...I've often thought - especially in the 80s/90s - that Richard Thompson managed to occupy the paradoxical plane of being over-rated in his under-ratedness, as it were.

EVERY review of his records/shows/etc would invariably include a line or a paragraph, usually near the start, about how criminally under-rated he was blah blah blah. But this went on for years - and after a while, one surely has to say to oneself that, okay, this guy has had so much press saying how under-rated he is that it ceases being a 'heads up' to readers of that publication to check him out and starts becoming hectoring at them - all but blaming them for the fact that, Godlike as this artist is to some (including many in the music media), his sales figures remain remarkably consistent. At a level less than the Beatles or whoever might be judged an appropriate benchmark.

In short: Richard Thompson HAS and, I believe, has for a long time had, the following he is capable of having - a following that, rightly, are loyal, fervent and appreciate his extraordinary gifts as a performer and instrumentalist and his singularity as a writer. It's just that what he does isn't ever going to be to everyone's taste - but he has the added luxury that many of his songs reach many more people through being covered by others, in a style that's maybe more palatable to a wider audience. (I did say this would be controversial!)

Honestly, as an artist he's in a position 99% of other artists would surely love to be in - gifted, credible, still performing at his best, still with things to say and a decent sized audience to say it to... So the media really should STOP trying to tell us all he's 'under-rated'. By whom, exactly? The people who rate him are already fans; the people who Rate him (capital R) are the very media people who complain about him being under-rated. Now THAT is a paradox!

...he's a lucky fellow, from where I'm sitting!

RT is the singularly most important and relevant musician performing today...if you have not got any of his stuff, go out and buy Rumor And Sigh, or Old Kit Bag, or the compilation End Of The Rainbow or ANYTHING, then you to will wonder why the Man is not lauded as a Genius by this Planet.

we'd all end up hating him if he were popular.....

...it might give some media folk a chance to say, 'That Richard Thompson - a bit overrated isn't he?' :-)

I would put Steve Forbert in the underrated group...and The Blue Nile

and Tom Waits....I have really tried to like him over the years but can only find maybe four tracks that I really rate.

U2 are the biggest band in the world. And yet, at the same time, everyone hates them and thinks they're crap. Except Bono.

he is in a niche market where he is more revered than most of his competition. Singer songwriters don't generally sell in bucket loads in this country unless they are saccharine inspired artists who specialise in cover versions. RT not only writes to a very high standard but also plays the guitar better than 99 percent of other rock guitarists. His voice is not the best part of his armoury which is why his songs can be more appealing when sung by others. He is however a British talent that we should feel very proud of considering how few there are of his calibre.

Overrated are Coldplay, Keane, Queen, U2 and a host of guitar indie bands who will disappear into obscurity in a short while - Glasvegas anyone?

...no problems with that from me, Steve - he's an original with real staying power and rare ability with an audience, particularly solo... Of course, like any artist, not everything he does will be awesomely fabulously great...

But my essential point was that I can't think of another artist whose press coverage has contained the words 'under-rated' for such a long period of time. I mean, the likes the indie guitar bands you refer to could have comfortably enjoyed an entire career, decade in the wilderness, comeback and critical reappraisal in the space where the UK press were still telling each other that RT was 'underrated' and implicitly berating their readership incessantly for not buying enough of his records.

Can there really be anyone in the UK, particularly, who is more than casually interested in music and who doesn't yet know (a) who Richard Thompson is and (b) roughly what he sounds like? I would doubt it (though every artist, of course, needs to maintain publicity to keep a career alive). My point, really, is that 'underrated' has become a parody/a cliche/a meaningless word when used so continually about someone. 'Under-purchased', 'underappreciated', those might be more meaningful - though still slightly hectoring, if coming from a writer who feels exasperated that the masses won't follow his opinion...

How many people in the UK fit this criterion? Not actually all that many, I would wager. I have friends with largeish CD collections (>50, small fry, I dare say to us eejits but...) who will always say "who" on contact with his name when mentioned by me. I see and sense your exasperation about his exposure, which I think is possibly also why the massed critics who adore him have constantly to state their assertion, otherwise they would have to admit nobody agrees with or reads them.....
Cult is a word I can identify with, tho'.

...have a point there, Retro...