. It was there that he got his first taste of performing by singing and playing guitar at school concerts. "We would do really bad cover tunes, whatever was in the charts. I have a horrific memory of doing a Guns 'N Roses song. It was probably really awful." At the age of 16, he left boarding school and at 18, he left England bound for Los Angeles. It was there that he began to get more serious about music.
Although Teddy started writing songs in boarding school, he didn't really start to define or share his music until he came to America where he honed his guitar and vocal skills. For a short stint, Teddy joined his father on tour. "I played in his band, which was really great because I always wanted to be in a band. It was good in a lot of ways, I learned a lot about how to be a better musician, but also it was just fun." Strongly influenced by his parents' music, classic country like Hank Williams, rock 'n roll like Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, and alternative pop music like Crowded House (who his father toured with in America) and Squeeze, Teddy found his sound -- a sound that resides gently in the midst of all his influences.
Teddy Thompson, his first studio album, was recorded in 2000 at Sonora Studios in Los Angeles and produced by Joe Henry. In the studio, Teddy collaborated with his friend and fellow folk-son Rufus Wainwright who came up with the idea for "Missing Children" when the two were drunk and sang back-up vocals on "So Easy" when they weren't. Other session players on the album include Jon Brion, several members of Joe Henry's band, and Richard Thompson.
