Mayo Joseph Thompson Jr. (born February 26, 1944) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola. He released his only solo album Corky's Debt to His Father in 1970, and later collaborated with the English conceptual art collective Art & Language. He formed the band Saddlesore with Rick Barthelme, Frank Davis and Cassell Webb in 1971, and the Rockin' Blue Diamonds in 1972 with Barthelme, Rock Romano and Tucker Bradley. He later worked with Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis and artist Robert Rauschenberg.

By the late 1970s, he moved to England and began working with Rough Trade where he co-produced releases with Geoff Travis for groups such as the Monochrome Set, Stiff Little Fingers, the Raincoats, the Fall, Scritti Politti, Blue Orchids, LiLiPUT and Cabaret Voltaire. Thompson briefly joined the band Pere Ubu and was credited as an associate producer for the Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead" music video. He contributed to film soundtracks for Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames and Derek Jarman's The Last of England. He later produced the Chills, Felt, Shop Assistants and Primal Scream in the mid-to late 1980s. Thompson would move to Germany and collaborate with artists and musicians such as Albert Oehlen, Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank.

During the 1990s, Thompson moved back to the United States, signed to the label Drag City and briefly joined the German free improvisation group COWWS Quintet. In 1994, he taught at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena until 2008. His paintings and visual artwork were later exhibited at Galerie Buchholz. He released two novels Art & Mystery (2018) and After Math: Art, Mystery - Part II (2023).

Early life

Mayo Joseph Thompson Jr. was born on February 26, 1944, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston, Texas, to father Mayo Joseph Thomson Sr. and mother Hazel Margaret Muhl. Shortly after he was born, his parents divorced. Thompson grew up alone with his mother in Houston, who became a teacher at San Jacinto High School. His father, Mayo Thompson Sr. had previously been in the armed services, and later became a lawyer and member of the Federal Trade Commission.

Career

1950s–1960s

In 1955, Mayo Thompson began taking piano lessons at the age of 11, where he first became interested in composing music.

In 1965, Thompson embarked on a school trip to Europe. He later stated he was "more interested in creating new material than interpreting old material".

In late 1967, Rick Barthelme left the Red Crayola, leading to Thompson briefly working as a sound man for Joseph Byrd and his band the United States of America in Los Angeles. In March 1968, Thompson began working with local musician Johndavid Bartlett at Gold Star Studios, the same place where "She's About a Mover" was recorded.

1970s

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.' However, because the label's executives did not like Thompson's voice, the album was made available only by mail order.

In 1971, he moved from Houston to New York. At this time, he also met Mel Ramsden. In 1972, he formed a jam band known as the Rockin' Blue Diamonds. The group originally consisted of Frederick Barthelme along with Rock Romano and Tucker Bradley on vocals, but later included 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.

In 1973, Thompson began working with Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis on an album that was later cancelled. They collaborated on an unfinished film titled Mostly About Rauschenberg (1975), produced by Reiner Moritz. In 1976, the New York branch of Art & Language recorded video performances entitled "Struggle in New York" and "Nine Gross and Conspicuous Errors", which featured Thompson and Jesse Chamberlain. The former featured filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow, who at the time was a member of the New York underground scene.

After the release of Corrected Slogans, Thompson fell out with Art & Language and remained in England. When the label decided to begin releasing records in 1978, Thompson was asked by Travis to assist in producing "He's Frank" by the Monochrome Set, because Travis did not feel confident in the studio. Thompson would produce and co-produce releases for several other acts such as Stiff Little Fingers, the Raincoats, the Fall, Scritti Politti, Blue Orchids, LiLiPUT and Cabaret Voltaire.

1980s

In 1980, Thompson wrote and composed the song "Born in Flames" with Art & Language, the track would later be featured in director Lizzie Borden's film of the same name. He later joined Pere Ubu on their albums The Art of Walking (1980) and Song of the Bailing Man (1982) as well as on several tours and live albums such as One Man Drives While the Other Man Screams.

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 musicians Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank. The recordings were shelved for 15 years but were finally released as Ludwig's Law in 1998. He also recorded "commercial jingles" for companies such as C&A and Adidas. In 1987, he began collaborating with the German painter Albert Oehlen, first on a soundtrack for the film The Last of England by Derek Jarman. Additionally, through working for Rough Trade, Thompson persuaded Jarman to film a promotional video for the Smiths, which became the music video for The Queen Is Dead. Thompson was credited as an associate producer.

At around that time, he'd continue to produce records for alternative rock bands, with notable releases including the 1986 single "I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You" by the Shop Assistants as well as their debut album. While in 1987, he produced Brave Words by the Chills, Poem of the River by Felt and Sonic Flower Groove by Primal Scream. In 1994, he accepted a teaching position at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, which ended in 2008. "Figure Study (Victorine)," was also exhibited at the show as a series of sketched character studies for the unfinished Art & Language opera called Victorine which Thompson had been working on since the 1980s. In 2016, Thompson exhibited a series of "Political Cartoons" with motifs lifted from Communist propaganda posters.

Personal life

On February 19, 1969, Thompson married "Daniella" born 1946. The marriage would be mentioned in Rick Barthelme's second novel "War and War" released in 1971. The pair divorced on June 20th, 1972.

Since 2009, Thompson has lived with his wife Maria Vogelauer and their dog in California. His production credits were associated with "classic punk albums", while writer Rob Young noted him as a "fully fledged professional producer" and "a crucial addition to Rough Trade's floating collective of associates". Music critic Simon Reynolds argued Thompson co-produced with Geoff Travis "many of the best postpunk bands of the era". Thompson's solo work has influenced artists such as David Grubbs, Jeff Mangum, Peter Kember, and Andrew VanWyngarden.

In 2009, Paul Haig covered "Horses" from Corky's Debt to His Father. While in 2011, Lower Dens covered "Dear Betty Baby", later covered by Galaxie 500's Dean Wareham in 2025 on his solo album That's the Price of Loving Me.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" |Title

! scope="col" |Album details

|-

! scope="row" |Corky's Debt to His Father

|

  • Released: 1970
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Vinyl, digital download, streaming

|}

With Pere Ubu

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" |Title

! scope="col" |Album details

|-

! scope="row" |The Art of Walking

|

  • Released: 1980
  • Label: Rough Trade
  • Format: Vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming

|-

! scope="row" |Song of the Bailing Man

|

  • Released: 1982
  • Label: Rough Trade
  • Format: Vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming

|}

With Sven-Åke Johansson Quintett

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" |Title

! scope="col" |Album details

|-

! scope="row" |Shotgun Wedding

|

  • Released: 2009
  • Label: FMP
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

|}

Collaborations

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" |Title

! scope="col" |Album details

|-

! scope="row" |Ludwig's Law

|

  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Drag City
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

|-

! scope="row" |Book

|

  • Released: 1998
  • Artist: COWWS Quintet
  • Label: Unknown
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

|-

! scope="row" |In the Beginning

|

  • Released: 1998
  • Artist: Girl Friday
  • Label: Unknown
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

|}

Notable production credits

  • God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It by Red Krayola (1968)
  • He's Frank / Alphaville by The Monochrome Set (1979)
  • Inflammable Material by Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
  • Fairytale in the Supermarket / In Love / Adventures Close to Home by the Raincoats (1979)
  • You / Ü by Kleenex/LiLiPUT (1979)
  • Gotta Gettaway / Bloody Sunday by Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
  • Nag Nag Nag / Is That Me (Finding Someone at the Door Again?) by Cabaret Voltaire (1979)
  • The Raincoats by the Raincoats (1979)
  • Fiery Jack by the Fall (1980)
  • Grotesque (After the Gramme) by the Fall (1980)
  • Are You Glad To Be In America? by James Blood Ulmer (1980)
  • Shop Assistants by Shop Assistants (1986)
  • Brave Words by the Chills (1987)
  • Poem Of The River by Felt (1987)
  • Sonic Flower Groove by Primal Scream (1987)
  • Manhattan Beach by Overpass (1994)
  • Japan in Paris in L.A. by Red Krayola (2004)

References

Bibliography

  • Mayo Thompson at Galerie Buchholz
  • Mayo Thompson and The Red Crayola Discography
  • Mayo Thompson by Keith Connolly Bomb