Tom Hooker

Tom Hooker or Thomas Barbey (born Thomas Beecher Hooker on November 18, 1957, in Greenwich, Connecticut) is an American singer and photographer.^[1]

History

Barbey, best known 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 at a concert as a drummer/singer. He studied languages in Switzerland.

Music

In 1980, he moved to Italy, where he was discovered by Italian producers. His first hit was "Flip Over", b/w the track "We Can Start It All Over Again". He had his first major success in 1986 with "Looking for Love". His later work included collaborations with several other artists and producers, including Eddy Huntington, for whom he provided several lyrics, including those for the Europe-wide hit "USSR".^[2]

By 1988, he moved to photography and his music style changed with his single "No More Heaven". His last single was "Run Away", which was a commercial failure.

Den Harrow

Hooker co-wrote and sang lead vocals on the first two Den Harrow albums, and co-wrote many subsequent Den Harrow songs under the name T. Beecher. When Hooker was credited for vocals at all, it was only for background vocals, as it was the producer's intention to have a lip-synching model to be the public face of Stefano Zandri, the project's lead vocalist.

In 2010, Tom Hooker recorded and published on YouTube a press conference-style video in which Hooker, flanked by Den Harrow co-producer Miki Chierigato, states and demonstrates that he was the vocalist on most of the Den Harrow records, and in which he accuses Stefano Zandri of continuing to publicly lip synch to those recordings. He also states that Zandri made threats and insults against Hooker and his family on Facebook for exposing the vocal inauthenticity of the Den Harrow recordings. Hooker asserts that Zandri no longer has permission to publicly lip sync to Den Harrow recordings that use Tom Hooker's voice.

Photography

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 currently exhibits in galleries in many countries around the world.

Revival

In October 2010, Hooker collaborated with his longtime musical colleague and fellow composer, Miki Chieregato, to produce and release a brand new single and 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 features himself.

Discography

Albums

• 1980: Tom Hooker
• 1986: Only One
• 1988: Bad Reputation
• 1992: Fighting For Our Love
• 2011: Unconditional Love

Singles

• 1980: "Flip Over"/"We Can Start It All Over Again"
• 1981: "Toccami"/"Go Today"
• 1981: "I Want To Love"
• 1982: "Dove Andiamo"/"Try Me"
• 1982: "With Your Body"
• 1983: "Come Back Home"
• 1984: "Give It To Me"
• 1984: "Indian Girl"/"Love Attack"
• 1984: "Real Men" (12")
• 1985: "Cry"/"Don't Forget (To Buy This Record)"
• 1986: "Help Me"
• 1986: "Looking For Love"
• 1986: "Swiss Boy" (under Lou Sern pseudonym)
• 1986: "Only One" (12")
• 1987: "Atlantis" (12")
• 1988: "Feeling Okay" (12")
• 1988: "No More Heaven" (12")
• 1990: "Living In The Sunshine" (7")
• 1991: "Sex-O-Phone & Funk Guitar" (12")
• 1994: "Runaway" (12")
• 2010: "Change Your Mind"

References

External links

• Tom Hooker interview
• Thomas Barbey official site