T'Pau

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Biography

'''T'Pau''' was a 1980s United Kingdom|British Pop music|Pop musical group|group led by singer Carol Decker . They had a string of Top 40 chart-topper|hits in the United Kingdom , and several hits in the United States and Europe . Decker still occasionally performs under the name T'Pau at solo (music)|solo concert|shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts.

Career

The band formed in 1986 in Shropshire , taking their name from a T'Pau (Star Trek)|Vulcan priestess of the same name in the 1960s sci-fi series Star Trek . entry for T'Pau (band) Prior to deciding on this name, they were called Talking America on early Demo (music)|demos sent to record and publishing companies.

Their first Chart-topper|hit was the 1987 release " Heart and Soul (T'Pau song)|Heart and Soul ". Initially a flop in the UK, it first became a hit in the United States|U.S. Billboard Hot 100 record chart|chart , reaching #4 after being featured on a Pepe Jeans advertisement; it repeated the feat in the UK Singles Chart some months later. Their next single, " China in Your Hand ", was their biggest UK hit, spending five weeks at hit record|Number 1 . It also reached the top spot in several Europe|European countries, but made little impact in the United States.

Their debut album, Bridge of Spies (album)|Bridge of Spies (the album was simply called ''T'Pau'' in the U.S.), was also a UK no.1 and went quadruple platinum there. The album produced a total of five hit singles including " Valentine (T'Pau song)|Valentine " (UK #9), "Sex Talk" (a new sound recording and reproduction|recording of early flop single, "Intimate Strangers") (UK #23), and " I Will Be With You (song)|I Will Be With You " (UK #14).

1988 saw the release of their second album '' Rage (T'Pau album)|Rage '', which peaked at #4 in the UK and reached Platinum status in the UK, while failing to come close to the level of success of the band's debut album the year before. It produced the UK Top 20 single " Secret Garden (T'Pau song)|Secret Garden ", though chart returns were diminishing by this point. A third album '' The Promise (T'Pau album)|The Promise '' followed in 1991, which peaked at #10 in the UK and earned a Silver disc. It included one Top 20 hit, "Whenever You Need Me", but the band's commercial peak had now passed and they split up following its release.

Decker re-formed the band with a new line-up in 1998, and T'Pau have continued to perform live on a semi-regular basis in recent years.

Decker still makes appearances on Television|TV shows, including Hit Me, Baby, One More Time ; Just the Two of Us (TV series)|Just the Two of Us ; Never Mind the Buzzcocks and The Weakest Link (UK game show)|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 . Paul Jackson is currently in the band Dawson .

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 Tour|Here and Now " 80s tour, Decker 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 ) – Singer|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 ) – Percussion instrument|Percussionist / Drummer

Band of Joy|Michael Chetwood (b. 26 August 1954, Telford ) – Keyboardist

Paul Jackson (b. 8 August 1961, Telford) – Bassist

Taj Wyzgowski (b. 24 November 1959, Bolton ) – Lead Guitarist on Bridge of Spies

Discography

Albums

Bridge of Spies (album)|Bridge of Spies (1987, UK #1, US #31)

'' Rage (T'Pau album)|Rage (1988, UK #4)

'' The Promise (T'Pau album)|The Promise (1991, UK #10)

'' Heart and Soul - The Very Best of T'Pau (1993, UK #35)

The Greatest Hits (1997)

'' Red (T'Pau album)|Red (1998)

Greatest Hits Live (2003)

Singles

" Heart and Soul (T'Pau song)|Heart and Soul " (1987, UK Singles Chart|UK #4, US #4)

"Intimate Strangers" (1987)

" China in Your Hand " (1987, UK #1)

"Bridge of Spies" (1988, U.S./ Germany|German release only)

" Valentine (T'Pau song)|Valentine " (1988, UK #9)

"Sex Talk (Live)" (1988, UK #23)

" I Will Be With You (song)|I Will Be With You " (1988, UK #14)

" Secret Garden (T'Pau song)|Secret Garden " (1988, UK #18)

" Road to Our Dream " (1988, UK #42)

" Only the Lonely (T'Pau song)|Only the Lonely " (1989, UK #28)

" Whenever You Need Me (T'Pau song)|Whenever You Need Me " (1991, UK #16)

" Walk on Air " (1991, UK #62)

"Soul Destruction" (1991)

"Only A Heartbeat" (1991, U.S./ Japan release only)

" Valentine (T'Pau_song)#1993 Reissue|Valentine " (re-issue) (1993, UK #53)

"Heart and Soul '97" (1997)

"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 (Petula Clark song)|Downtown " and The Left Banke 's " Walk Away Renée ", all with lead vocals by rhythm guitarist Ron Rogers. These cover version s 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 .

Copyright Citations

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