music
January 12, 2026
‘It was inspired by a snog in a photo-booth’: how Thompson Twins made Hold Me Now
‘We had a disagreement that spilled over into personal insults. But we soon made up – and wrote this about the process’
TL;DR
- Alannah Currie joined the Thompson Twins after meeting Tom Bailey while squatting in London.
- The band slimmed down to a trio (Currie, Joe Leeway, Bailey) and shifted to a synth-pop sound.
- Their song "In the Name of Love" became a dance club sensation, opening doors in America.
- "Hold Me Now" was written about a personal and creative disagreement between Currie and Bailey, capturing genuine affection.
- The song was recorded with Currie and Bailey sharing vocals, with Joe Leeway contributing falsetto parts.
- Released in November 1983, "Hold Me Now" became a monster hit while the band was recording in the Bahamas.
- Currie notes that she and Leeway, as a woman and a Black musician respectively, faced challenges in the male-dominated music scene.
- "Hold Me Now" is described as a communication between Currie and Bailey, with interjections from Leeway.
- The success of the song and the band's rise to fame is described as a "huge, bombastic, painful but madly great time."
- Currie, Bailey, and Leeway remain in touch like family, despite no longer being a couple or a band.
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