Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey Talks Co-Headlining Totally Tubular Festival

The singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer opens up about co-headlining the 80s alternative fest with Thomas Dolby this summer

From the LifeMinute.TV Team

July 16, 2024

New wave icon Tom Bailey returns to North America for the first time in six years to co-headline the Totally Tubular Festival this summer. An 80s alternative music lovers’ dream, the fest also features co-headliner Thomas Dolby, along with Modern English, Men Without Hats, The Romantics, Bow Wow Wow, Tommy Tutone, and The Plimsouls.

Before the North American tour, Tom Bailey celebrated the 40th anniversary of Thompson Twins’ multi-platinum album Into the Gap with a tour of the UK in May.

Formed in 1977, the original Thompson Twins trimmed down their line-up in 1982 to a three-piece of Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway as they adopted a more electronic synthesizer-based sound. Tom Bailey was the singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and, along with lyricist Alannah Currie, composed and arranged the Thompson Twins' music.

The Thompson Twins had huge hits on both sides of the Atlantic, with songs such as “Hold Me Now,” “Doctor! Doctor!,” “You Take Me Up,” and “Love On Your Side," which provided the soundtrack for so many people’s lives in the mid-eighties. The band also enjoyed big success on the US dance chart with “Lies,” “In the Name of Love,” “Hold Me Now,” and “In the Name of Love ‘88,” all reaching #1.

In 1985, the band played Live Aid at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, where Madonna introduced them to a crowd of over 100,000 and an estimated global TV audience of 1.9 billion across 150 nations. During their performance, they were later joined on stage by Madonna and Nile Rodgers.

The last Thompson Twins show was in Texas in August 1987. Since then, Bailey has worked in many different areas of music, from the experimental electronic Babble and Kolab to the Indo-fusion of the Holiwater Band, the visual astronomy project BSP, and the sound-system dub of International Observer.

Bailey released his first-ever solo album, Science Fiction, to critical acclaim in 2018. That same year, he wowed North American audiences with his dynamic live show on a massive summer trek alongside Culture Club and the B-52s.

We were lucky to catch up with Bailey before he set out on Totally Tubular to hear all about it, look back on his years with Thompson Twins, and look ahead at what is next for the talented artist. 

This is a LifeMinute with Tom Bailey.

Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey tour dates:

JULY

19       Atlantic City, NJ          Hard Rock Live At Etess Arena*

20       Bushkill, PA                Poconos Park**

23       Laval, QC                    Place Bell*

24       Toronto, ON                The Theatre At Great Canadian Casino Resort*

26       Rochester Hills, MI       Meadow Brook Amphitheatre*

27       Cincinnati, OH             Riverbend Music Center*

28       Cuyahoga Falls, OH      Blossom Music Center*

29       Chicago, IL                  House Of Blues*