[Pre Order] Richard Thompson - Hippies, Thugs and Heroes - Black Splatter LP *

Release Date: October 16, 2026

Indie Exclusive black splatter 2LP — 3-sided gatefold pressing with an autographed insert.

Sixty years into a career that began with Fairport Convention and has spanned decades as one of rock's most acclaimed singer-songwriters, Richard Thompson is still chasing surprise. On Hippies, Thugs and Heroes he lets his subconscious take the wheel, pulling from a cast of old friends, false gurus, former selves, and invented characters who insisted on having their stories told.

The result refuses to sit still. It opens with the bright, Byrds-inspired jangle of "Sorcerer's Apprentice" — a song rooted in Thompson's own history with 1970s spiritual movements and the complicated pull of charismatic leaders — before swinging into the rowdy "Everybody's Stealing" and landing on the bluesy closer "Stringer." Along the way, "Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking" delivers some of his most inventive guitar work yet.

Features

• Black splatter vinyl — Indie Exclusive
• 2LP, 3-sided pressing in a gatefold jacket
• Includes an autographed insert
• Label: New West Records

Track Listing

1. Sorcerer's Apprentice
2. Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking
3. Pauper's Grave
4. Unsung Hero
5. Make Believe You Don't Know Me
6. She Burns It All
7. Everybody's Stealing
8. The Soul in Me
9. Pipe Dreams
10. The Big Smoke
11. Stringer
12. Siren