| Tom Hooker | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | T. Beecher, Thomas Barbey |
| Born | November 18, 1957 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Disco, pop rock, Hi-NRG |
| Occupations | Singer, actor, photographer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1980-1994, 2010-Present |
| Labels | Full Time Records (1980 - 1984) Baby Records(1984 - 1995) BMG Records (1988 - 1995) |
Thomas Barbey (born Thomas Beecher Hooker on November 18, 1957 in Greenwich, Connecticut) is a singer and photographer.[1]
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Barbey, known as as Tom Hooker, was brought to Europe when he was six months old. At the age of ten, he started his musical career as a drummer. At 13, he created his first band. At 15, he first appeared in public in a concert as a drummer/singer.
He studied languages in Switzerland. In 1980, he moved to Italy, where he was discovered by Italian producers. His first hit was Flip Over and We Can Start It All Over Again, which background music was pop rock. He had his first major success in 1986 with Looking for Love.
Hooker co-wrote and sang lead vocal on the first two Den Harrow albums, and co-wrote many subsequent Den Harrow songs under the name of T. Beecher. When Hooker was credited for vocals at all, it was only for background vocals, as it was the producers' intention to have a lip-synching model be the public face of Den Harrow.
In 1994, Hooker left the music scene to move to America to marry Suzanne Berquist. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and changed his name to Thomas Barbey, his mother's maiden name. He began a career as a "visual artist", creating surreal photographs, called photomontage. He is currently exhibits in galleries in many countries around the world.
In October 2010, Tom Hooker collaborated with his long time musical colleague and fellow composer, Miki Chieregato, to produce and release a brand new single and a video Change Your Mind. This collaboration marks the return to the roots of the same production team that was responsible for all of the initial Den Harrow and Tom Hooker output between 1985 and 1988. In 2011, Hooker released a new recording and music video of the Den Harrow track Future Brain, which now features himself.