''Bridge of Spies'' is the debut studio album by English

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

group T'Pau, released on 14 September 1987 by

Siren Records Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths. Places * Sir ...

. In the United States and Canada,

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

released the album under the title ''T'Pau''.

Overview

The album was produced by

Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs. Life and career Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at De ...

. It spawned five singles—" Heart and Soul" (a top-five entry in the US), the chart-topper "

China in Your Hand "China in Your Hand" is a song by English pop group T'Pau from their debut studio album, '' Bridge of Spies'' (1987). A re-recorded version was released as a single in October 1987, spending five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. "C ...

" (re-recorded especially for single release), " Valentine", a live version of "

Sex Talk "Sex Talk" is a song by British pop band T'Pau, written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It was originally released as a single in 1987 under the title "Intimate Strangers", but failed to chart. It was re-titled " ...

" (previously released in its original form as "Intimate Strangers"), and " I Will Be with You". A further release, a remix of the title track "Bridge of Spies", was also released in the US, Canada, Australia and Germany. The artwork for the release includes the name "T'Pau" rearranged to form a face (similar to the

Moai Moai or moʻai ( ; ; ) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but h ...

stone heads found on

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

). This practice was replicated with the titles of the band's follow-up albums ''

Rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first- ...

'' and '' The Promise''. The album spent one week at number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and was certified Gold on 14 October 1987 and Platinum on 18 November 1987. It was eventually certified four-times Platinum in September 1988. An extended and digitally remastered version of ''Bridge of Spies'' was released in the UK and Europe in 2017. It includes remixes, B-sides and live versions of the album tracks. A companion album called ''The Virgin Anthology'' was released shortly afterwards, and this triple CD and DVD contains the radio edits and remixes of all the singles released from ''Bridge of Spies'' and digitally remastered versions of the follow-up albums ''Rage'' and ''The Promise''.

Track listing

''View from a Bridge''

A video of the following selected tracks was released as ''View from a Bridge'' in 1988 on VHS and

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

. # "Intro" # "Heart and Soul" # "Bridge of Spies" # "China in Your Hand" # "Valentine" # "Sex Talk"

Personnel

Musicians

Carol Decker Carol Ann Decker (born 10 September 1957) is an English singer. She is the lead vocalist of the pop band T'Pau, which had international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although Decker is mainly associated with the group, she also re ...

– all vocals * Ronnie Rogers – guitars * Tim Burgess – drums, percussion * Michael Chetwood – keyboards * Paul Jackson – bass * Taj Wyzgowski – guitars * Peter Ballin – tenor saxophone *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wembley Arena, th ...

– tenor saxophone (single version of "China in Your Hand")

Technical

* Roy Thomas Baker – production * Jerry Napier – engineering, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1987 debut albums T'Pau (band) albums Albums produced by Roy Thomas Baker Virgin Records albums