Thompson first drummed for the group Labelle, and then for a short while was a member of the soul/disco band Ecstasy, Passion & Pain.

He also performed with members of Chic on "We Are Family" and "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge and "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross.

Thompson appeared with numerous artists such as Jody Watley, Madonna (on her 1984 album Like a Virgin), Rod Stewart, Robert Palmer and David Bowie.

The Live Aid charity benefit concert in 1985 saw Thompson filling in and playing with the Power Station as well as joining the remaining members of Led Zeppelin on stage (along with Phil Collins) at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

Three days before his 49th birthday, Thompson died on November 12, 2003, in Los Angeles, within a month of being diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer),[1] and two months after the death of the Power Station bandmate Robert Palmer from a heart attack.