Thompson Twins
Encyclopedia
The Thompson Twins were a British
pop
group
that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom
, the United States
and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson
in Hergé
's comic strip
, The Adventures of Tintin
. A predominantly synthpop
trio
, they were joined on stage at Live Aid
by Madonna
and were at the forefront of the so-called Second British Invasion
.
, Yorkshire
) on bass and vocals, Pete Dodd on guitar and vocals, John Roog on guitar, and Jon Podgorski (known as "Pod") on drums. Dodd and Roog first met when they were both 13 years old.
Arriving in London
with very little money, they lived as squatters
in Lillieshall Road, London. Future Thompson Twins member Alannah Currie
lived in another squat in the same street — which is how she met Bailey. It was in this ramshackle and run-down house that they found an illegal way of "borrowing" electricity from the house next door. Bailey described themselves (laughingly) as spongers (meaning that they were on the dole—unemployed) back then, as they were living on very little and scavenging everything they could lay their hands on. He even said that the only instruments they had were bought, or had been stolen or borrowed. Dodd managed to get a council flat
not far away. Their roadie
at that time was John Hade, who lived in the same house, and who later became their manager.
As Podgorski had decided to stay in the north, the group auditioned for drummers at the Point Studio in Victoria, London
. Andrew Edge
joined them on drums for less than one year, and went on to join Savage Progress
, who later toured with the Thompson Twins as their support act on the 1984 UK tour.
on congas and percussion, and Jane Shorter on saxophone. This line-up recorded the first Thompson Twins album A Product of ... (Participation)
, documented in the film
, Listen to London (1981). Currie, who had been associated with the band for a few years, played and sang on the first album, but was not yet a full member.
After the first album, the band's line-up shifted yet again. Saxophonist Jane Shorter left, percussionist Currie was made an official member, and bassist Matthew Seligman
, a former member of The Soft Boys
and The Fallout Club
, joined. Bailey moved to keyboards and guitar in addition to serving as lead vocalist, with Leeway handling vocals on a few tracks.
The band signed to Arista Records
and released the album Set
. Thomas Dolby
played some keyboards on Set and some live gigs, as Bailey had little experience with synthesizers before then. Set contained the single "In the Name of Love", sung and largely written by Bailey. It became a #1 dance club hit in the US, and an album entitled In the Name of Love (consisting mainly of tracks from Set, with two others from A Product Of... (Participation)) was released in the US to capitalize on the song's popularity. It entered the US Billboard 200
.
, this plan was abandoned. However, at the same time, manager Hade convinced Bailey, Leeway and Currie to downsize the Thompson Twins to a core of the three in April 1982. Accordingly, the other four members of the band were notified that they were being let go; they were each paid £500 and were allowed to keep their instruments and equipment.
All the former members are still on friendly speaking terms with each other, and with Bailey, Currie and Leeway — although Dodd once had the job of delivering a keyboard
to Thompson Twins session keyboard player Thomas Dolby some time later, but (to Dodd's irritation) Dolby failed to recognise him.
The Thompson Twins decided to go abroad to free themselves of any UK influence, as well as to combine the songwriting for their first album as a trio with a long holiday. They first went to Egypt
and then to the Bahamas where they recorded at the Compass Point Studios
in Nassau
with the producer
, Alex Sadkin
.
and the US Billboard Hot 100
chart at the beginning of 1983 with "Lies
" and "Love On Your Side", which became the band's first UK Top 10 single. They then released their third album, Quick Step and Side Kick
(called simply Side Kicks in the US), which peaked at number 2 in the UK and was later certified platinum there. Further singles followed with "We Are Detective" (another Top 10 UK hit) and "Watching". All three received songwriting credits, though the band publicly acknowledged Bailey as the songwriter, with Currie contributing lyrics
and Leeway focusing on the stage show. During 1983, the band had the opening spot on The Police
concert tour in the US.
A new single, "Hold Me Now
", was released towards the end of 1983. The song was an international chart success, peaking at #4 in their native UK where it became the band's biggest seller earning a gold disc
, and reached #3 in the US in the spring of 1984 becoming their biggest American hit. The band's new album, Into the Gap
, was released in early 1984 and became one of the year's biggest sellers, selling five million copies worldwide. It topped the UK Albums Chart
and was later certified double platinum there. Further hit singles from the album followed with "Doctor! Doctor!" (UK #3) and "You Take Me Up" (UK #2, their highest UK singles chart placing and which earned a silver disc
). Other singles included a new version of the album track "Sister of Mercy" (UK #11), and "The Gap" (though this was not released in the UK). The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album, which had also made the US top ten.
A new single, "Lay Your Hands On Me", was released in the UK in late 1984 and reached #13 in the UK charts. However, while working on the follow-up album to Into The Gap, Bailey suffered a nervous breakdown. The band's planned next single, "Roll Over", was then cancelled at the last minute. The band had already parted company with their producer Alex Sadkin
, and Nile Rodgers
was subsequently called in to help finish the album. Released in September 1985, Here's To Future Days
reached the Top 5 in the UK and the Top 20 in the US), though failed to come close to the success of Into The Gap. It spawned the single "King For A Day", which peaked at #22 in the UK, but reached #8 on the US chart Other singles included a new US version of "Lay Your Hands On Me" (US #6), the anti-drug song "Don't Mess With Doctor Dream" (UK #15) and an unsuccessful cover
of The Beatles
' 1968 hit "Revolution
" which became the band's first single to fail to make the UK Top 40 in three years.
Prior to the album's release, the Thompson Twins made headlines when they performed on the American leg of Live Aid
in July 1985 and were joined onstage by Madonna
. The planned 1985 tour of the UK had to be cancelled due to Bailey's breakdown (fans with tickets received a free live album as compensation), though international dates were re-scheduled and the latter half of 1985 saw sell out tours for the band in the US and Japan
.
and the single "Get That Love", which climbed to #31 in the US but failed in the UK. "In the Name of Love" was given a new lease on life in 1988, after a remix by Shep Pettibone
made the Top 50 in the UK. 1989 saw the release of another album, Big Trash
, and a new recording contract
with Warner Bros. Records
. The single "Sugar Daddy
" peaked at #28 in the US and would be their last brush with mainstream chart success. 1991's Queer would be the band's swansong, and was supported by various techno
inspired singles under the moniker of Feedback Max (in the UK) to disguise the identity of the band to club
DJs
. The single "Come Inside
" reached #7 in the US Dance Chart and #1 in the UK Dance Chart
. However, once it was discovered that the Thompson Twins were behind the record, sales dropped and the album never had a UK release .
Prior to this, Bailey and Currie (who were now a couple) had their first child together in 1988, and in the following years they spent a lot of time writing material for other artists including the hit single "I Want That Man" for Debbie Harry
in 1989. In 1990, Bailey and Currie contributed the song "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
" to the Cole Porter
tribute album "Red Hot + Blue
" produced by the Red Hot Organization
. In 1991, Bailey and Currie were married in Las Vegas
and the following year moved to New Zealand
with their two children. In 1992, the Thompson Twins contributed the song "Play With Me" to the soundtrack
of the Ralph Bakshi
film Cool World
; Bailey alone contributed a second track, "Industry and Seduction". The following year, the duo formally teamed up with engineer Keith Fernley & changed their band name to Babble.
The Thompson Twins declined to follow the examples of many of their contemporaries and reform to tie-in with a nostalgic rebirth of the 1980s, although Bailey, Currie and Leeway appeared together on the UK Channel 4
show Top Ten Electro Bands in 2001. The Thompson Twins were placed ninth.
regularly criticised the Thompson Twins. The NME
called them, "1984's most instantly kitsch mass program of monosodium glutamation of the brain". City Limits said they were "candy-floss art capitalists", whilst The Guardian
dubbed them "The three haircuts".
(1993) and Ether (1996)—with songs featured in the films Coneheads
and With Honors. Three quarters of a third album was recorded, but it remains unreleased.
In 1999, Bailey produced and played keyboards on the hit album Mix by the New Zealand band Stellar*, and won the 'producer of the year' award at the New Zealand equivalent of the Grammy Award
s. He has also arranged soundtracks and has provided instrumental music for several films. In the mid 1990s, Currie gave up the music business to set up her own glass-casting studio in Auckland
.
After her sister died of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Currie founded a group in New Zealand called Mothers Against Genetic-Engineering in Food and the Environment (also known as MADGE), which soon had thousands of members. Currie described this group as a "rapidly growing network of politically non-aligned women who are actively resisting the use of genetically-engineered material in our food and on our land". An advert for this group featuring a young woman with four breast
s hooked up to a milking machine became famous after appearing on billboard
s across New Zealand.
Bailey and Currie split up in 2003, and are now divorced. They both left New Zealand to live separately in Britain, but are still close friends. In 2011, Currie married Jimmy Cauty
(formerly of The KLF
) and currently is a trained upholsterer
known professionally as "Miss Pokeno".
The earlier members went on to do other things:
Bailey continues to make music under the moniker International Observer
. His albums Seen
, and All Played Out
both received positive reviews. The most recent outing was Felt, released on 8 September 2009. He also performs with the Holiwater group from India
. Remarried (to artist Lauren Drescher), he currently resides in London.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson are fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Thomson and Thompson are detectives of Scotland Yard, and are as incompetent as they are necessary comic relief...
in Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
's comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin (TV series)
The Adventures of Tintin is an animated television series based on The Adventures of Tintin, a series of books by Hergé. It debuted in 1991, and 39 half-hour episodes were produced over the course of three seasons...
. A predominantly synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
, they were joined on stage at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and were at the forefront of the so-called Second British Invasion
Second British Invasion
The term Second British Invasion refers to British music acts that became popular in the United States during the 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV...
.
Early days
In 1977, the original Thompson Twins line-up consisted of Tom Bailey (born 18 January 1954, HalifaxHalifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
) on bass and vocals, Pete Dodd on guitar and vocals, John Roog on guitar, and Jon Podgorski (known as "Pod") on drums. Dodd and Roog first met when they were both 13 years old.
Arriving in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with very little money, they lived as squatters
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
in Lillieshall Road, London. Future Thompson Twins member Alannah Currie
Alannah Currie
Alannah Currie is a musician and artist, best known as a former member of the UK pop group, Thompson Twins.-Career:...
lived in another squat in the same street — which is how she met Bailey. It was in this ramshackle and run-down house that they found an illegal way of "borrowing" electricity from the house next door. Bailey described themselves (laughingly) as spongers (meaning that they were on the dole—unemployed) back then, as they were living on very little and scavenging everything they could lay their hands on. He even said that the only instruments they had were bought, or had been stolen or borrowed. Dodd managed to get a council flat
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
not far away. Their roadie
Road crew
The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...
at that time was John Hade, who lived in the same house, and who later became their manager.
As Podgorski had decided to stay in the north, the group auditioned for drummers at the Point Studio in Victoria, London
Victoria, London
Victoria is a commercial and residential area of inner city London, lying wholly within the City of Westminster, and named after Queen Victoria....
. Andrew Edge
Andrew Edge
Andrew Edge is a musician from Leeds, England who has played pop music, dance, synth pop and ballads. After playing in local Leeds jazz-rock bands and Working Men's Club bands, he moved to London in the late 1970s, and joined the Thompson Twins...
joined them on drums for less than one year, and went on to join Savage Progress
Savage Progress
Savage Progress was a pop group in the 1980s from England that had hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The band was founded by Rik Kenton Glynnis Thomas Ned Morant Carol Isaacs and Andrew Edge...
, who later toured with the Thompson Twins as their support act on the 1984 UK tour.
Membership changes
By 1981, the line-up was Bailey, Dodd, Roog and three new members: Chris Bell on drums, former band roadie Joe LeewayJoe Leeway
Joseph Martin Leeway is the former multi-instrumentalist, and stylings guru, for the 1980s band, the Thompson Twins. Leeway joined the Thompson Twins in 1980 after being one of their roadies.-Career:...
on congas and percussion, and Jane Shorter on saxophone. This line-up recorded the first Thompson Twins album A Product of ... (Participation)
A Product of ... (Participation)
A Product of … is the first album by the English pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in June 1981 on the T Records imprint, a label created by the band and distributed through the Fame/EMI label...
, documented in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Listen to London (1981). Currie, who had been associated with the band for a few years, played and sang on the first album, but was not yet a full member.
After the first album, the band's line-up shifted yet again. Saxophonist Jane Shorter left, percussionist Currie was made an official member, and bassist Matthew Seligman
Matthew Seligman
Matthew Seligman is an English bassist who took part of the new wave scene in the 1970s and the 1980s, best known as a member of the Soft Boys.-Biography:...
, a former member of The Soft Boys
The Soft Boys
The Soft Boys were a pop band during the punk era led by Robyn Hitchcock, whose initially old fashioned music style of psychedelic/folk-rock became part of the neo-psychedelia scene with the release of Underwater Moonlight...
and The Fallout Club
The Fallout Club
The Fallout Club was a British synthpop and New Wave band formed by Irish singer Trevor Herion, the experimental drummer Paul Simon, future successful Thomas Dolby on keyboards, and bassist Matthew Seligman in 1981...
, joined. Bailey moved to keyboards and guitar in addition to serving as lead vocalist, with Leeway handling vocals on a few tracks.
The band signed to Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
and released the album Set
Set (Thompson Twins album)
Set is the second album by the English pop group Thompson Twins. Released in February 1982, it was the second album they recorded for their own T Records imprint, which was released by Arista Records/Hansa....
. Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
played some keyboards on Set and some live gigs, as Bailey had little experience with synthesizers before then. Set contained the single "In the Name of Love", sung and largely written by Bailey. It became a #1 dance club hit in the US, and an album entitled In the Name of Love (consisting mainly of tracks from Set, with two others from A Product Of... (Participation)) was released in the US to capitalize on the song's popularity. It entered the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Reduction to a trio
After the success of "In the Name of Love", Bailey, Currie and Leeway, wanting to pursue the single's different sound, toyed with the idea of starting a new band on the side, which they planned to call 'The Bermuda Triangle'. When "In The Name Of Love" (and the parent album Set) failed to make a substantial impact in the UK chartsRecord chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, this plan was abandoned. However, at the same time, manager Hade convinced Bailey, Leeway and Currie to downsize the Thompson Twins to a core of the three in April 1982. Accordingly, the other four members of the band were notified that they were being let go; they were each paid £500 and were allowed to keep their instruments and equipment.
All the former members are still on friendly speaking terms with each other, and with Bailey, Currie and Leeway — although Dodd once had the job of delivering a keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
to Thompson Twins session keyboard player Thomas Dolby some time later, but (to Dodd's irritation) Dolby failed to recognise him.
The Thompson Twins decided to go abroad to free themselves of any UK influence, as well as to combine the songwriting for their first album as a trio with a long holiday. They first went to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and then to the Bahamas where they recorded at the Compass Point Studios
Compass Point Studios
Compass Point Studios were founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.In the late 1970s and mid-1980s, many musical artists from across the world came to the Bahamas to record music at its facilities. Many producers, including Chris Blackwell himself, used the studio to produce...
in Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
with the producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, Alex Sadkin
Alex Sadkin
Alex Sadkin is best remembered as a record producer in the early 1980s, but actually got his start in the music industry as a saxophonist for the Las Olas Brass in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....
.
International success
The band broke into the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart at the beginning of 1983 with "Lies
Lies (Thompson Twins song)
"Lies" is a 1983 song by the British New Wave/Synthpop band Thompson Twins. It was released as the first single from the album Quick Step and Side Kick , and the song peaked at #67 on the UK singles chart. The single fared better in the United States, where it peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" and "Love On Your Side", which became the band's first UK Top 10 single. They then released their third album, Quick Step and Side Kick
Quick Step and Side Kick
Quick Step and Side Kick is the third album by the British synthpop group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1983, and was their first album to be released as a trio...
(called simply Side Kicks in the US), which peaked at number 2 in the UK and was later certified platinum there. Further singles followed with "We Are Detective" (another Top 10 UK hit) and "Watching". All three received songwriting credits, though the band publicly acknowledged Bailey as the songwriter, with Currie contributing lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
and Leeway focusing on the stage show. During 1983, the band had the opening spot on The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
concert tour in the US.
A new single, "Hold Me Now
Hold Me Now (Thompson Twins song)
"Hold Me Now" is a song by British pop/new wave band the Thompson Twins. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alex Sadkin, and the group's lead vocalist Tom Bailey. It was released in November 1983 as the first single of their fifth studio album, Into The Gap...
", was released towards the end of 1983. The song was an international chart success, peaking at #4 in their native UK where it became the band's biggest seller earning a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
, and reached #3 in the US in the spring of 1984 becoming their biggest American hit. The band's new album, Into the Gap
Into the Gap
Into the Gap is the fourth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1984 and reached no.1 on the UK Albums Chart, and no.10 on the U.S...
, was released in early 1984 and became one of the year's biggest sellers, selling five million copies worldwide. It topped the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and was later certified double platinum there. Further hit singles from the album followed with "Doctor! Doctor!" (UK #3) and "You Take Me Up" (UK #2, their highest UK singles chart placing and which earned a silver disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
). Other singles included a new version of the album track "Sister of Mercy" (UK #11), and "The Gap" (though this was not released in the UK). The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album, which had also made the US top ten.
A new single, "Lay Your Hands On Me", was released in the UK in late 1984 and reached #13 in the UK charts. However, while working on the follow-up album to Into The Gap, Bailey suffered a nervous breakdown. The band's planned next single, "Roll Over", was then cancelled at the last minute. The band had already parted company with their producer Alex Sadkin
Alex Sadkin
Alex Sadkin is best remembered as a record producer in the early 1980s, but actually got his start in the music industry as a saxophonist for the Las Olas Brass in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....
, and Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
was subsequently called in to help finish the album. Released in September 1985, Here's To Future Days
Here's to Future Days
Here's to Future Days is the fifth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in September 1985 and it reached no.5 in the UK, and no.20 in the US....
reached the Top 5 in the UK and the Top 20 in the US), though failed to come close to the success of Into The Gap. It spawned the single "King For A Day", which peaked at #22 in the UK, but reached #8 on the US chart Other singles included a new US version of "Lay Your Hands On Me" (US #6), the anti-drug song "Don't Mess With Doctor Dream" (UK #15) and an unsuccessful cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' 1968 hit "Revolution
Revolution (song)
"Revolution" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The Beatles released two distinct arrangements of the song in 1968: a hard rock version as the B-side of the single "Hey Jude", and a slower version titled "Revolution 1" on the eponymous album The Beatles...
" which became the band's first single to fail to make the UK Top 40 in three years.
Prior to the album's release, the Thompson Twins made headlines when they performed on the American leg of Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
in July 1985 and were joined onstage by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. The planned 1985 tour of the UK had to be cancelled due to Bailey's breakdown (fans with tickets received a free live album as compensation), though international dates were re-scheduled and the latter half of 1985 saw sell out tours for the band in the US and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Final years
Leeway left the band in 1986, and the remaining duo of Bailey and Currie carried on making music for another seven years. 1987 saw the release of Close to the BoneClose to the Bone (Thompson Twins album)
Close To The Bone is the sixth album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins, and was released in March 1987. Now only the duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie remaining, this was the first album the Thompson Twins made without Joe Leeway...
and the single "Get That Love", which climbed to #31 in the US but failed in the UK. "In the Name of Love" was given a new lease on life in 1988, after a remix by Shep Pettibone
Shep Pettibone
Robert E. Pettibone, Jr. is a record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. His earliest work known to the public was for one of New York City's top disco/dance radio stations, WRKS 98.7 "Kiss" FM, and later as remixer/producer for the disco label Salsoul...
made the Top 50 in the UK. 1989 saw the release of another album, Big Trash
Big Trash
Big Trash is the seventh album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins. Released in 1989, it was the first release by the band on the Red Eye/Warner Brothers record label. It yielded two singles, "Sugar Daddy" and "Bombers in the Sky," but was a commercial failure...
, and a new recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. The single "Sugar Daddy
Sugar Daddy (Thompson Twins song)
"Sugar Daddy" is Thompson Twins' only single in 1989 from the album Big Trash. It was written by the duo, Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey. The single peaked at #97 in the UK, spending only 1 week on the chart. The single fared better in America where it peaked at #28 on the US Billboard. This would...
" peaked at #28 in the US and would be their last brush with mainstream chart success. 1991's Queer would be the band's swansong, and was supported by various techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
inspired singles under the moniker of Feedback Max (in the UK) to disguise the identity of the band to club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. The single "Come Inside
Come Inside (Thompson Twins song)
"Come Inside" is Thompson Twins' only single in 1991 from the album Queer. It was written by the duo, Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey. The single peaked at #56 in the UK, spending 4 weeks on the chart. The single also peaked at #7 on the US Dance Music/Club Play Singles...
" reached #7 in the US Dance Chart and #1 in the UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Chart is a chart compiled by The Official Charts Company from sales in record stores and digital downloads. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1 and The Official Charts Company website.Digital...
. However, once it was discovered that the Thompson Twins were behind the record, sales dropped and the album never had a UK release .
Prior to this, Bailey and Currie (who were now a couple) had their first child together in 1988, and in the following years they spent a lot of time writing material for other artists including the hit single "I Want That Man" for Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
in 1989. In 1990, Bailey and Currie contributed the song "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (song)
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, where it was introduced by Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm....
" to the Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
tribute album "Red Hot + Blue
Red Hot + Blue
Red Hot + Blue is the first in the series of compilation albums from the Red Hot Organization. The recording was the first in the Red Hot Benefit Series...
" produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
. In 1991, Bailey and Currie were married in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
and the following year moved to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
with their two children. In 1992, the Thompson Twins contributed the song "Play With Me" to the soundtrack
Songs from the Cool World
Songs from the Cool World is the soundtrack album for the 1992 Ralph Bakshi film Cool World.-Track listing:# "Real Cool World" - 5:24# "Play With Me" - 4:06# "Disappointed" - 4:22...
of the Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
film Cool World
Cool World
Cool World is a 1992 American live-action/animated film directed by Ralph Bakshi, and starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, and Brad Pitt. It tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in the animated world he created, and is seduced by one of his characters, a comic strip vamp who wants to...
; Bailey alone contributed a second track, "Industry and Seduction". The following year, the duo formally teamed up with engineer Keith Fernley & changed their band name to Babble.
The Thompson Twins declined to follow the examples of many of their contemporaries and reform to tie-in with a nostalgic rebirth of the 1980s, although Bailey, Currie and Leeway appeared together on the UK Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
show Top Ten Electro Bands in 2001. The Thompson Twins were placed ninth.
Critical response
The British musical pressMusic journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
regularly criticised the Thompson Twins. The NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
called them, "1984's most instantly kitsch mass program of monosodium glutamation of the brain". City Limits said they were "candy-floss art capitalists", whilst The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
dubbed them "The three haircuts".
After the Twins
Babble released two albums—The StoneThe Stone (album)
The Stone is the first album by "Babble", an electronic dance music group that was composed of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie , and Keith Fernley. The group changed its name as it changed the outward appearance of its sound, from pop to dub-influenced chill-out...
(1993) and Ether (1996)—with songs featured in the films Coneheads
Coneheads (film)
Coneheads is a 1993 film based on the Saturday Night Live sketches about the Coneheads. The film was directed by Steve Barron and produced by Lorne Michaels...
and With Honors. Three quarters of a third album was recorded, but it remains unreleased.
In 1999, Bailey produced and played keyboards on the hit album Mix by the New Zealand band Stellar*, and won the 'producer of the year' award at the New Zealand equivalent of the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s. He has also arranged soundtracks and has provided instrumental music for several films. In the mid 1990s, Currie gave up the music business to set up her own glass-casting studio in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
.
After her sister died of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Currie founded a group in New Zealand called Mothers Against Genetic-Engineering in Food and the Environment (also known as MADGE), which soon had thousands of members. Currie described this group as a "rapidly growing network of politically non-aligned women who are actively resisting the use of genetically-engineered material in our food and on our land". An advert for this group featuring a young woman with four breast
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
s hooked up to a milking machine became famous after appearing on billboard
Billboard
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s across New Zealand.
Bailey and Currie split up in 2003, and are now divorced. They both left New Zealand to live separately in Britain, but are still close friends. In 2011, Currie married Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
(formerly of The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
) and currently is a trained upholsterer
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
known professionally as "Miss Pokeno".
The earlier members went on to do other things:
- Dodd and Roog formed a band called Big View (with Edge on drums) and recorded a single called, "August Grass", which was released on Point Records (owned by Merton, the Thompson Twins publisher) in 1982. Dodd is now living back in ChesterfieldChesterfieldChesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
working as a freelance journalist — and has released his own History of Rock album billed as Peter & the Wolves. Dodd still sees Podgorski on a regular basis. - Roog lives in London and is in a senior position in Tower Hamlets Adult Services.
- Seligman worked for a law firm in London, and has played in The Soft BoysThe Soft BoysThe Soft Boys were a pop band during the punk era led by Robyn Hitchcock, whose initially old fashioned music style of psychedelic/folk-rock became part of the neo-psychedelia scene with the release of Underwater Moonlight...
reunions as well as releasing his own albums, but has moved to JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with his Japanese wife and their daughter. In 2009, he has been contributing to the new Thomas Dolby album. - Bell moved from London to Bath, and played in or for Spear of Destiny (band)Spear of Destiny (band)Spear of Destiny is a British rock band, established in 1982 by singer and songwriter Kirk Brandon and bassist Stan Stammers. It has had an ever-changing line-up through the years.-Biography:...
, Gene Loves JezebelGene Loves JezebelGene Loves Jezebel are a gothic rock band from the early 1980s, now two separate bands of the same name, founded by identical twin brothers, Michael and Jay Aston .-Early years: 1980-1989:...
and Hugh CornwellHugh CornwellHugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.-Career:...
. He also works as a landscape gardenerLandscape architectureLandscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
. - Booth is, reportedly, living in ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and is the general manager of a music publishingPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company. - Podgorski still lives in Chesterfield.
- Edge has a singing career with DrumsingDrumsingDrumsing is a duo of musicians featuring Andrew Edge and Josef 'Judy' Klausner. The duo perform with percussion and vocals, and no other musical instruments. Drumsing was formed in Linz, Austria, in 2008. It took two years to write songs and record their first CD, which was released in Austria, in...
, as well as being an English Conversation teacher in Linz, Austria.
Bailey continues to make music under the moniker International Observer
International Observer
International Observer is a New Zealand band formed by Tom Bailey, musician and ex-lead singer of the British band the Thompson Twins, who rose to fame during the 1980s...
. His albums Seen
Seen (album)
Seen is the debut album from International Observer, the solo project of former Thompson Twins and Babble musician Tom Bailey. Released in 2001, an EP of the same name was released a year later featuring a different mix of existing album track Vale along with the new track London...
, and All Played Out
All Played Out
All Played Out is the second album from Tom Bailey's solo project International Observer. Released in 2005.-Track listing:...
both received positive reviews. The most recent outing was Felt, released on 8 September 2009. He also performs with the Holiwater group from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Remarried (to artist Lauren Drescher), he currently resides in London.
Original studio albums
- A Product of ... (Participation)A Product of ... (Participation)A Product of … is the first album by the English pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in June 1981 on the T Records imprint, a label created by the band and distributed through the Fame/EMI label...
(1981) - SetSet (Thompson Twins album)Set is the second album by the English pop group Thompson Twins. Released in February 1982, it was the second album they recorded for their own T Records imprint, which was released by Arista Records/Hansa....
(1982) - Quick Step and Side KickQuick Step and Side KickQuick Step and Side Kick is the third album by the British synthpop group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1983, and was their first album to be released as a trio...
(1983) (a.k.a. Side Kicks in North America/Japan) - Into the GapInto the GapInto the Gap is the fourth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1984 and reached no.1 on the UK Albums Chart, and no.10 on the U.S...
(1984) - Here's to Future DaysHere's to Future DaysHere's to Future Days is the fifth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was released in September 1985 and it reached no.5 in the UK, and no.20 in the US....
(1985) - Close to the BoneClose to the Bone (Thompson Twins album)Close To The Bone is the sixth album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins, and was released in March 1987. Now only the duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie remaining, this was the first album the Thompson Twins made without Joe Leeway...
(1987) - Big TrashBig TrashBig Trash is the seventh album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins. Released in 1989, it was the first release by the band on the Red Eye/Warner Brothers record label. It yielded two singles, "Sugar Daddy" and "Bombers in the Sky," but was a commercial failure...
(1989) - Queer (1991)
Compilation albums
- In the Name of Love (U.S. only release compiling tracks from the first two albums) (1982)
- The Best of Thompson Twins: Greatest MixesThe Best of Thompson Twins: Greatest MixesThe Best of Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes is the first compilation album released by the British pop group the Thompson Twins. It was released in 1988, and features various 12" mixes and remixes of classic Thompson Twins songs.-Track listing:...
(1988) - Thompson Twins - Greatest HitsGreatest Hits (Thompson Twins album)Greatest Hits is a compilation album by British pop band Thompson Twins, released in 1996 on the Arista Records label.It is the group's very first compilation of singles, the remix collection Greatest Mixes having already been released a couple of years earlier in 1988, mainly promoted by the...
(1990) - Hold Me Now (Thompson Twins album) (1993)
- Love on Your Side - The Best of Thompson TwinsLove on Your Side - The Best of Thompson TwinsLove on Your Side - The Best of Thompson Twins is a double disc compilation of 36 tracks by British pop band Thompson Twins, released in 2007...
(2007)
Babble albums
- The StoneThe Stone (album)The Stone is the first album by "Babble", an electronic dance music group that was composed of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie , and Keith Fernley. The group changed its name as it changed the outward appearance of its sound, from pop to dub-influenced chill-out...
(1993) - Ether (1996)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of Second British Invasion Artists
External links
- [ Biography at Allmusic.com]