"Sugar Daddy" by Thompson Twins

Song#:  4042

Date:  09/23/1989

Debut:  83

Peak:  28

Weeks:  12

Genre:  Pop

Pop Bits:  After a pair of successful albums and three Pop Top 10 hits, the trio of Thompson Twins became more akin to their name and became a duo. Joe Leeway left the group leaving Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie to carry on. Their first album as a duo, '87's Close to the Bone, would not do so well. It would stall at #76 with the only charting single being the #31 "Get That Love." After that disappointment, the duo picked up the pieces, moved over to Warner Bros. Records, and got a fresh start. They would record their seventh album, Big Trash. This first single would get things kicked off. It would become a #2 Dance hit while also making it to #16 Modern Rock. On the Pop chart, the tune would crack the Top 30, but falter soon after. A second single would fail to chart. Although the LP received some good notices, the lack of a significant hit doomed the album and it would peak at a very minor #143.

ReduxReview:  This was a good attempt to regain chart favor for the duo. It was a fun, bouncy track with a good hook. It was better than "Get That Love," but not by much. The tune lacked that extra zing that makes a hit. The Top 30 result was appropriate, but the Twins needed a far better result to get them back into the game. As it ended up, this would be their final Pop chart single.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Despite the results of Big Trash, Warner Bros. decided to give the Twins another shot. In 1991, they would released the album Queer. While it would spawn the #7 Dance/#23 Modern Rock hit "Come Inside," the song and the album failed to catch on in the mainstream. The LP disappeared quickly and by '92, the Twins were done for good. The following year, Bailey and Currie (who married in '91) brought Keith Fernley into the fold and a new trio called Babble was born. They would issue out two albums for Warner Bros. in '94 and '96. The LP's didn't get much attention, but did produce a pair of Top 20 Dance singles including the #10 "Love Has No Name." Warner would end up dropping the band and Babble came to an end. While Currie would choose to leave the music business later in the 90s, Bailey continued on writing and producing for others while also recording under the moniker International Observer. The pair would divorce in 2003.

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