Artist · chart history · #204 in alternative artist polls
Thompson Twins
Band Sheffield United Kingdom Active 1977–1993
Thompson Twins formed in 1977 in Sheffield, United Kingdom and was active until 1993. Thompson Twins has 115 chart appearances on 57 radio countdowns from 15 stations on RockLists, spanning 1982–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Hold Me Now”, which appears on 31 lists with a best position of #10. The station that charted Thompson Twins most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 40 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1984.
Thompson Twins took their name from the bumbling look-alike detectives in Tintin, and there were never any twins involved, just a Sheffield band formed in 1977 that at times swelled to as many as 7 members. Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, Joe Leeway, Chris Bell, Pete Dodd, John Roog, Matthew Seligman and Jane Shorter all passed through the ranks at one time or another. They started as a scrappy new wave outfit, and Set in 1982, with the tribal clatter of "In the Name of Love", still has that scrappy edge.
Then the band slimmed to a trio from 1982 to 1986 and went straight for the charts. Quick Step & Side Kick in 1983 is bright, bouncing synth-pop with a percussive kick: "Lies" rattles along on a jittery groove, "Love on Your Side" struts and "If You Were Here" floats. Into the Gap in 1984 is the peak, a record that sounds made for heavy rotation, with "Hold Me Now", warm and swaying, plus "Doctor Doctor", "You Take Me Up" and the title song. Here's to Future Days followed in 1985 with "Lay Your Hands on Me" and "King for a Day".
By then they were one of the big names of the Second British Invasion in America, with hits around the world, and in 1985 they played Live Aid in Philadelphia, where Madonna joined them on stage. "Nothing in Common" arrived in 1986, and the later albums, Close to the Bone in 1987 and Big Trash in 1989, with "Sugar Daddy", followed.
In 1993 they changed their name to Babble and their sound to dub-flavored chill-out, and in 1996 the group broke up for good.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Thompson Twins on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hold Me Now | 31 | #10 | – | 1984 | |
| 2 | Lies | 25 | #50 | – | 1983 | |
| 3 | Lay Your Hands on Me | 11 | #22 | – | 1985 | |
| 4 | In the Name of Love | 10 | #83 | – | 1982 | |
| 5 | If You Were Here | 6 | #58 | – | – | |
| 6 | Doctor Doctor | 6 | #47 | – | 1984 | |
| 7 | The Gap | 3 | #6 | – | 1984 | |
| 8 | Love on Your Side | 5 | #279 | – | – | |
| 9 | You Take Me Up | 3 | #44 | – | 1984 | |
| 10 | King for a Day | 3 | #49 | – | 1985 | |
| 11 | Nothing in Common | 1 | #22 | – | 1986 | |
| 12 | Sugar Daddy | 2 | #55 | – | 1989 | |
| 13 | Passion Planet | 1 | #35 | – | 1984 | |
| 14 | Roll Over | 1 | #32 | – | 1985 | |
| 15 | Who Wants To Be A Millionaire | 1 | #56 | – | 1990 | |
| 16 | Watching | 1 | #53 | – | 1983 | |
| 17 | Get That Love | 1 | #67 | – | 1987 | |
| 18 | Don't Mess With Dr. Dream | 1 | #69 | – | 1985 | |
| 19 | Bombers in the Sky | 1 | #70 | – | 1989 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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