T'pau

Prior to taking the name of the Star Trek Vulcan elder T’Pau, the band recorded under the moniker Talking America. Formed around the vocal talents of Carol Decker, the 1986 incarnation of T’pau consisted of guitarist Ronnie Rogers, keyboard player Michael Chetwood, bassist Paul Jackson, and drummer Tim Burgess. It wasn’t long before the band inked a deal with the Virgin subsidiary Siren, who issued T’Pau’s debut single “Heart and Soul” in 1987. After the song was used in a Pepe Jeans advert, the single shot to success on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at No. 4 on both the UK and U.S. singles chart.

T’Pau’s subsequent single “China in Your Hand” built on the success of their debut in the UK topping the charts for five weeks, and paved the way for the band’s debut album “Bridge of Spies”. The 1987 record, self-titled in the U.S., went four-times platinum in the UK, and spawned the hits “Valentine”, “Sex Talk”, and “I Will Be with You”. In support of the album T’Pau embarked on a tour with Bryan Adam and Nik Kershaw, and enlisted the help of second guitarist Dean Howard.

The album “Rage” followed in 1988 and reached No. 4 in the UK Album chart, aided by the Top 20 single “Secret Garden”. T’Pau’s third full-length “The Promise” was issued three years later in 1991, however managed only silver certification, and led to the group’s disbandment shortly after. After a pair of popular greatest hits albums in 1993 and 1997, singer Decker, with a new line-up, reformed the band to release “Red” in 1998. The album spawned the singles “With a Little Luck” and “Giving Up the Ghost”, and was supported by a UK tour.

The 2000s were a quiet time to T’Pau, however to celebrate to 20th anniversary of the band Ron Roger and Carol Decker released the new single “Just Dream” in 2008, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary embarked on a 28-date tour of the UK in 2013. “Pleasure & Pain” was released in February 2013 and peaked at No. 98 on the UK Albums chart.