T'Pau

T'Pau was a late 1980s pop group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe. Decker still performs under the name T'Pau at solo shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts.

Career

The band T'Pau formed in 1986, taking their name from a female Vulcan priestess by the same name in the Star Trek universe.

Their debut single and first hit was the 1987 release "Heart and Soul". Initially a flop in the UK, it first became a hit in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching #4 after being featured on a Pepe Jeans advertisement; it repeated the feat in the UK Singles Chart some months later. The following year, the band had their biggest hit with the ballad, "China in Your Hand", which spent five weeks at Number 1 in the UK chart, and also claimed the top slot in several European countries, although oddly the song made little impact on the Billboard Hot 100.

Their 1987 album, Bridge of Spies (the album was called T'Pau in the U.S.) was a best seller and won several British music industry awards. Bridge of Spies produced a number of smaller hits which made it to at least the UK Top 40, including the singles "Valentine" (UK #9), "Sex Talk" (a new recording of early flop single, "Intimate Strangers") (UK #23), and "I Will Be With You" (UK #14).

1988 saw the release of their second album Rage which produced the hit single "Secret Garden". A third album The Promise followed in 1991, but the band split soon afterwards. Decker re-formed the band with a new line-up in 1998, and T'Pau have in recent years continued to work live regularly.

Decker still makes appearances on TV shows, including Hit Me, Baby, One More Time; Just the Two of Us; Never Mind the Buzzcocks and The Weakest Link. Former Guitarist Ronnie Rogers is currently in the band The Ronaldos. Guitarist Dean Howard has toured and recorded with Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan.

In 2007, marking the 20th anniversary of T'Pau's initial success, Ron Rogers and Carol Decker released the new single, "Just Dream", exclusively as an internet download. In 2008, as part of the "Here and Now" 80s tour, Carol performed at her home town of Shrewsbury for the first time since the 1980s in front of a crowd of over 9,000.

Band members

• Carol Decker (born 10 September 1957, Liverpool) – Vocalist/Songwriter
• Dean Howard (b. 7 May 1961, Greenwich, London) – Lead Guitarist
• Ronnie Rogers (b. 13 March 1959, Shrewsbury) – Rhythm Guitarist/Songwriter
• Tim Burgess (b. 6 October 1961, Macclesfield) – Percussionist/Drummer
• Michael Chetwood (b. 26 August 1954, Telford) – Keyboardist
• Paul Jackson (b. 8 August 1961, Telford) – Bassist
• Taj Wyzgowski – Lead Guitarist on Bridge of Spies

Discography

Albums

• Bridge of Spies (1987, UK No. 1)
• Rage (1988, UK No. 4)
• The Promise (1991, UK No. 10)
• Heart and Soul - The Very Best of T'Pau (1993, UK No. 35)
• The Greatest Hits (1997)
• Red (1998)
• Greatest Hits Live (2003)
• Hits (re-issued, repackaged version of The Greatest Hits) (2005, UK No. 99)

Singles

• "Heart and Soul" (1987, US No. 4)
• "Intimate Strangers" (1987)
• "Heart and Soul" (re-issue) (1987, UK No. 4)
• "China in Your Hand" (1987, UK No. 1)
• "Bridge of Spies" (1988, U.S./German release only)
• "Valentine" (1988, UK No. 9)
• "Sex Talk (Live)" (1988, UK No. 23)
• "I Will Be With You" (1988, UK No. 14)
• "Secret Garden" (1988, UK No. 18)
• "Road to Our Dream" (1988, UK No. 42)
• "Only the Lonely" (1989, UK No. 28)
• "Whenever You Need Me" (1991, UK No. 16)
• "Walk on Air" (1991, UK No. 62)
• "Soul Destruction" (1991)
• "Only A Heartbeat" (1991, U.S./Japan release only)
• "Valentine" (re-issue) (1993, UK No. 53)
• "Heart and Soul '97" (1997, UK No. 186)
• "With a Little Luck" (1998, Promo release only)
• "Giving Up the Ghost" (1999)

Other songs

T'Pau also recorded rock versions of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer", Petula Clark's "Downtown" and The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renée", all with lead vocals by rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers. These cover versions originally formed part of the band's live set to enable Decker to leave the stage to change her costume, and were subsequently released as CD single bonus tracks.

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• T'Pau on My80s.biz
• Official website
• Allmusic