The song was written by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey, and produced by Geoffrey Downes and Bailey. With the departure of band member Joe Leeway earlier in 1986, "Nothing in Common" was the Thompson Twins' first release as a duo. It reached number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
My collection: 7" single no. 7267
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 6 July 2024
Tracks: 'Nothing in common' / 'Nothing to lose'
At the time of the release of this single, Thompson Twins were a septet, consisting of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, Joe Leeway, John Roog, Chris Bell, Peter Dodd and Matthew Seligman. Only the first three would go on to release the very successful album 'Into the gap' in 1984.
My collection: 7" single no. 6977
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'In the name of love' / 'In the beginning'
Joe Leeway left Thompson Twins in 1986, leaving Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie to carry on making music as a duo for another seven years. They released their first album as a duo in 1987, entitled 'Close to the bone'. 'Get that love' was the first single taken from that album.
Following on from their hugely successful 1984 album 'Into the gap', the Thompson Twins experienced some troubles with their follow-up, 'Here's to future days' (1985). Frontman Tom Bailey was diagnosed with nervous exhaustion just before the release of the album and holding off on its release eventually led to reconsideration of the whole project. After Bailey's recovery, they re-recorded the album with producer Nile Rodgers taking over from Alex Sadkin.
The single 'Runaway' by the Thompson Twins was the second single from their second album 'Set', and the follow-up to the American hit single 'In the name of love'. At the time of release, Thompson Twins was a seven piece band, consisting of later core members Alannah Currie, Tom Baily and Joe Leeway, along with Chris Bell, Peter Dodd, John Roog and Matthew Seligman.
'Lies' was released as the first single from the Thompson Twins' fourth album 'Quick step and side kick'. This album was the result of songwriting sessions in Egypt and the Bahamas, followed by a recording session at Compass Point Studios in Nassau with producer Alex Sadkin.
According to the German press bio enclosed in the sleeve of this single, the Thompson Twins were having trouble deciding on a single for Germany in the summer of 1983. 'We are detective' had just been a top 10 hit in the UK, and 'Watching' was due to be released soon. According to the bio, it was the band's female member Alannah Currie who proposed to release a double A-side single in Germany, including both singles.
Joe Leeway left the Thompson Twins in 1986, leaving Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie to continue as a duo. They carried on making music for another seven years. Their first release as a duo was 1987's 'Close to the bone'.
While working on the follow up to 'Into the gap', Thompson Twins band member Tom Bailey suffered a nervous breakdown. Nile Rodgers was subsequently called in to help finish the album 'Here's to future days', which was released in September 1985.
While in the UK the Thompson Twins released a special single version of 'Sister of Mercy', the German record company decided that the album track 'The gap' was the better single choice. It was also released in the USA, where it reached number 69.
'Sister of mercy' was the fourth single taken from the Thompson Twins' hugely successful 1984 album 'Into the gap'. The single version was different from the album version, in that it started out as a ballad. The B-side was a megamix of wellknown Thompson Twins tracks, such as 'We are detective', 'Into the gap' and 'Hold me now'.
'Doctor doctor' was the second single taken from Thompson Twins' hugely successful 1984 album 'Into the gap'. It reached number 3 in the UK singles chart, which was an improvement on the number 4 reached by the previous single, 'Hold me now'. In the Netherlands, 'Doctor doctor' reached a more modest number 24.
In 1984, the Thompson Twins scored the biggest hit of their career in the UK: 'You take me up' reached number 2 in the UK singles chart and earned the band a silver disc. The album from which the single was taken, 'Into the gap', was one of the biggest sellers of the year, topping the British album charts and selling over five million copies worldwide.
'Hold me now' can be considered the Thompson Twins biggest hit. It reached number 4 in the UK singles chart and was a top 10 hit in Europe and America. Alannah Currie from the band later commented: 'The biggest trouble that we've had basically is that the song was a huge hit, it was really bigall over the world. Which is great, but it was just an accidental thing. It was just a song that we wrote. But after that then, we got everybody—managers, the record company—on our back to write 'Hold me now, part 2' and harrassing you to try and find a formula. But we can't really. We'll never find a formula for what we did. And that upsets some of them.'
Thompson Twins found themselves functioning as a trio as of 1982. The single 'In the name of love' had become a hit, and Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway wanted to pursue the single's different sound. They toyed with the idea of starting a new band on the side, which they planned to call 'The Bermuda Triangle'. John Hade, their manager, convinced them to downsize their original band, Thompson Twins.
Thompson Twins formed in 1977. The original line-up consisted of Tom Bailey, Pete Dodd, John Roog and Jon Podgorski. By 1981, Podgorski had left and three new members had joined: Chris Bell, former band roadie Joe Leeway and Jane Shorter. After their debut album, Shorter left, to be replaced by Alannah Currie. The band then signed to Arista Records and released their second album 'Set'.
After the release of the original version of 'Lay your hands on me', a US remix version followed pretty quickly. Remixed by one John Potoker, the track had become different, but not necessarily better or worse.
The Thompson Twins enjoyed a lot of success with their 1984 album 'Into the gap'. They had to come up with a new album soon, so the writing and recording of the next album 'Here's to future days' began in late 1984. The band recorded the single 'Lay your hands on me' with producer Alex Sadkin. The new single climbed to number 13 on the UK singles chart.
