Ex-Chic drummer's In Memoriam

Former Chic member and session drummer Tony Thompson died on Wednesday (12 Nov.) in Encino, California, few days short of his 49th birthday. Thompson died of renal-cell cancer, several months after undergoing surgery.

Born in New York on 15 November 1954, Thompson came to prominence on the late-Seventies disco scene, thanks to his funky, rock influenced big-beat style. After sitting in with Patti LaBelle, Thompson met Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, with whom he formed Chic (originally Big Apple Band) in 1976. The band’s 1977 debut featured the hit ‘Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)’, but they became disco legends with 1978’s ‘C'est Chic‘, which contained the (US) Number One classic ‘Le Freak‘, as well as the roller-boogie anthem ‘Good Times’.

“The thing that was most apparent about Tony as a drummer was his sense of inventiveness and cleverness,” says Rodgers. “All three of us had roots in jazz, fusion and rock, which is why he would never think of the typical R&B drum fill... He just cherished those brilliant moments to sparkle.”

Chic disbanded in 1983 and Thompson became an in-demand session musician, working with everyone from Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Madonna, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Mick Jagger, Duran Duran to [the late] Robert Palmer, among others. Palmer, John and Andy Taylor (both of Duran Duran) and TT formed The Power Station.

The supergroup’s self-titled debut album, certified platinum (1 million sales) in the States, produced hit singles ‘Some Like It Hot’, the T. Rex cover ‘Get It On (Bang a Gong)’ and ‘Communication’, all driven by Thompson’s propulsive drumming. A long-time rock fan, Thompson got the ‘gig of a lifetime’ when asked to drum behind the remaining members of Led Zeppelin for their appearance at the Live Aid benefit concert at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium on 13 July 1985.

Thompson then joined the Zeppelin trio for some secret recording sessions in 1986. Rumours of a reunion were quashed, however, when Thompson was involved in a serious car accident later that year. Chic reformed in 1992 but without Tony who had rejoined Edwards earlier [1989] for Distance that produced one album.

Thompson remained a prolific session drummer throughout the late Eighties, working with Palmer, Duran Duran and Jody Watley, though he was less active in the Nineties.