Linda Thompson shares new single 'Darling This Will Never Do' feat. Rufus Wainwright

Linda Thompson | Photo credit: Tom Oldham

Linda Thompson is today sharing new single 'Darling This Will Never Do' featuring Rufus Wainwright. It is the latest new music to be taken from her forthcoming album Proxy Music (out June 21st) and follows April's lead single 'The Solitary Traveller' featuring Kami Thompson.

Also announced today is news of a very special live show to celebrate the album's release at Cadogan Hall on July 19th. The likes of Eliza Carthy, John Grant, Ren Harvieu, Zak Hobbs and Teddy Thompson are all set to perform. Linda will be in attendance but will not perform. Tickets are on sale from 10am on Tuesday 7th May here.

Speaking about the single, Linda says: "Rufus jumps out of the track from the first instant. He has the perfect voice for this throwback about a May/December romance."

Hear 'Darling This Will Never Do' featuring Rufus Wainwright on streaming services here and share via YouTube below.

More about new album Proxy Music

Linda Thompson didn’t have a grand plan to make an album. She simply wanted to record some songs she wrote that she felt suited certain singers. However, once she had the title, Proxy Music, “I jolly well had to use it!” explained the much-lauded British musician. This unique tribute album, due June 21, features the 11 tracks that are sung by proxy - by musicians she selected: The Proclaimers, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, John Grant, Dori Freeman, The Unthanks, Ren Havieu, and Eliza Carthy as well as her children, Kami Thompson and Teddy Thompson (who co-produced the album).

Pre-order new album Proxy Music here.

While Thompson has frequently been hailed for her singing prowess (Rolling Stone once declared her “one of rock and roll’s finest voices”), Proxy Music provides an impressive showcase for her immense songwriting range and talent. Songs like 'Bonnie Lass' (performed by The Proclaimers) and 'Mudlark' (performed by The Rails) could easily be mistaken for traditional English folk ballads, while 'Darling This Will Never Do' (sung by Rufus Wainwright) feels drawn from an early 20th century cabaret songbook. 'John Grant' (sung by John Grant himself) is a modern, real-life encounter that sublimely melds humor and poignancy. 'Those Damn Roches' (with Teddy Thompson on lead vocals plus a coterie of backing vocalists) majestically presents a richly evocative, highly personal portrait of folk music familial dynasties: the Roches, Wainwrights, McGarrigles, Watersons, Carthys, Coppers, and, of course, the Thompsons.

The reason behind Thompson not singing her own songs is because she has a rare vocal condition known as spasmodic dysphonia which affects a person’s ability to talk and sing. The symptoms first affected her in the early 1980s at a time when she had garnered great acclaim for the series of albums she had made with Richard Thompson (1982’s Shoot Out the Lights, for example, has ranked among the 80s top albums). Following her 1985 solo debut One Clear Moment, Thompson’s next albums didn’t appear until the 21st century - Fashionably Late (2002), Versatile Heart (2007), and Won't Be Long Now (2013) – although each one received critical accolades.

Proxy Music album tracklisting

1. The Solitary Traveller feat. Kami Thompson
2. Or Nothing at All feat. Martha Wainwright
3. Bonnie Lass feat. The Proclaimers
4. Darling This Will Never Do feat. Rufus Wainwright
5. I Used To Be So Pretty feat. Ren Harvieu
6. John Grant feat. John Grant
7. Mudlark feat. The Rails
8. Shores of America feat. Dori Freeman
9. That’s the Way the Polka Goes feat. Eliza Carthy
10. Three Shaky Ships feat. The Unthanks
11. Those Damn Roches feat. Teddy Thompson

Linda Thompson: Website