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British pop band
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Thompson Twins were a British pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to dub influenced chill out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently broke up. The band's name was based on the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson (who are close doubles not twins) in the English language version of The Adventures of Tintin (Les aventures de Tintin) on bass guitar and vocals, Pete Dodd on guitar and vocals, John Roog on guitar, and Jon Podgorski (known as "Pod") on drums. Arriving in London with very little money, they lived as squatters in Lillieshall Road, Clapham. Future Thompson Twins member Alannah Currie (born 20 September 1957, Auckland, New Zealand) lived in another squat in the same street, which is how she met Bailey. Their roadie at that time was John Hade, who lived in the same house, and who later became their manager. As Podgorski had decided to stay in the north, the group auditioned for drummers at the Point Studio in Victoria, London. Andrew Edge joined them on drums for 18 months, and went on to join Savage Progress, who later toured with the Thompson Twins as the support act on the band's 1984 UK tour. In 1980, the band (now consisting of Bailey, Dodd, Roog and drummer Chris Bell, who had replaced Edge the previous year) released their first single, "Squares and Triangles", on their own Dirty Discs label. A follow up single, "She's in Love with Mystery", was issued later that year.

In 1981, the line up became Bailey, Dodd, Roog, Bell and two new members: former band roadie Joe Leeway on congas and percussion, and Jane Shorter on saxophone. This line up recorded the debut Thompson Twins studio album A Product Of (Participation), documented in the film Listen to London (1981). Currie, who had been associated with the band for a few years, played and sang on their debut studio album, but was not yet a full member. After their debut studio album, the band's line up shifted yet again. Saxophonist Jane Shorter left and was replaced by Currie (who also played percussion), and bassist Matthew Seligman, a former member of the Soft Boys and the Fallout Club, joined; and an album titled In the Name of Love (consisting mainly of tracks from Set, with two others from A Product Of (Participation)) was released in the US to capitalize on the song's popularity. It entered the US Billboard 200. When "In the Name of Love" (and its parent studio album Set) failed to make a substantial impact in the UK record charts, this plan was abandoned. However, at the same time, manager Hade convinced Bailey, Leeway and Currie to downsize the Thompson Twins to a core of the three in April 1982.

The band broke into the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at the beginning of 1983 with "Lies" and "Love On Your Side", which became the band's first UK Top 10 single. They then released their third studio album, Quick Step & Side Kick (called simply Side Kicks in the US), and "Watching" (UK No. 33). During 1983, the band had the opening spot on the Police's concert tour in the US. Reduced to a trio, a logo representing each member was created by designer Andy Airfix and was voted the 4th best logo out of 13 by Classic Pop Magazine. "Hold Me Now" was released in late 1983. The song was an international chart success, peaking at No. 4 in their native UK where it became the band's biggest seller earning a gold disc, and reached No. 3 in the US in the spring of 1984 becoming their biggest American hit. and "You Take Me Up" (UK No. 2, their highest UK singles chart placing Other singles included a new version of the album track "Sister of Mercy" (UK No. 11), and "The Gap" (though this was not released in the UK). The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album, which had also made the US top ten. A brand new single, "Lay Your Hands on Me", was released in the UK in late 1984 and reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. A second planned tour of the UK in 1985 was also scrapped due to the promoter declaring bankruptcy.

Bailey performed Thompson Twins songs live for the first time in 27 years on 17 August 2014 at Temple Island Meadows, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, for the Rewind South Festival. In 2014, Bailey also took part in the Retro Futura Tour in the US, along with Howard Jones, Midge Ure, China Crisis and Katrina Leskanich formerly of Katrina and the Waves. He continues to tour internationally, under the moniker "Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey," performing in the UK and also in North America in 2016. In 2016, Bailey received the Classic Pop magazine's 'Best Live Show' award. In 2018, Bailey toured the US with the B 52's and Culture Club, dubbed The Life Tour. On 3 September 2022, Bailey performed the entire 'Into the Gap' studio album for the first time ever along with his band consisting of Alice Offley (bass guitar and backing vocals), Charlotte Raven (keyboards and cello) and Paulina Szczepaniak (drums and percussion) collectively known as 'The Sisters of Mercy' in Aylesbury, UK (at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre) to a sold out audience. This performance also featured a surprise full live performance of Thompson Twins hit "We Are Detective". Bailey had produced a reimagined purely instrumental version of the song that had served as the band's walk on music for live performances since 2014, but this was the first time the full song appeared as part of the actual set since Bailey's return to performing Thompson Twins material. Alice Offley performed Alannah Currie's vocal parts, in addition to playing bass.