Today’s classic mid-80s song of the day is a personal favorite of mine, “Heart and Soul” by the group called T’Pau. This was the group’s first single and track one on side one of their debut album, Bridge of Spies.
“Heart and Soul” released in February of 1987 in the UK and went absolutely nowhere. Undeterred, the label released the track in April in the U.S. and it got heavy airplay, thanks in part to its inclusion in a Pepe Jeans commercial. That also gave the tune a new life in the UK, where it rose to #4 on the UK Singles chart; it also reached #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts.
Fiery red-haired singer Carol Decker explains how she and bandmate/partner Ron Rogers created the song:
“Ron had just bought a new keyboard with a built in sequencer, so he was just trying to get used to the gizmos in it and while messing around with the sequencer he started the ‘bum bum buh buh bum bum bum’ of the bass riff. I started to sing a melody over it, the wafty vocal and came up with ‘more than an ocean keeps us apart.’ The lyrics were about when I went on holiday with my parents and Ronnie couldnβt come. I missed him so much, but then I morphed the story into a fictitious one of not being loved back (which I was). The rap was the idea of Andy Piercy, our then producer. He said the gaps needed filling, so I started these syncopated sort of nonsense noises. I then turned those noises into words which took about a week to get right.”
That mid-song rap was somewhat unique for popular non-hip hop music of the time. The whole production really stood out on the radio and the accompanying video fit right into rotation on MTV.
Decker and Rogers formed T’Pau in 1986. The name comes from a character in the original Star Trek series, a Vulcan elder who officiated at the almost-marriage ceremony of Spock and T’Pring in the classic episode, “Amok Time.” The band had several additional hits in the UK, including “China In Your Hand” (#1 in the UK), “Valentine,” “Sex Talk,” “I Will Be With You,” “Secret Garden,” and “Whenever You Need Me.” Unfortunately, none of these later tracks cracked the charts in the U.S., making T’Pau appear to be a one-hit wonder on our shores. The Brits knew better.
T’Pau released two more albums (Rage and The Promise) before breaking up in 1991. Carol Decker reformed the band with new members in 1998 and she continues to perform both solo and with bandmates to this day.
