T'Pau (band)

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For other uses, see T'Pau.
T'Pau
Album cover of Bridge of Spies by T'Pau
Album cover of Bridge of Spies by T'Pau
Background information
Origin England
Years active 1986 – 1991,
1998 –
Label(s) Siren, Virgin
Members
Carol Decker
Former members
Dean Howard
Ronnie Rogers
Tim Burgess
Michael Chetwood
Paul Jackson

T'Pau was a late 1980s rock group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe. Decker still performs under the name T'Pau at solo shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts.

Contents

[edit] Career

T'Pau formed in 1986 and took their name from a Vulcan Star Trek character. Their debut single and first hit was the 1987 release "Heart & Soul". Initially a flop in the UK, it first became a hit in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching #4, after being featured on a Pepe Jeans advert, it repeated the feat in the UK Singles Chart some months later. The following year, the band had their biggest hit with the power ballad, "China in Your Hand", which spent five weeks at Number 1 in the UK chart, and also claimed the top slot in several European countries, although oddly the song made little impact on the Billboard Hot 100.

Their 1987 album, Bridge of Spies (the album was called T'Pau in the U.S.) was a best seller and won several British music industry awards. Bridge of Spies produced a number of smaller hits which made it to at least the UK Top 40, including the singles "Valentine" (UK #9), "Sex Talk" (a new recording of early flop single, "Intimate Strangers") (UK #23), and "I Will Be With You" (UK #14).

1988 saw the release of their second album Rage which produced the hit single "Secret Garden". A third album The Promise followed in 1991, but the band split soon afterwards.

Decker re-formed the band with a new line-up in 1998, and T'Pau have in recent years continued to work live regularly.

Decker still makes appearances on TV shows, including Hit Me Baby One More Time, Just the Two of Us, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and The Weakest Link.

Former Guitarist Ronnie Rogers is currently in the band The Ronaldos

In 2007, marking the 20th anniversary of T'pau's initial success, Ron Rogers and Carol Decker released the new single, "Just Dream", exclusively as an internet download.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Discography

Albums

  • Bridge of Spies (1987, UK No. 1)
  • Rage (1988, UK No. 4)
  • The Promise (1991, UK No. 10)
  • Heart And Soul - The Very Best Of T'Pau (1993, UK No. 35)
  • The Greatest Hits (1997)
  • Red (1998)
  • Greatest Hits Live (2003)
  • Hits (re-issued, repackaged version of The Greatest Hits) (2005)

Singles

  • "Heart and Soul" (1987, US No. 4)
  • "Intimate Strangers" (1987)
  • "Heart and Soul" (re-issue) (1987, UK No. 4)
  • "China in Your Hand" (1987, UK No. 1)
  • "Bridge of Spies" (1988, U.S./German release only)
  • "Valentine" (1988, UK No. 9)
  • "Sex Talk (Live)" (1988, UK No. 23)
  • "I Will Be With You" (1988, UK No. 14)
  • "Secret Garden" (1988, UK No. 18)
  • "Road To Our Dream" (1988, UK No. 42)
  • "Only The Lonely" (1989, UK No. 28)
  • "Whenever You Need Me" (1991, UK No. 16)
  • "Walk On Air" (1991, UK No. 62)
  • "Soul Destruction" (1991)
  • "Only A Heartbeat" (1991, U.S./Japan release only)
  • "Valentine" (re-issue) (1993, UK No. 53)
  • "Heart and Soul '97" (1997)
  • "With A Little Luck" (1998, Promo release only)
  • "Giving Up The Ghost" (1999)

[edit] Other songs

T'Pau also recorded rock versions of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer", Petula Clark's "Downtown" and The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renée", all with lead vocals by rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers. These cover versions originally formed part of the band's live set to enable Decker to leave the stage to change her costume, and were subsequently released as CD single bonus tracks.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Record Mirror interview. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.

[edit] External links