"Doctor! Doctor!" is a song performed by the British new wave band

Thompson Twins 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 mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kin ...

. It is the second single from the band's fourth studio album, '' Into the Gap'' (1984). It was written by Tom Bailey,

Alannah Currie Alannah Joy Currie (born 20 September 1957) is a New Zealand artist based in London. She is a musician and activist, best known as a former member of the pop band Thompson Twins. Career Born in New Zealand and trained as a journalist, Currie e ...

and Joe Leeway, and prominently features a keyboard solo. Following the successful chart performances of the ''Into the Gap'' single " Hold Me Now", "Doctor! Doctor!" was released in the UK on 27 January 1984 as the album's second single.

Background and recording

In 1983, after the commercial success of their third album '' Quick Step and Side Kick'', the Thompson Twins collaborated again with producer

Alex Sadkin Alex Sadkin (April 9, 1949July 25, 1987) was an American record producer, engineer, mixer and mastering engineer. Sadkin grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida across the street from Bennett Elementary School, and played saxophone in Sunrise Junio ...

to record '' Into the Gap'' at

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

. Bailey and Sadkin co-produced the album's tracks, including "Doctor! Doctor!".

Release

The single peaked at #3 in the United Kingdom and #11 in the United States in July 1984. The song also peaked at #18 on the US Dance chart in the same year, and the Top 20 in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Sleeve photography was by

Peter Ashworth Peter Ashworth is an English photographer. Ashworth initially specialized in music photography, between 1979 and 2000. In the 1980s, he worked with many UK artists including The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Jimmy Page and The A ...

Music video

The promotional music video was directed by Dieter 'Dee' Trattmann. It was released in 1984 and received heavy rotation on MTV. The video opens on a scene of darkness, shifting clouds and a rising moon. Electronic music begins to play. A keyboard with hands playing superimposes over the silhouette of blocks like buildings. People appear against the backdrop of moon and clouds with a couple on ice skates just behind Tom Bailey as he begins to sing. The scene shifts quickly to a woman standing alone (Alannah Currie), then to Currie playing drums and Joe Leeway playing keyboard. As Bailey sings, the characters behind him act out the lyrics, intercut with shots of the band playing their instruments. As the song continues, Bailey, Currie and Leeway join the characters to act out the lyrics around blocks emitting smoke. The skaters and actors perform during the synthesizer solo. The scene continues to shift between the singer, the band playing, the actors and the ice skaters moving and turning. The video fades out in the same sequence it began, changing from the characters to the blocks against the sky, and then to the distant moon and shifting clouds. An alternative edit of the video features more of the band playing instruments (e.g., Currie playing percussion and Bailey playing the synthesizer while the ice skaters dance) and less interaction with the other characters.

Track listing

* 12" Single (601 182) #"Doctor! Doctor! (Extended Version)" - 7:50 #"Nurse Shark" - 4:05 * 7" Single Arista (ARI 8366) #"Doctor! Doctor!" - 4:30 #"Nurse Shark" - 4:07 * 7" Promo Single Arista (AS 1-9209) #"Doctor! Doctor!(Short Edit)" -3:46 #"Doctor! Doctor!"-4:29

Official versions

# Promo Version -3:46 # Album Version – 4:39 # Extended Version – 7:50 # Live from ''Thompson Twins Live'' - 5:53 # Introduction sample (from '' The Thompson Twins Adventure'') - 0:50

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official music video

Alternate edit of official music video
* {{authority control 1984 singles Thompson Twins songs Songs written by Tom Bailey (musician) Songs written by Alannah Currie 1984 songs Songs written by Joe Leeway Arista Records singles