The Thompson Twins were formed in 1977 in Chesterfield. By 1979 they arrived in London with little money and lived as squatters. The first line-up consisted of: Tom Bailey on bass guitar and vocals, Pete Dodd on guitar and vocals, John Roog on guitar, and Jon Podgorski (AKA as "Pod") on drums. They lived in the same squat with John Hade who was their roadie an later became their manager. Allanah Curry would become Tom's girlsfriend and also lived in a squat. She then played saxophone in the girl-punk band The Unfuckables. Pod left the band as was replaced by Andrew Edge (for only 18 months) and finally by Chris Bell.
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| The Thompson Twins from the Tin Tin comics |
The name of the band came from the 2 clumsy detectives in the comics of Hergé's Tintin.
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| Thompson Twins in 1980 |
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| "Squares and Triangles" single cover |
In 1980 the band released their first single "Squares and Triangles" on their own label called Dirty Discs. Another single titled "She's in Love with Mystery" was also relased that year. They added 2 new members in their line-up in 1981: Joe Leeway (who also was a roadie) on congas and percussion and Jane Shorter on saxophone. With this line-up they recorded their first album "A Product Of... (Participation)". Alannah Currie who was a girlfriend of Tom (she later married him) also contributed to the album but was not officially a member of the band yet. They had a post-punk sound with African rhythms and chants. The band had already built a strong reputation for themselves due to their live shows, where often members of the audience were encouraged to join the band onstage. 2 songs on the album were produced by Mike Howlett who produced many synthpop artists during the 80's like China Crisis, Fischer-Z, Blancmange, OMD and A Flock of Seagulls.
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| Thompson Twins in 1982 |
After the release of the album Jane left the band to be replaced by Alannah. Another new member joined named Matthew Seligman. He was in the Soft Boys (led by guitarist Robyn Hitchcock) and the Fallout Club (including synth artist Thomas Dolby). Thomas Dolby played some synths on their second album "Set" released in 1982. The album was produced by popular producer: Steve Lillywhite (famous for producing acts like Ultravox, Simple Minds, XTC and more). The album introduced their first hit in the USA.: "In the Name of Love" reaching #1 in the US dance charts as well as #44 in the Netherlands. In the USA they released the album "In the Name of Love" which was mainly the album "Set" with 2 songs from their debut album. By now they were still very experimental with exotic influences but more polished.
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| Thompson Twins in 1984 |
As a result of the success of the single "In The Name of Love" Bailey, Currie and Leeway wanted to start a new band to focus on the style of this single. They intended calling themselves The Bermuda Triangle but they decided to continue as the Thompson Twins. They would become very popular during the second half of the 80's. They moved away from the experimental post-punk to very commercial new wave.
Discography
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| Original album cover |
When I See You / Politics / Slave Trade / Could Be Her...Could Be You / Make Believe / Don't Go Away / The Price / Oumma Aularesso (Animal Laugh) / Anything Is Good Enough / A Product Of... / Perfect Game / Vendredi Saint
SINGLES
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| Original single cover |
- Squares and Triangles / Could Be Her, Could Be You
- She's in Love with Mystery / Fast Food / Food Style
- Perfect Game / Politics
- Animal Laugh (Oumma Aularesso) / A Dub Product / Anything Is Good Enough
- Make Believe (Lets Pretend) / Lama Sabach Tani
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| Original single cover |
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| Original album cover |
In the Name of Love / Living in Europe / Bouncing / Tok Tok / Good Gosh / The Rowe / Runaway / Another Fantasy / Fool's Gold / Crazy Dog / Blind
- In the Name of Love / In the Beginning
- Runaway / Open Your Eye
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| Orginal US album cover |
In The Name of Love (1982)
In The Name Of Love / Runaway / Living In Europe / Another Fantasy / Bouncing / Fool's Gold / The Rowe / Perfect Game / Make Believe / Good Gosh
VIDEO/AUDIO
Living in Europe/In The Name of Love
Make Believe
Could Be Her... Could Be You
The Price
In the Name of Love
Runaway
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