Thomas Alexander Bailey (born 18 January 1956) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, composer and record producer. Bailey came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist for the new wave band

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...

, which released five singles that entered the top ten charts in the United Kingdom during the 1980s: " Love On Your Side", "

We Are Detective "We Are Detective" is a 1983 song by the British pop band Thompson Twins. It was the third single from the band's third studio album, ''Quick Step & Side Kick'' (1983). It was the band's second single to reach the UK Top Ten, peaking at no. 7. It ...

", " Hold Me Now", " Doctor! Doctor!", and " You Take Me Up". He was the only member of the band to have formal musical training. From 1994, Bailey was also a member of its later incarnation,

Babble Babble may refer to: * ''Babble'' (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion * ''Babble'', 1979 album by Kevin Coyne and Dagmar Krause * Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins * Babble (company), a British ...

, releasing two commercially unsuccessful studio albums. He released his debut solo studio album ''

Science Fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

'' in 2018. Bailey currently works in various musical fields including scoring for film. He records and performs

dub music Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.&nb ...

under the name International Observer and Indo-fusion music with the Holiwater Project. He also collaborated with astronomer and visual artist José Francisco Salgado as part of the audio-visual ensemble Bailey-Salgado Project (BSP).

Early life and education

Tom Bailey grew up in a family associated with the medical profession. His father was the Medical Officer of Health for

Chesterfield Borough Council Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituenc ...

, and Bailey was educated at

Chesterfield Grammar School Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituen ...

. After training as a classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, Bailey initially worked as a music teacher at Brook School,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Musical career

1977–1993: Thompson Twins

Bailey formed

in 1977 with Pete Dodd (guitar and vocals), John Roog (guitar), and Jon Podgorski (drums). Podgorski did not want to move to London, so

Andrew Edge Andrew Edge (born David Andrew Edge; 8 December 1956) is a musician from Leeds, England. He moved to London in the late 1970s, and joined the Thompson Twins. After eighteen months Edge left the group and joined Uropa Lula, who released three sin ...

played drums with them for one year before Chris Bell joined. The group eventually ended up as a trio with Bailey on

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, and keyboards, his then girlfriend

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 ...

(

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

), and

Joe Leeway Joseph Martin Leeway (born 15 November 1955) is a British musician and songwriter, who is best known as being a member of the pop music, pop band Thompson Twins, joining the band in 1981 after being one of their Road crew, roadies. Leeway was b ...

(percussion and vocals). Thompson Twins became fixtures on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

during the 1980s as the

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

for " Hold Me Now", "

Lay Your Hands on Me Lay Your Hands on Me may refer to: in music: * "Lay Your Hands on Me," a song on Peter Gabriel's 1982 album ''Peter Gabriel'' (album also known as ''Security'') * "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Thompson Twins song), a song on Thompson Twins' 1985 album ...

" and " King for a Day" were played frequently. Subsequent to the marriage of Bailey and Currie, Thompson Twins released their final studio album, ''

Queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

'', in 1991.

1993–1996: Babble

In 1994, Bailey and Currie formed the

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

-orientated duo,

2000s: International Observer

Between 2001 and 2015, Bailey released several dub and

albums under the name International Observer.

2010s: Tom Bailey solo

Bailey performed Thompson Twins songs live for the first time in 27 years on 17 August 2014 at Temple Island Meadows,

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

for the

Rewind Festival The Rewind Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Temple Island Meadows, Remenham, Berkshire near Henley-on-Thames, England, Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, England, and Scone Palace, Perthshire in Scotland. It was first held in ...

. Also in 2014, Bailey took part in the Retro Futura Tour in the US. He was billed under the moniker "Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey." The 2014 Retro Futura Tour also featured Howard Jones,

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

China Crisis China Crisis are an English new wave and synth-pop band formed in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside in 1979 with a core of lead vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist/vocalist Eddie Lundon. Initially a politically charged post-punk band ...

, and

Katrina Leskanich Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich ( ; born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the British pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song "Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song), Walking on Sunshine" was ...

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Cambridge in 1981, widely known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song), Walking on Sunshine". They won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the ...

. During an interview with the Stuck in the '80s podcast prior to the tour, Bailey said that while preparing for his return to the stage he went to a store and bought a Thompson Twins greatest-hits CD to help him learn the songs again. In 2016, Bailey released a new solo single titled "Come So Far", which included a music video. On 25 April 2017, the official Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey website announced that Bailey was recording his debut solo studio album and that he hoped to release the album in early 2018. The album, titled ''

'', was released in July 2018. To promote the album, Bailey toured the United States and United Kingdom with

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

, and

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...

as part of ''The Life Tour''.

2022–2024: Into the Gap Tour

In September and October 2022, Bailey performed the Thompson Twins' studio album '' Into the Gap'' in its entirety first in Aylesbury, England and then in Australia, (along with his band known as "The Sisters of Mercy"), having recently moved back to New Zealand full time from his home in London. In May 2024, Bailey toured the UK to celebrate 40 years of the album ''Into The Gap'' and toured in the U.S. with the ''Totally Tubular Festival''.

Musical collaborations

In 1983, Bailey played keyboards and percussion on

Paul Haig Paul Haig (born 4 September 1960)Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 386-7 is a Scottish indie musician, singer and songwriter. He was originally a member of post-punk band Josef K, active between 1979 ...

's debut studio album '' Rhythm of Life''. Bailey also played keyboards on Foreigner's 1984 hit "

I Want to Know What Love Is "I Want to Know What Love Is" is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the lead single from their fifth album, ''Agent Provocateur''. The song reached number one on both the United King ...

". In 1988, Bailey collaborated with

Phil Thornalley Phillip Carden Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter, musician, and producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He produced the album ''Pornography'' by The Cure and was later their bass player. He began releas ...

, who worked frequently with Thompson Twins, on Thornalley's only solo studio album, ''

Swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

''. Aside from playing instruments, Bailey also produced three tracks, remixed three tracks along with Thornalley and co-wrote the track "When I Get to Heaven". In 1999, Bailey produced the New Zealand band Stellar, and in 1999 he won Record Producer of the Year in New Zealand for their debut studio album, '' Mix''. In 2002, Bailey became the figurehead for the dub project International Observer. Recent performances with 'Holiwater', a cinematic fusion of Indian classical music (Sarod- Vikash Maharaj), electronica (keyboards – Bailey) and video (film maker – Andrei Jewell), blur boundaries between art installation and performance. The band was formed to highlight issues of water pollution on the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

. In 2010, Bailey and astronomer and visual artist José Francisco Salgado formed an audiovisual ensemble called Bailey-Salgado Project (BSP). BSP combines music with photography, video, and motion graphics to create multimedia works that have as subject the physical world. Their first work together, a short film entitled ''Sidereal Motion'', was previewed in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England in October 2010.

Personal life

Bailey was married to Thompson Twins member

from 1991 to 2003. They have two children. As of 2014, Bailey lived in France with his second wife, artist Lauren Drescher. He has homes in New Zealand, France, and London. Bailey is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and has said he does not drink alcohol or use recreational drugs.

Discography

Solo *''

'' (2018), UK#166 SCO#68 with Thompson Twins *'' A Product Of... (Participation)'' (1981) *''

Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

'' (1982) *''

Quick Step and Side Kick ''Quick Step & Side Kick'' is the third studio album by the English new wave band Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1983 by Arista Records, and was their first album to be released as a trio (the band consisted of up to seven members d ...

'' (1983) *'' Into the Gap'' (1984) *'' Here's to Future Days'' (1985) *'' Close to the Bone'' (1987) *'' Big Trash'' (1989) *''

'' (1991) with Babble *'' The Stone'' (1994) *''

Ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

'' (1996) Soundtrack contributions *''

Songs from the Cool World ''Songs from the Cool World'' is the soundtrack album for the 1992 Ralph Bakshi film ''Cool World'' and features songs from David Bowie, Thompson Twins, Moby, and other dance and rock artists from the time. The 15 tracks included on the CD rele ...

'' (1992)

Gallery

File:Thompson Twins 1985.jpg, File:Tom Bailey 2.JPG, File:Tom Bailey Belfast 2019.jpg, File:Tom Bailey performing Hold Me Now, Northcote Theatre, October 2022.jpg,

References

External links

Holiwater official site

Bailey-Salgado Project (BSP) official site

Tom Bailey interview with Stuck in the '80s podcast
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Tom 1956 births Living people 20th-century British pianists 21st-century British pianists 20th-century English bass guitarists 20th-century British male singers 21st-century English bass guitarists British male bass guitarists English male new wave singers British synth-pop new wave musicians English expatriates in New Zealand English expatriate musicians in the United States English male pianists English male singer-songwriters English new wave musicians English pop keyboardists English pop singers English record producers English rock bass guitarists English rock singers English singer-songwriters Musicians from Halifax, West Yorkshire Musicians from West Yorkshire People educated at Chesterfield Grammar School Thompson Twins members

Early life and education

Musical career

1977–1993: Thompson Twins

1993–1996: Babble

2000s: International Observer

2010s: Tom Bailey solo

2022–2024: Into the Gap Tour

Musical collaborations

Personal life

Discography

Gallery

See also

References

External links