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“People often think I’ve been relaxing by the pool for a couple of decades, but other things filled the intervening years,” he said. “When I retired from mainstream pop, there was a long list of things I wanted to do that I ignored for too long. As soon as I got the time again, I got into it straight away and one thing leads to another.
“They weren’t meant to be commercially attractive things,” he continued. “They weren’t pushed in front on anybody but I was perfectly happy from a creative point of view. I retired from the public eye but I was getting on with it.”
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In July, Bailey released “Science Fiction,” his first collection of pop songs since leaving the Thompson Twins. He recorded the project on his laptop in England, France, New Zealand and other locales.
“I like to keep it simple,” Bailey said. “I don’t really use any extra gear. I have a laptop and a pair of headphones because then I know wherever I go I can carry on. It’s become one of the great liberating moments for me.”
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Bailey continued performing after the Thompson Twins folded but he didn’t sing those songs live for decades.
“Any references to the Thompson Twins got closed down by me,” he said. “The interest in that becomes overwhelmingly monopolistic and stops you from doing other things. I needed to get a good distance away from it.”
In 2014, Bailey finally agreed to perform the hits again during a tour with Howard Jones.
“I was very firmly against doing that,” he said. “I created a weird denial project where that was then and this is now and I’ll never go back there again. What happens is you get to a point where you want to take a retrospective view of your music. When I finally did, I realized how much I enjoyed it. Without really planning to I crossed the line back into mainstream pop.
“I was worried I was making a terribly stupid mistake, but I very quickly realized I’d waited too long before going back,” Bailey added. “I should’ve done this sooner.”
WANT TO GO?
Who: Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins with Boy George & Culture Club
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5
Cost: $45 lawn & terrace, $65 side orchestra in advance. All ticket prices increase $5 day of show
More info: 937-296-3300 or visit www.fraze.com
Artist info: www.thompsontwinstombailey.co.uk
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