Thompson Twins Retro Rewind Part I

Awhile back we posted about one of our favourite 80’s bands, The Thompson Twins and as yesterday seemed to be a big day in Thompson Twins appreciation with Modern Fabulosity’s excellent post on them and an Official Thompson Twins page cropping up on MySpace (which is very good), we’d thought we’d kick off our little retrospective on the band today. 

Above is one of our favourite photos of the band in their hayday and I first remember seeing this photo in Smash Hits magazine way back in 1985.  The Thompson Twins album ‘Here’s To Future Days’ was one of the first cassette tapes we bought right next to Wham!’s ‘Make It Big’ and Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’.  It was then that a young EQ got attached to the outrageous hair, outfits and brilliant electronica the band consistently put out. 

It kinda eerks me that The Thompson Twins perceive themselves as a failure now.  Or at least that is the perception I get from watching the ‘where are they now’ specials that find our way onto our tellys.  I would never consider them a failure by any means – they were to me one of the most influential pioneers in electronic-based music in the 80’s.  Surely when Joe Leeway left the band and Tom and Alannah went on to create Babble, well yes…that never really sat well with me – but I will never think of The Thompson Twins as a failure – ever.  They have an extensive back catalog of hits that are begging to be covered and they are prime candidates for a proper reunion these days when electronic music is being recognized and welcomed again in today’s techno-savvy world.  We’re begging the band to get together – at least for one show in London. 

So as a first part to our retrospective, let’s take a little look at some of their early and slightly strange videos that still sound fresh in my humble opinion.