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About Thompson Twins
Hometown
Sheffield, England
Formed
1977
Genre
Pop
British synth-pop group Thompson Twins had a run of international success in the mid-1980s with songs including “Hold Me Now” and “Doctor! Doctor!”
• Though 10 different members rotated through at various points, the definitive lineup featured Tom Bailey on bass, guitar, keyboards, and vocals; Joe Leeway on percussion, keyboards, and vocals; and Alannah Currie on drums, percussion, and vocals.
• There were never people named Thompson nor twins in the band’s lineup. The name comes from characters in the French comic strip The Adventures of Tintin.
• Thompson Twins debuted in 1980 with a pair of singles, neither of which charted. Their first album, A Product Of …, came out in 1981 and made little commercial impact.
• In 1982, the band scored two No. 1 hits on the US dance charts: “In the Name of Love'' and “Lies.” Thompson Twins’ pop breakthrough came on their 1983 album Quick Step & Side Kick (released as Side Kicks in the US). The album reached No. 2 in the UK and cracked the Top 40 in the US.
• Thompson Twins’ next album, 1984’s Into the Gap, would be their biggest commercial success, reaching No. 1 in the UK and No. 10 in the US. The LP spawned three UK Top 10 pop singles, including “Hold Me Now” (No. 4 in the UK, No. 3 in the US) and “Doctor! Doctor!” (No. 3 in the UK and No. 11 in the US).
• The group’s 1985 album Here’s to Future Days reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 20 in the US. Leeway departed from the group in 1986, leaving Bailey and Currie to carry on as a duo. None of Thompson Twins’ three subsequent albums cracked the Top 40.
• Following Thompson Twins’ 1991 album Queer, Bailey and Currie brought in Keith Fernley, their longtime recording engineer, and changed the band’s name to Babble. The trio released a pair of studio albums before splitting in 1996.
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