Damian Thompson

Damian Thompson is an associate editor of The Spectator

The wonder of Jon Pertwee and his frilly shirt

6 January 2024 9:00 am

When a friend asked if I wanted anything for Christmas I took a deep breath and replied: ‘Well, maybe I…

What do sugar and cocaine have in common?

11 November 2023 9:00 am

Stephen Fry is a national treasure whom half the nation can’t stand. He drops his façade of loveability mid-chortle as…

How not to talk to builders

4 November 2023 9:00 am

It’s week eight of the installation of a cheap Ikea kitchen in my flat, and an Albanian builder is slumped…

Rejoice that Hyperion’s impeccable back catalogue is finally available to stream

16 September 2023 9:00 am

At the beginning of the 1980s a former ice-cream salesman called Ted Perry drove a London minicab to raise money…

Why I had to let go of my late sister’s house

5 August 2023 9:00 am

Why I had to let go of my late sister’s house

Why is this genius playing to a half-empty Royal Albert Hall? Benjamin Grosvenor Prom reviewed

22 July 2023 9:00 am

There were times during last Friday’s First Night of the Proms when it felt as if we’d been transported back…

Has the Vatican abandoned beauty?

15 July 2023 9:00 am

Has the Vatican abandoned beauty?

The search for the next pontiff is turning ugly

17 June 2023 9:00 am

The search for the next pontiff is turning ugly

The greatest female composer you’ve never heard of

10 June 2023 9:00 am

One of the most intriguing piano concertos of the late 19th century is unknown to the public – and no…

The coronation music was – mostly – a triumph

13 May 2023 9:00 am

Sir Hubert Parry was upgraded from knight bachelor to baronet by King Edward VII in 1902, and my goodness he…

Discover who wrote the catchy music for the coronation of the cannibal Emperor Bokassa

6 May 2023 9:00 am

If being asked to write music for the coronation of a king is an honour, then doing it for an…

Inside America’s Satanist movement

29 April 2023 9:00 am

The rise of America’s Satanists

How to lose friends and ghost people

25 March 2023 9:00 am

The fine art of snubbing

Why does everyone hate Max Reger?

18 March 2023 9:00 am

The German composer Max Reger, born 150 years ago next week, is mostly remembered today for countless elephantine fugues and…

The unknown German composer championed by Mahler

18 February 2023 9:00 am

I was sceptical when the lady on the bus to Reading town centre told me that her father knew Liszt.…

Cardinal Pell’s righteous fury at the Vatican’s theological direction

12 January 2023 12:06 am

Cardinal Pell, a former head of Vatican finances, does not criticise Pope Francis directly in the piece he’s written for…

Cardinal Zen’s conviction shows that no one is safe in Hong Kong

25 November 2022 9:39 pm

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the 90-year-old retired bishop of Hong Kong, has been convicted of failing to register a humanitarian…

King Charles III’s love of classical music

12 November 2022 9:00 am

Damian Thompson on King Charles III’s love of classical music