“Pentangle sold out the Royal Albert Hall and the next night I was playing in a jazz quartet for 40 quid”: From gigging in strip clubs to recording with John Martyn and Kate Bush, Danny Thompson walked a singular path in bass playing

Bassist Danny Thompson.

Danny Thompson, the bass great who performed with John Martyn, Pentangle and Kate Bush, died at the age of 86 on September 23 2025.

Awarded a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, Thompson amassed a remarkably diverse CV, from his 12-year residency at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club to his ascendancy of the folk circuit with the likes of Nick Drake.