THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

552-Thompson Twins-Love on Your Side.

1983-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 1.29. Sturdy hips, and very good balance are the requirements.

The Thompson Twins were formed in 1977, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, by Tom Bailey. Pete Dodd, John Roog, and Jon Podgorski, the latter three would leave before the band found mainstream success. They took their name from the two detectives, Thompson and Thompson in the comic strip ‘The Adventures of Tintin.’ The classic line up was Tom Bailey (bass guitar, keyboards, and vocals,) Joe Leeway, who was a member between 1981-1986, (percussion, keyboards, and vocals,) and Alannah Currie (drums, and vocals,) who was a member between 1981-1993, when the band stopped being active, Bailey and Currie were married between 1991-2003. Another four members came and went before the release of the bands breakthrough third studio Album in 1983. In total the Thompson twins released eight studio Albums between 1981-1991, and achieved 10 UK top 40 singles, with the highest charting being ‘You Take Me Up,’ which reached Number 2 in 1984. They were also very successful in America, with six of their singles reaching the Billboard top 40.

‘Love On Your Side’ was taken from the Thompson Twins third studio Album ‘Quick Step & Side Kick,’ and songwriting credits are given to all three band members. The original lyrics were written by Alannah Currie from a female perspective, but because the vocals were performed by Tom Bailey, they were changed to a male perspective. Joe Leeway has said of the songs meaning,’It’s actually a complicated, and quite dark song. It’s about discovering that your girlfriend, or boyfriend wants to experiment with a relationship in a much deeper or broader sense than you were prepared to do, and so it drags you into this kind of helpless feeling of being lost, helplessly in love, but taking some kind of confidence from the fact that love will help you through those difficult situations. So it’s a naive and complicated song.’

‘I hear you laughing in some other room, and it makes me feel locked out. You say my passion often stifles you, and you need to move about.’