1980s Soundtrack In Conversation With Tom Bailey

Few artists are as closely associated with the soundtrack of the 1980s as Tom Bailey. As the frontman of the Thompson Twins, he helped define an era with a string of timeless synth-pop classics, yet his relationship with that legacy has always been measured rather than nostalgic. Ahead of his forthcoming UK tour with Blancmange, Bailey reflects on rediscovering his past, returning to the music that made his name and why, even after all these years, the songs continue to find new life.

The conversation begins with an unexpected reference to one of the Thompson Twins' earliest recordings, Feeling Brave. Bailey laughs at the coincidence that the song has resurfaced in several different ways. It has recently been re-recorded and re-released by original band member Pete Dodd, while the woman who appeared on the original single sleeve has since become an acclaimed film costume designer – someone Bailey unexpectedly bumped into while in New Zealand.

"It's funny," he says. "This track has somehow come back to haunt us on three fronts."

For Bailey, moments like these are reminders that music has a life of its own. Songs often resurface decades after they were first released, finding entirely new audiences.

"People talk about the downside of relying too much on nostalgia," he reflects, "but it's nice sometimes to stop and think about what we were doing 40 years ago, the kind of people we were then, how we've changed and how the world has changed around us. Art marks time."

Despite enjoying revisiting the past, Bailey has little interest in dwelling on missed opportunities. Asked whether there is a Thompson Twins song that deserved more recognition, he initially jokes that they all did, before offering a more philosophical answer.

"Some songs got far more attention than I could ever have dreamed of," he says. "There are always tracks where you think everything is lined up perfectly and then, for whatever reason, they don't connect. Maybe the timing was wrong, maybe the video sent the wrong message. But I don't think it's very rewarding to look back with regret. It's much better to be grateful for the things that did succeed."

One of Bailey's favourite memories isn't from the height of pop stardom at all, but from his teenage years. At 16, he persuaded his reluctant parents to let him stay out all night for the first time by claiming a responsible adult would be accompanying him to a concert featuring the original Fleetwood Mac, fronted by Peter Green. The "responsible adult", he admits with a smile, never actually existed.

Now, almost half a century later, life has come full circle. His forthcoming tour will take him back to the very same venue where that first all-night concert took place.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw it on the tour schedule," he says. "The two friends I went with all those years ago are coming to the show as well."

As for recreating the all-night experience? Bailey laughs.

"It'll probably be an early night this time because we've got another gig the next day."

Not every memory is quite so sentimental. Asked about the most extravagant purchase he has ever made, Bailey recalls missing a flight to New York for what he thought was a crucial record company meeting. Determined not to miss it, he bought a last-minute ticket on Concorde.

"It cost an absolute fortune," he remembers. "In the end, the meeting wasn't that important, but I did get to fly on Concorde. At least I can say I did that."

The forthcoming tour also reunites Bailey with another legendary name from the golden age of British synth-pop: Neil Arthur of Blancmange.

"I was always a fan of Blancmange back in the '80s," Bailey explains. "We seemed to have a lot in common musically. We reconnected a couple of years ago and had already done some shows together, so inviting Neil to join this tour felt like the natural thing to do."

Bailey's return to performing Thompson Twins material has now become an established part of his career, but it almost never happened. After stepping away from mainstream pop for 27 years, he immersed himself in more experimental and underground music, convinced that chapter of his life had closed for good.

Everything changed thanks to an unexpected invitation from a Mexican artist, who wanted to collaborate with the musicians he had idolised growing up.

"I thought nobody would notice, so I'd just do it," Bailey recalls. "But I enjoyed it so much that I realised I was fooling myself by thinking that door should stay closed."

He rediscovered something he had almost forgotten.

"There's something special about pop music," he says. "You're not trying to be cool or impress anybody. You're simply making well-crafted music for people to enjoy themselves. There's something very noble about that."

Friends including Howard Jones encouraged him back onto the touring circuit, and more than a decade later Bailey is still thoroughly enjoying it.

This autumn's headline tour also gives him something festivals rarely can: time. Rather than squeezing the biggest hits into a tightly controlled 45-minute set, Bailey is planning a longer show that allows room for surprises.

"When it's my own tour, I can play longer," he says. "People will obviously hear the songs they know and love, but I'll also include some things they may never have heard before."

Although Bailey continues writing and recording music almost every day, fans shouldn't necessarily expect a new studio album just yet. Creativity isn't the issue; releasing records is.

"I love making music," he explains. "I write, record and arrange almost every day. But releasing an album and promoting it takes a huge amount of time away from the creative process."

For now, he's happy to let BMG continue celebrating the Thompson Twins catalogue through deluxe reissues of albums including Into the Gap and Quick Step & Side Kick, with more potentially to come.

"It would be silly for me to compete with those releases," he says. "When they've run out of steam, I'm sure I'll start releasing new music again."

As for the setlist, Bailey has no hesitation in choosing one of the band's best-loved hits. Introducing Doctor! Doctor!, he reflects that the song belongs to a long tradition of comparing love to an illness.

"It's about being completely consumed by emotion," he says. "The sort of feeling that makes you want to go to the doctor and ask them to help."

More than four decades after the Thompson Twins first found fame, Tom Bailey remains refreshingly grounded. He is proud of the music that defined a generation, but never trapped by it. For him, the past is something to appreciate rather than live in, while the joy of performing those songs remains as fresh today as it was the first time audiences heard them.

Northern Tour Dates 2026

13 September MANCHESTER Bridgwater Hall

15 September WHITLEY BAY Playhouse

16 September GLASGOW Pavillion Theatre

24 September BUXTON Opera House

25 September NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY

26 September YORK Barbican