Mark Thompson - OrganFax

OrganFax – Spotlight on Mark Thompson - 1

OrganFax.co.uk Spotlight by Penny Weedon

Mark Thompson A few years ago, I was sitting in the audience at one of the organ festivals when the compère introduced a name I’d not heard before. Onto the stage breezed a young man who took his place at an EL90 organ with a confidence which belied his young age. 10 seconds into his programme, I leant across to my husband and squeezed his arm, which was my way of saying “This lad’s going to go far.” Well, now thousands of people have had that same experience and he is a must-‐have at events throughout the country. So here we turn the Organfax Spotlight on Mark Thompson.

apparently I always used to want to sit where I could see the musicians in the pit, and say that that was what I wanted to do when I grew up!”

Mark was born in Northumberland and has lived in Crawcrook all his life – a little village in Tyne and Wear halfway between Hexham and Newcastle. (Mark, Mam, Dad, Brother –Daniel) There was some fondness for music in his family; his grandparents played a little piano, and his mother had dreamt of playing herself, but lessons were too expensive when she was a little girl. So when Mark and his brother came along, Mark’s mother decided to start her lads on lessons as soon as they reached 7. Young Mark learned organ with local teacher Bill Ankers. “He gave me a great start and was always very friendly and encouraging. I remember practising a little bit every night, and when I got OK at playing I would just sit there for hours and play anything I had the music for, just because I loved it.” (Marks Gran and Pop) He says of his early years “I can’t really remember a moment when I fell in love with music, but I remember my Mam used to take me to see musicals at the theatre royal in Newcastle when I was very young, and I used to love them. Joseph, Annie and West Side Story are the ones I can remember, and

Next, Mark studied with a lady at the Technics Academy in Blaydon which George Harrison ran. After a few years there, he went on to have lessons with Chiho Sunamoto in Whitley Bay. “Chiho introduced me to the organ circuit, which I didn’t know existed until I met her! I also did 2 years of A-‐level music with a classmate who was a pianist. We spent pretty much every music lesson

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playing piano duets as our teacher, who became a good friend, was a great pianist. My classmate and I passed our Associated Board grade 8 piano duet exam which we did just for fun! I think we played some Fauré and a Brandenburg Concerto for that.” That early contact with classical music, along with Mark’s excellent teachers, are very evident in his playing style, which is known for being flowing, musical and very orchestrally accurate. His experience of playing other instruments has been of great help. “I think I was about 8 or 9 when I took up cornet lessons too. I got up to Grade 7 at that, and joined a brass band for 3 years when I was 13 where I got my first taste of ‘gigging’! We did festivals, fairs and other concerts, but I had to give that up when piano and organ work started taking over. I sold my cornet when I was a bit strapped for cash at university, and it’s now in Sweden. I also bought an alto saxophone when I was about 14, as I’d always wanted to play sax, which I tried to teach myself, but never got to a very high standard.”

accountancy, and music would just be a hobby. For this reason I took maths, further maths, physics and music at A-‐level. Then I went on to do a maths degree at Durham University, and lived there for 3 years which was a lot of fun and definitely good life experience! I was also quite good at sport at school.” This could be something of an understatement – Mark represented the county in rugby and cross-‐ country and North of England in athletics. Just to top that off, he went to the Nationals to do Pentathlon. “And came 13th in the country I think!” So when did music become a job for Mark? “My first job in music was as a rehearsal accompanist for a local operatic society for £10 a rehearsal when I was 16. A work colleague of my Dad’s had told them I played, and that was the start of my work in musicals and theatre. I played in Carousel that year, and after playing in a 12 piece band for the first time I was hooked, and have done 2 or 3 musicals a year since then. That same year I did my first organ concert. Chiho had given me a couple of 5 minute spots in her concert at North Tyneside Organ Society the year before, and they gave me a chance and booked me for a concert, after also hearing me playing a charity concert at my local cricket club. Chiho had also suggested me to Verwood Organ Society, Bournemouth who gave me an hour concert at their AGM.” So what organ was Mark playing in those early days?

(Big Band – middle row, centre) While all this was going on, Mark still had school work to contend with. Often, musicians report that their school days were a conflict between homework and the musical interest they really wanted to follow. What about Mark? “I don’t know whether I’d say I enjoyed school! I enjoyed bits of it, mainly music and maths lessons. I was pretty good at most subjects, got 7 A*s and 2 A’s at GCSE and all A’s at A-‐level. I always thought I would go on to do something maths related, maybe

“Before this point, I had had a Technics GA1, which was my second organ after my Technics EN4. I had been playing Chiho’s EL900 for the last 2 years at my lessons and we decided if I was going to do this professionally, I needed a 90 or 900. So my parents kindly bought me an EL90, pretty much for this concert in Verwood, and my Dad also changed his car to a Renault Espace, so he could transport me, my Mam, my brother, himself and the organ to Bournemouth and back! This was the start of my concerts down south and up north.” “Bill Powton from Penrith, who had driven across to North Tyneside to see me, passed my name around the west, and the concerts started coming in. On the subject of Bill, we once broke down in the



Espace near Penrith, and I remember clearly being on the side of a dual carriageway, unloading the organ from our car into Bill’s Land Rover, which we ended up borrowing for a month! We made it to the concert though.” Has Mark taken his playing skills outside the organ club world?

“Playing at the Blackpool tower last May at the festival on the mighty Wurlitzer. It was one of the most frightening experiences of my life, especially as I didn’t get a practise on it -‐ so thanks to Elizabeth Harrison for the hug in the dressing room before my spot!” “Winning the Young Theatre Organist of the Year in 2002 at Woking.”

(Wall Street) “While I was at university I started playing in bands. One of the parents at my Mam’s school heard me playing for the kid’s plays at Christmas and happened to be looking for a keyboard player for his band. I was in ‘Steve Lee and the Soulutions’ for 2 years playing soul music and doing a Barry White tribute. This band folded and I moved to my current band, ‘Wallstreet’ which I’ve been with for 4 years now playing 60s and 70s rock and favourites every weekend.” “While I was at university all of these 3 avenues of work took off, and by the time I completed my maths degree I had just enough work in music to keep me going, although I did get a Christmas job at River Island to pay off some of my overdraft. I went for a few interviews for accountancy programmes at Delloitte and Price Waterhouse Cooper, but thankfully didn’t get them!” So what would Mark regard as the highlights so far? “Most of the things I’ve done have been highlights, as the jobs just seem to have got better and better over the 9 years.” Mark quickly counts off 11 high spots:

(Mark with Skidoo) “Playing for 3 weeks last year in Eilat, Israel with the band Skidoo 23. Brilliant musicians, and being put up in a 5-‐star hotel with all food and drinks included certainly helps, as well as having the Red Sea on the doorstep. I spent most of my time with a snorkel on! We played 21 nights solid in ‘The Monkeys’ bar!” “My first conducting job when I was musical director for Mack and Mabel with a 13 piece big-‐ band under my baton! My first time as musical director at the theatre royal Newcastle, conducting La Cage aux Folles. Playing for ‘The Full Monty’ at Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre. Great show, great piano part, top notch band and great cast! My first time playing at the Pakefield and Blackpool festivals, as they were always an ambition of mine to play at. Going out in Blackpool with Brett Wales and Tony Stace on the vodka red bulls! Playing the Creation and the Messiah on Church Organ with a full choir. Playing for singing lessons with the amazing Rosemary Ashe at Northern Ballet in Leeds and jamming with her in our break. And playing for the Queen at the opening of Newcastle’s new library.”



Oh, a casual mention of H.M. the Q. at the end there! Has Mark met any other big names? “Yes, Jedward!”

getting too many concerts for my Dad to take time off work, so now he gives my grandparents a break a few times a year and they do the bulk of them, including my mini tours which I try to put together now to save on travelling.” “I should probably mention my amazing girlfriend Laura too. We’ve been together for over 4 years now, and she’s always a hit with the men when she comes to concerts or festivals with me! She’s a dancer, so we have done quite a few musicals together, which is actually also how we met.”

(Mark, Laura & Jedward) Well, they’re certainly big on hair! So, who has been Mark’s greatest inspiration in the organ world? “Probably Tony Fenelon. I remember the first time I saw him in concert, and was just amazed at his arrangements and what he could do with the organ and piano. I bought one of his CDs with my paper round money, and still listen to it now!” So if Kirsty Young chooses Mark as a castaway, which Desert Island Disks will he be taking with him? “My top 3 would probably be ‘Stevie Wonder – Superstition’, ‘The Eagles – Hotel California’ and ‘The Overture from Mack and Mabel’! A total mixture, just like my taste in music!” It’s often rather amusing to see that young celebrities are publishing their autobiographies. Have they yet achieved enough to fill a book? Well, in Mark’s case the answer would seem to be a resounding ‘yes’. Where has his life brought him to so far? “I still live at home with my parents, who have supported my all of the way through my career. (Yes I still live at home at 25!). I have one brother, Daniel who used to play organ and guitar but gave his music up for his sport. My parents and grandparents have been such a great support over the years, coming to my concerts with me and sharing the driving. Over the last 3 years I’ve been

(Mark & Laura) So there we have it – only a quarter of a century old, but Mark Thompson is definitely a young man who deserves to be In The Spotlight. Check out Marks OrganFax Page Penny Weedon, 2012 OrganFax.co.uk
