Richard Thompson Announces New Album Hippies, Thugs And Heroes: Hear “Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking”

In 2024, Richard Thompson returned with his 19th studio album Ship To Shore. Today, the British folk-rock pioneer is back to announce its followup, Hippies, Thugs And Heroes, arriving this fall. Produced by Thompson and James Frazee and recorded at Hobosound Studio in Weehawken, New Jersey, the LP features his backing band, which includes Taras Prodaniuk on bass, Michael Jerome on drums, David Mansfield on guitar and fiddle, and his wife Zara Phillips on backing vocals. "I think this is why this album came together so quickly," Thompson says. "We could just steam through at high speed and not labor over everything."The lead single "Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking" is out now. Check it out below.TRACKLIST:01 "Sorcerer’s Apprentice"02 "Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking"03 "Pauper’s Grave"04 "Unsung Hero"05 "Make Believe You Don’t Know Me"06 "She Burns It All"07 "Everybody’s Stealing"08 "The Soul In Me"09 "Pipe Dreams"10 "The Big Smoke"11 "Stringer"12 "Siren"TOUR DATES:08/02 - Cambridge, UK @ Cambridge Folk Festival 2026 08/14 - Banbury, UK @ Fairport Cropredy Convention 202608/21 - Beckenham, UK @ St Georges Church Hall08/22 - Beccles, UK @ FolkEast 202608/23 - Ottery St Mary, UK @ Beautiful Days 2026 09/04 - Buxton, UK @ Buxton Opera House09/10 - Poole, UK @ Lighthouse09/11 - Stroud, UK @ Subscription Rooms 09/12 - Bromyard, UK @ Bromyard Folk Festival 202609/13 - Bradford-on-Avon, UK @ Wiltshire Music Centre11/20 - Elkton, MD @ Elkton Music Hall11/21 - Montclair, NJ @ Outpost in the Burbs’ Concert for Toni’s KitchenHippies, Thugs And Heroes is out 10/16 via New West Records.David Kaptein