THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

552-Thompson Twins-Love On Your Side.

1983-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 1.12. Sturdy hips, and very good balance are the requirements.

The Thompson Twins were formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, in 1977, and remained active until 1993, in total there have been 11 different members come and go, with the classic line up, who achieved mainstream success, being recognised as Tom Bailey, (bass guitar, keyboards, and vocals) Alannah Currie, (drums, and vocals) and Joe Leeway (percussion, keyboards, and vocals.)The group took their name from the two fictional detectives, ‘Thompson and Thompson,’ in the comic strip ‘The Adventures of Tintin,’ which had first been published in 1929. Joe Leeway left the group on amicable terms in 1986, leaving Tom Bailey, and Alannah Currie to continue as a duo. They would marry in 1991, and divorce in 2003. In 1993 Bailey and Currie retired the name ‘Thompson Twins,’ but continued as a duo, calling themselves ‘Babble,’ and releasing two less commercial, and more experimental Albums, ‘The Stone’ in 1993, and ‘Ether’ in ‘1996.’ In 1989 Bailey and Currie wrote, and Bailey produced, the song ‘I Want That Man,’ for Debbie Harry, which reached Number 13 on the UK top 40.

The discography of the Thompson Twins includes eight studio Albums released between 1981-1991, and 35 singles released between 1980-1992, there are also 15 official compilation Albums available. In the UK, three of their studio Albums have made the top 40, with their fourth release ‘Into the Gap,’ from 1984 reaching the Number 1 spot. 10 of their singles have made the UK top 40, with ‘You Take Me Up,’ from 1984, peaking the highest at Number 2. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, the Thompson Twins have had great success, playing a prominent part during the ‘Second British Invasion,’ with seven of their singles reaching the top 40, with ‘Hold Me Now,’ proving the most successful, when making Number 3 in 1983, although ‘Love On Your Side,’ stalled at Number 45.

Tom Bailey was born Thomas Alexander Bailey on January 18th, 1956, in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. After the ‘Thompson Twins,’ and ‘Babble,’ he released several
‘Dub’ and ‘Electronica’ Albums, between 2001-2015 under the name ‘International Observer,’ and in 2018, he released his debut studio Album ‘Science Fiction,’ under his own name Tom Bailey. Alannah Joy Currie was born on September 20th, 1957, in Aukland, New Zealand, she emigrated to the UK in 1977, when she joined the Thompson Twins in 1981, she had already known Tom Bailey for around four years, having first met him South London. After the two ‘Babble’ Albums, Alannah Currie returned to New Zealand, working primarily as a glass artist, and environmental activist. She was the founder of the women’s anti-genetic engineering movement ‘Mothers Against Genetic Engineering in Food,’ and the ‘Environment (MAdGE.’) In 2003 she designed a series of protest billboards that caused controversy in New Zealand, and won several international art and science awards.

‘Love On Your Side’ was co-written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway, with the production being by Alex Sadkin (1949-1987.) The song was the second of four singles released from the Thompson Twins third studio Album ‘Quick Step & Side Kick,’ from February 1983. ‘Love On Your Side’ which gave the trio their first UK top 40 hit, pays homage to one of their previous singles ‘In the Name of Love,’ from 1982, The lyrics to ‘Love On Your Side’ say, ‘I’ve played you all my favourite records,’ followed by the melody of the chorus from the song ‘In the name of love.’ The original lyrics to ‘Love On Your Side’ 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. Tom Bailey 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. But I was taught that boys n need girls, you say that’s not true, You’d rather fool around than be alone with me, well that’s alright for you.’