The Thompson Twins' Doctor Brings The Cure For Boredom

Of all the '80s synth-pop acts, The Thompson Twins struck me as being the most exotic. Just listen to anything in their catalog and you'll learn that you get more than just 3 to 5 minutes of amiable distraction. You get whisked away to an exotic land plucked straight out of The Canterbury Tales. Amusingly enough, during their prime hit making days, there were three members of the group. What's more, none of the "Twins" were related. I figured "Doctor! Doctor!" was the ideal song to honor Repeat Day with. It was either that or way out in left field one hit wonder styled act Haysi Fantayzee's "Shiny Shiny". What gave the Thompson Twins the edge you ask? Their song lyrics include "Can't you see I'm burning burning." They get into the spirit of the holiday though I'm proof positive they weren't aware of that at the time. "Shiny Shiny" doesn't repeat any of its words except for the title. Kind of like one horse beating out another at the finish line because its nose stuck out just a little more. "Doctor! Doctor!", like the majority of the rest of their songs hovers atop a bed of UKDA (United Kingdom Dairy Association. Okay I'm making this association up for the purpose of discussion. Bear with, OK?) synthesizers. Why is it that I'm visualizing Ancient Egypt and King Tut's tomb when I hear the first wave? Joe Leeway beats his drums as if he wasn't part of an MTV generation synth act but an attention grabbing percussionist turning heads as part of a key symphony orchestra. Not that these synth acts were low on bombastic chest beating (wink wink). Red head Tom Bailey is the very sort of gent you want telling these tales of curious romantic interludes. Boy sees girl standing there coquettishly. Girl promises to dance with boy across the sea. The opportunity to feel the motion of a thousand dreams awaits. Personally I'm shaken into a cold sweat by the weird motion of the disjointed picture show the Scorsese in my head is forcing me to sit through. A thousand dreams would likely send me reeling towards either better drugs or a more competent psychiatrist. Bless those plucky Brits. Even the nightmare alley stuff is too compelling to pass on. For a crooked finger brand of boy girl communication this bon bon gets pretty racy. It's not audio pornography but these devilish details could certainly lube your way through to a more satisfying night's sleep. For Exhibit A I present: "Fever breathe your love on me. Take away my name. Fever lay your hands on me. Never be the same. Sounds like a full on religious re-awakening to me. Your average fever kind of beckons for medication. This one makes you want to make sure you've got a box of condoms handy just in case. To the surprise of no one The Thompson Twins comprised during their lucrative prime of vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist Tom Bailey, vocalist and percussionist Alannah Currie, and vocalist, percussionist, and synthesizer dude Joe Leeway were highly MTV compatible. The three graduated from Fashion 101. Alannah's golden tresses were alluringly wispy. Joe's dreds made you think Bob Marley. The three of them had this way of affording you a vacation complete with sensually charged drum fills and choruses straight out of Medieval times. As Tom sings, there's an unspoken sexual heat to go right along with his overtly positioned pleas with his female enchantress to "Come with me across the sea. We will travel to eternity". Wonder how much a trip there costs? My guess is it's a shade on the expensive side. Still, Tom makes it worth the minimal cost of unbuttoning one's uppers or unzipping one's nether reaches to see how pleasurable eternity might get. Steam rises off of the aroused foreheads of our three highly merry minstrels. Sure this outfit's reliance on synthesizers to flesh out a backdrop makes them the Harlequin Romance of the early '80s MTV set but as was the case for the audiences who held those stories close to their hearts the Thompson Twins music merits filing under guilty pleasure also. You won't be Ken Jennings brainy after a visit to "Doctor! Doctor!" but your erogenous zone will love you for it in spades.