TOM BAILEY

Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Sunday, June 19

Doors 7.30pm, tickets £24, call 01273 673311

THE Thompson Twins were regarded as one of the iconic electro bands of the 1980s.

Their hits Hold Me Now, You Lift Me Up and Doctor Doctor put them on the musical map and, at the peak of their success, they appeared on the Philadelphia leg of Live Aid in 1985.

Looking back on his time as frontman of the refined three-piece, Tom Bailey tells The Guide how the band, which first emerged from the British new wave scene in 1977, "got in through the back door of the punk explosion".

With a new single, called Come So Far, released today, the track arrives after a break of almost 30 years to be played alongside Thompson Twins (TT) classics in Brighton.

Bailey, now 62 and based partly in London, has reasons to be optimistic given his Twins pedigree but is concerned for the next wave of talent: "I'm really pleased there is a healthy interest in music from other eras. What is worrying is how difficult it is for a young band to get a break.

"There was the feeling when we started that anyone could have a go. That's all gone because the way into the industry is predicated by talent shows that are controlled very carefully and that can only be unhealthy.

"There's also a perception of talent that has got nothing to do with creativity; someone can have a good voice but it's got nothing to do with writing a good song.

"If it's just about playing the part with your voice then it's empty.

He goes further: "There are bigger arguments that, in a sense, rock 'n' roll is now dead. The potential that rock 'n' roll could lead the charge of revolution and change society is now dead; it's over to the internet now.

"Rock 'n' roll used to be uncontrolled but now it is controlled; it's about looking the part. It has stopped being a lifestyle choice and started being a career option.

"The industry has always been a pyramid structure but the base of that has been eroded incredibly.

"I don't see the investment in the young, new talent - other than the sort that fits this preconceived idea of what talent is. And that shouldn't be conceived by a bunch of powerful old people on TV shows. It should be conceived in the clubs."

Bailey does accept, though, that image is an important part of being in a band - and that it can define one's sound.

The Thompson Twins were given a revamp with new cartoonish artwork by a designer called Andie Airfix for the band's Into The Gap album.

Andie's work, which in recent times has been exhibited for Brighton Fringe, may have subconsciously informed the Twins' music.

Bailey says, "Andie was one of those masters of the 1980s record covers, albums and singles.

"We almost proceeded with ourselves as a cartoonish operation, a punchy visual thing. And the music reflects that; they are reflective of each other.

"Pop music is something which is marketed, it is designed and pushed into the market place and the good designs get the results."

The results saw the Twins play Live Aid.

He says, "It was really amazing to be involved. That was the era when we realised pop music had the power to change things and Come So Far is an extension of that."

Bailey's latest single is written from the perspective of a refugee in the current migrant crisis and he feels now was the time to get it out there. Profits from the single go to refugee charities.

But he says fans of the band can still expect the hits: "You're known for your best work so it would be foolish for me to walk out to a crowd and say, 'Here are ten songs I wrote last week.' You have to earn permission for that."

Bailey, who has not been idle in the interim, working on other projects, but added: "I got really re-engaged with it all. I re-discovered what it was like to sing in front of crowds singing along to songs you wrote 25 years.

"Everyone has those moments where you pinch yourself. It's only later on you go, 'Wow that was intense,' and of course you are carried along by the roller coaster of it.

"When you're dealing with mass appeal, you have to deliver."

Bailey hopes to release a new album in 2016/17.