Thompson Twins

Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins in 1985, left to right: Joe Leeway, Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey.
Background information
Origin	Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Genres	Pop new wave synth-pop[1] post-punk[2] alternative rock (later)
Years active	1977–1993
Labels	Dirty Discs Tee Arista Warner Bros.
Spinoffs	Babble International Observer
Past members	Tom Bailey Alannah Currie Joe Leeway Chris Bell Pete Dodd Andrew Edge Jon Podgorski John Roog Matthew Seligman Jane Shorter Michael White

Thompson Twins were a British pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield.^[3] Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently broke up.

The band's name was based on the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson (who are close doubles not twins) in the English-language version of The Adventures of Tintin. (Les aventures de Tintin)^[4] At various stages they had up to seven members, but their best known line-up was as a trio from 1982 to 1986. The band became a prominent act in the US during the Second British Invasion, and in 1985 performed at Live Aid in Philadelphia, where they were joined on stage by Madonna.^[4]