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T'PAU
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T'Pau Introduction
T'PAU

80's pop superstars T'Pau were formed in 1986. Originally from Shrewsbury, the band took their name from a character from Star Trek and had a string of hits in the UK and Europe, together with limited success in Japan and the US. Original band members were Carol Decker (Vocals), Ron Rogers (Rhythm Guitar), Tim Burgess (Drums / Percussion), Michael Chetwood (Keyboards), Paul Jackson (Bass) and Taj Wyzgowski (Lead Guitar). The latter was subsequently replaced by Dean Howard after the recording of the debut "Bridge of Spies" album.

Their first hit was "Heart and Soul" in 1986, which reached No. 4 in both the UK and US charts. Whilst not rare, collectors will have lots of variations of the 7" single to track down for this one (including some mis-pressings with wrong labels or no labels at all!). This was predated by a song called "Intimate Strangers" - a nice one to look out for on 7" and 12" if you can find it. This song was released later as "Sex Talk" after the band became successful in the charts.

The following year the band had their biggest hit with the ballad "China In Your Hand" which spent five weeks at number one in the UK charts and coincided with a tour supporting Bryan Adams and the "Bridge of Spies" album also hitting number one. A string of lesser hits followed plus some releases which did not chart.

Of interest to the collector are the various limited editions which Virgin / Siren records produced which included Picture Discs / Poster Sleeves / Gatefold Sleeves etc as well as a couple of "Fan Club" only type items. There are also a few "Japanese only" collectables plus a very rare Canadian version of the "Rage" CD.

Unfortunately, with their popularity slightly on the wane, the band split in 1991. Carol Decker has had some moderate success as a solo artist (and there are some nice items for the collector under her solo guises), but in recent years has been touring with a new incarnation of T'Pau where for a while she was the only original member. Since 2016 though, Ron Rodgers seems to be back in the touring band.

This version are most likely to be seen around the UK in as part of an "eighties" show with multiple artists as well as on their own tours.

Predictably 2016/2017 bought "40th Anniversary" editions of "Bridge of Spies" and a decent (but expensive) "Anthology" 4 CD set. This collated - for the first time outside of the Canadian edition of "Rage" a number of songs re-recorded for that album. Also, happily for fans, a new CD - "Pleasure & Pain" bought some new material and T'Pau once again seem to be an ongoing outfit, continuing to tour over the next couple of years.

As with many artists, their previous record companies put out many compilations of "hits" - most offer nothing new other than a new sleeve to collect and in T'Pau's case, some are barely official - including some unofficial "remixes" or live performances.

2020 brings some new download only material - including a new single "Be Wonderful" from Gnatfish records. Hopefully, some physical releases for the collector will follow together with some more live shows.

As of mid-2024, the site now lists nearly 300 physical releases globally. If anyone has any updates, please let me know.

Here's a text link for all items by T'PAU, just in case the drop down menus don't work in your browser.