AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Thompson Twins

 Artist:Thompson Twins

Song:Hold Me Now

Album:Greatest Hits

The British synth pop group Thompson Twins had a great run in the 80s. The 1983 single Hold Me Now was their biggest hit. The leader of Thompson Twins was Tom Bailey. He was the lead singer and he wrote and produced everything. He formed Thompson Twins in 1977. But they didn't become the trio we are familiar with until 1982. The group was named after the bumbling detectives in The Adventures of Tin Tin. They were originally from Sheffield, England. But soon after the formation they moved to London. The band lived as squatters because they had no money. That was when Bailey met New Zealand born Alannah Currie. She joined the band in 1981. At first she played sax and percussion but the sax was dropped. The third member was former roadie Joe Leeway who is credited with playing keyboards and percussion. A 1981 album got Thompson Twins a record deal with Arista. They released the 1982 album Set. Thomas Dolby appeared on the album and he taught Bailey to use synthesizers. After success on the dance charts with In The Name of Love, Thompson Twins became a trio. Mostly it was Bailey creating the music. It's unclear how much the other two contributed. My guess is not much. I think that's what a lot of music fans thought at the time. The 1983 single Hold Me Now was their biggest hit. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album Into the Gap was certified Platinum. It was the first Thompson Twins album that Bailey produced himself. They also scored a top 20 hit with Doctor! Doctor!. Those were their only two big hits in the US though they continued to have success in England. Leeway left in 1986. Bailey and Currie continued. They were now married and they had a child in 1988. Thompson Twins recorded five albums for Arista and then two for Warner Bros. This budget comp covers the Arista years. Thompson Twins ended in 1991. They released two albums as Babble. They moved to New Zealand. Alannah quit the music business and opened a glass casting studio in Auckland, NZ. Bailey got into producing and composed music for films as International Observer. They divorced in 2003 and both moved back to England separately. Bailey returned to performing in 2014. He released an album in 2018. He toured as a nostalgia act. Here's the video for Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins.