Thompson Twins

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Thompson Twins

Background information
Origin Sheffield, Huddersfield and Halifax
Genre(s) Pop, Dance, New wave, Synthpop
Years active 1977–1993
Label(s) Dirty Discs
Latent
Tee Records
Arista Records
Warner Bros. Records
Red Eye Records
Associated
acts		 Babble
Former members
Tom Bailey
Alannah Currie
Joe Leeway
Pete Dodd
John Roog
Chris Bell
Matthew Seligman
Jane Shorter
Andrew Edge
Jon Podgorski

The Thompson Twins were an English New Wave/pop band normally associated with the 1980s. The band formed in April 1977, and disbanded in May 1993. Massively popular in the mid-1980s, the band scored a string of hits in the UK, broke into the USA and Canada and enjoyed huge popularity around the globe. Total worldwide record sales are estimated at 50 million. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives in Hergé's comic strip, The Adventures of Tintin.


Contents

[edit] The early band

In 1977, the original Thompson Twins lineup consisted of Tom Bailey (born January 18, 1954, in Halifax, 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.

Originally a New Wave and power pop band, the band moved south from Sheffield to London, but, having so 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 parasites) 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. He was not only a fan of the band, but was also a trusted friend of Bailey's. He would later play a deciding role in their international success.

As "Pod" Podgorski had decided to stay in the north, they auditoned for drummers at The Point Studio in Victoria, London. Dick O'Dell (Disco Dell) the manager of The Pop Group and the Slits also had an office in the same building.

Andrew Edge joined them on drums for less than one year, but left because of the subliminal tension between the other band members. Edge went on to join Savage Progress, who later toured with the Thompson Twins as their support act on the 1984 UK tour. This came about because both bands had the same publishing company, Point Music. Its owner (Rupert Merton) would later sign the band known as Underworld.

The Thompsons Twins' first publishing contract with Merton was extremely fair and financially balanced between all the members, as the songwriter(s) — mainly Bailey and Dodd — gave a percentage (albeit smaller) to the other musicians.

Their music was tempo-driven — meaning as fast as was possible — and the vocals were split between Bailey and Dodd. The titles and subjects of their songs at that stage varied from "Squares & Triangles", "She's in Love with Mystery", and "Fast Food". There were often comments from fans, even at that early stage, that Bailey should take over all the singing duties. This added to the intellectually intense discussions in the band about which direction they should take.

They searched for a record label — mostly independent companies — and were rejected by many. One visit to the Rough Trade Record Shop/Record Label was humorous because after the band entered the small shop and asked at the counter where the A&R Department was, they were answered with, "This is it."

Their live gigs were mostly in universities, colleges and pubs, although they did occasionally play for almost nothing. Two examples were at a fire station squat in the Old Kent Road, London, and at a boxing competition for under-20s in Notting Hill.

[edit] The big band

Thompson Twins, 1981. L-R: John Roog, Chris Bell, Joe Leeway, Pete Dodd, Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie & Matthew Seligman.
Thompson Twins, 1981. L-R: John Roog, Chris Bell, Joe Leeway, Pete Dodd, Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie & Matthew Seligman.

By 1981, the line-up was Bailey, Dodd, Roog and three new members: Chris Bell on drums, Joe Leeway on congas and percussion, and Jane Shorter on saxophone. This line up recorded the first Thompson Twins album A Product of ... (Participation). Currie, who had been hanging out with the band for a few years, played and sang on the first album, but was not yet a full member.

Bell admitted in the beginning that he was "not a drummer at all", but with the encouragement and help of Bailey he steadily improved to provide a solid back-beat. The group's personnel eventually rose to as many as eleven members, who often invited enthusiastic audience members onstage to pound on makeshift percussion instruments.

This was a hard time — financially and emotionally — for the band, as they were touring as often as possible for very little return. Dodd remembered Bailey's driving technique as being distinctly scary during that period; "He would always automatically follow the vehicle in front through the traffic lights, even if the vehicle in front had gone through when the traffic light was red...".

After the first album, the band's line-up shifted yet again. Saxophone player Shorter dropped out, Currie was made an official member, and added was bassist Matthew Seligman, a former member of The Soft Boys. Bailey, meanwhile, moved to keyboards and became the band's lead vocalist, with Leeway being the lead vocalist on some tracks.

The band signed to Arista Records and released the album Set. Thomas Dolby played some keyboards, such as the Oberheim, on Set and some live gigs, as Bailey had 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 substantial dance club hit in the U.S., and the Set album would be released as In The Name Of Love in the U.S. to capitalize on the song's popularity; it entered the Billboard 200.

According to Dodd (2005 interview) the album Set was "a synth fest", and the band used every keyboard that was available, as well as guitar, bass and drums.

[edit] The trio

After the success of "In The Name Of Love", Bailey, Currie and Leeway, liking and wanting to pursue the first single's different sound, toyed with the idea of starting a new band on the side, which they planned to call "The Bermuda Triangle".[1] When the single and album failed to make a substantial impact in the UK charts, Bailey down-sized the Thompson Twins to a core of three members (the well-known line-up of himself, Currie and Leeway) in April 1982.[2] The reason for the split was explained as a disagreement over who should be the lead singer. In a radical change, the other band members wanted to feature Leeway as the band's lead vocalist, but Bailey (naturally) disagreed. Leeway would go on to join the later version of the band that featured Bailey on lead vocals.

Although the split could have been seen as acrimonious, it was not, because the former members declined to go through the courts over the ownership of the band's name, but were persuaded to allow Bailey to carry on using it.

On UK TV, Seligman explained it so:

“ We were all given a piece of paper that we had to sign, which said that we were to be paid 500 pounds, and we could keep our instruments and equipment. It sounded like quite a good deal at the time..." ”

All the former members are still on friendly speaking terms, although Dodd once had the job of delivering a keyboard to Thomas Dolby some time later, but (to Dodd's irritation) Dolby failed to recognise him.

No longer having to work out songs in beer-sodden and sweaty rehearsal rooms, as well as dealing with the opinions of other musicians, Bailey could now work on his own, and at his own pace. Unfortunately this would back-fire on him in later years, as the strain of doing almost everything led to a breakdown.

[edit] The band abroad

Thompson Twins Logo, 1982–1986
Thompson Twins Logo, 1982–1986

The down-sized version included singer and main-musician Bailey, lyricist and percussionist Alannah Currie (born 20 September 1959 in Auckland, New Zealand), and actor, percussionist, and stylist Joe Leeway (born 15 November 1953, in Islington, London). The Thompson Twins trio then decided to go abroad and to free themselves of any UK influences, as well as to combine the songwriting for their first "trio" album with a very long holiday: "We went to Egypt to be totally isolated", Currie explained. "The old version of The Thompson Twins had just split up (sic) and now there were the three of us — Tom, Joe and myself — and we needed to get some new songs written". "We were always London-based", Bailey added. "Making London-type music, for London people. It was the bane of our lives and we wanted to make a break from that. So Egypt seemed a good place to go..."

The new trio also had their share of in-fighting even after the other members had gone, Currie: "We did have terrible fights when we tried to work together. We threw things at one another and cried. It was all very traumatic, but we've worked so long together that we can cope with that. We know how to manipulate one another, you see, and stick the knife in. There's no democracy in the Thompson Twins; we run it on a totally Fascist basis". "After Egypt, we went to the Bahamas" Currie commented, "but we got bored", said Leeway. "There was nothing to do but swim around and look at different coloured corals." Currie continues: "So we came back to Britain and set up a studio in the ballroom of a mansion presided over by a crazy woman in Wiltshire" [3]

The synthesizers they used were: Yamaha DX-7, Yamaha CS-80, Roland Jupiter-8, E-mu Emulator, Fairlight CMI, and Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, which could be controlled by a basic computer program.

The arrival of the Oberheim DMX [4] and the Linn LM-1 drum machines changed the whole face of music composition and recording, and Bailey adopted them.

[edit] International success

They broke into the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at the beginning of 1983 with "Lies" and "Love On Your Side". Further singles from their third album Quick Step And Side Kick (called simply Side Kicks in the U.S.) followed with "We Are Detective" and "Watching". Bailey's flame-red hair and bright ponytail and Currie's wasp-swatting style at the xylophone swiftly becoming endearing images of an exciting new act. Bailey primarily wrote the music (with significant enough input from Leeway that he received co-authorship credit on all tracks), and Currie contributed most (if not all) of the lyrics. Leeway was also responsible for the band's exciting live visuals.

At the end of 1983, a single "Hold Me Now" was released. An extremely simple love song with gentle guitar lines, it marked a clear break from the Thompson Twins' previously hard-edged electronic sound. "Hold Me Now" relied almost wholly on an emotive piano, some clever percussion from Currie, and heartfelt vocals from Bailey. It hit the top three and remains one of the more timeless singles from an era and decade which tends to date a little more easily than others.

Four equally mature singles followed into 1984: the pop hit "Doctor! Doctor!"; the quirky "You Take Me Up" (at number two, their biggest UK hit); the haunting "Sister of Mercy"; and "The Gap" with its Middle Eastern rhythms (this was not released in the UK). The corresponding album, Into The Gap, was one of the bestsellers of the year, selling five million units worldwide and topping the British album charts. The album sold more copies than many of their contemporary's offerings, including Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Eurythmics' Touch and Culture Club's Colour by Numbers.

Listen to this 1984 interview with Bailey and Leeway about their thoughts at that time.


Their live shows were as elaborate as financially possible — Leeway's work — but the financial gain was minimal. This was intended to give something back to the fans, and not to squeeze as much money out of the tours as possible.

A late 1984 single "Lay Your Hands On Me" saw the band attempt to build on their success, but an insensitive theme (showing the band draped in jewels) contrasted sharply with the prevalent theme of Live Aid currently obsessing the music press in the UK. The single did well, making the US top ten, but was in many ways a rewrite of previous material. The trio had peaked.

Working on the follow up to Into The Gap, Bailey suffered a nervous breakdown. Nile Rodgers was subsequently called in to help finish the album, which appeared in 1985. Here's To Future Days (itself making the top twenty) spawned the track: "King For a Day", which made the US top ten, but only reaching number 22 in the UK. Other singles included the anti-drug message "Don't Mess With Doctor Dream" and a cover of The Beatles' 1968 hit "Revolution". The Thompson Twins made headlines when they performed at the American-end of Live Aid and were joined onstage by the fresh-faced Madonna, who was in only her second year of fame. The UK leg of the album's support tour had to be cancelled because of Bailey's breakdown (fans with tickets received a free live album as compensation) and the album itself was delayed by many months, causing the band to lose momentum. Despite this, the latter half of 1985 saw sell out tours for the band in the USA and Japan.

[edit] The final years

Thompson Twins, 1987
Thompson Twins, 1987

Leeway left the band in 1986, after a reported disagreement with manager Hade, and the remaining duo carried on making music for another seven years, occasionally puncturing the singles charts and twice making the U.S. Top Forty. 1987 saw the release of Close To the Bone and the single "Get That Love" which made it to number thirty-one in the U.S.. 1989 saw the release of another album, Big Trash, and a new record deal with Warner Bros. Records. The single "Sugar Daddy" peaked at number twenty-eight in the USA 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-induced singles under the moniker of Feedback Max (in the UK) to disguise club DJs of the source of the records. The single "Come Inside" reached number seven in the U.S. Dance Chart and number one 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.

In 1988, Bailey and Currie had their first child together, 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 1991, Bailey and Currie got 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; Tom Bailey alone contributed a second track, "Industry and Seduction". The following year, the group finally formally disbanded, and Bailey and Currie teamed up with engineer Keith Fernley to form a new group called Babble. The Thompson Twins have declined to follow the examples of many of their contemporaries and reform to tie-in with a nostalgic rebirth of the 1980s.

Watch this UK TV video with the three members discussing their entire career. It also has interviews with Seligman and Dodd.

[edit] After the Twins

Babble have since released two acclaimed albums — The Stone in 1993 and Ether in 1996, and one of their songs was featured on the film The Coneheads with Dan Akroyd. Three quarters of a third album has been recorded, but remains unreleased and in the vaults of Warner Bros. Records.

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 Grammys. 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 breasts hooked up to a milking machine became famous after appearing on billboards across New Zealand.

Bailey and Currie split up in 2003, and are now divorced. They both left New Zealand and live separately in Britain, but are still close friends.

The earlier members went on to do other things:

  • Dodd is now living back in Chesterfield working as a freelance journalist — and has just released his own History of Rock CD as Peter & the Wolves. Dodd still sees Podgorski on a regular basis.
  • Roog lives in London and is in a respected position in Lambeth Social Services.
  • Seligman worked for a law firm in London (and has played in The Soft Boys reunions as well as releasing his own CDs) but has recently moved to Japan with his Japanese wife and their daughter.
  • Bell moved from London to Bath, and currently plays for Spear of Destiny, Gene Loves Jezebel and Hugh Cornwell. He also works as a landscape gardener.
  • Booth is, reportedly, living in Shanghai and is the general manager of a music publishing company.
  • Podgorski still lives in Chesterfield.
  • Andrew Edge has a singing career and is an English teacher in Austria.

Bailey continues to make music under the moniker International Observer. His albums Seen, and All Played Out both received positive reviews. He also performs with the Holiwater group from India.

[edit] Session musicians

The Thompson Twins' live band was also a spawning ground for future stars.

Other notable musicians included Andrew and Mark Heyward-Chaplin on bass guitar.

Michael White "hung around" with the Thompson Twins "in a previous incarnation" in 1982, because his girlfriend (who played keyboards) insisted that he be included on a tour, where he played some guitar and keyboards. He later wrote a book about his experiences, called Thompson Twin - An '80's Memoir, which deals with his then-girlfriend Jan's affair with John Hade. He is now a best-selling author, and lives in Australia.

[edit] Books

The Thompson Twins - An Odd Couple (The Official Biography) by Rose Rouse. Virgin Books, 1985.

Thompson Twin - An '80's Memoir by Michael White. Publisher: Little, Brown (4 May 2000).

[edit] Trivia

  • Despite its name, no twins were ever members of the group and none of the members were ever surnamed Thompson.
  • Tom Bailey was spotted, and photographed, in "The Fridge", in Brixton, London, while he was DJing there.
  • The song "Judy Do" appearing on the Quick Step And Side Kick album recorded in 1983, and remastered and reissued in 2004, is about the singer and actress, Judy Garland.

[edit] Online media

[edit] Discography

For more details about the discography, see Thompson Twins discography.

[edit] Thompson Twins' albums

  • A Product of ... (Participation) (1981)
  • Set (1982)
  • In The Name Of Love (1982)
  • Quick Step and Side Kick (1983)
  • Into The Gap (1984)
  • Here's To Future Days (1985)
  • Close To The Bone (1987)
  • The Best of Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes (1988)
  • Big Trash (1989)
  • Thompson Twins - Greatest Hits (1990)
  • Queer (1991)

[edit] Babble's albums

  • The Stone (1993)
  • Ether (1996)

[edit] International Observer's albums

  • Seen (2001)
  • All Played Out (2005)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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