Thompson Twins - We Are Detective

A few years ago while writing a Thompson Twins top 10 I explained how I'd once chosen the band to explain how far I'd go to defend the music of the 80’s. This was among a group of largely lovers of music from the 60s and 70s. It sent me on a journey of discovery, finding out how it was that Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway became transatlantic mid 80s mega stars. Somehow defining all the excesses and for some the very worst of the video age. The fact that Thompson Twins began as a rag tag bunch of squatters and post punk trail blazers before settling on the famous three piece line up is an unknown story to many but it goes towards making them a fascinating sub plot to those crazy pre Live Aid years. I won't repeat the whole story here but those interested can read the whole thing here Thompson Twins top 10

For this I'm concentrating on We Are Detective. I wish at this point I could see the faces of those reading this. I suspect it would be a mixture of 🥺🤔😡😢🤦🏼 rather than a 😁. It's a true Marmite record. One I think is grossly misunderstood. While not judging anyone who dislikes it I'm going to try and explain why I love it so.

The sleeve of the 12” is perfect. Three shadowy figures of the band drawn as cartoons set the scene. It's already more art than pop. I'm not sure how carefully curated the image was but the dynamics of the three of them was so visually striking and wonderfully diverse. Of course it's not Joy Division. To be honest they'd done that on 1981’s A Product Of……. (Participation) and 1982’s Set.

Now they were taking everything that was available to them in 1983 and creating art pop. Quick Step and Side Kick would cement their commercial breakthrough.

Being named after characters from Hergé’s Adventures of Tin Tin who were detectives it's clear where the inspiration came from.

The image and the artwork were in place Love On Your Side had been a well deserved hit so the timing was right to release We Are Detective to an unsuspecting and slightly confused world.

The intro places you in Europe, France or Belgium with the accordion alongside the incongruous bongs, beeps, castanets and woahs. They play a saw in the video. The first part of the first verse sung by Tom is great. It's clear they're not taking themselves or the song too seriously but it's ridiculously catchy.

Somebody's watching me

And now I'm nervous and I shouldn't be

Somebody's got their eye on me

Perhaps I should invite him up for tea?

What comes next with Alannah's Marlene Dietrich delivery is incredible and just not talked about enough. It's not singing it's acting. It's performance and she nails it.

We saw him smoking by the newspaper stand

There's something odd about his gloved left hand

Saw him again inside the old cafe

He makes us tense we wish he'd go away

It's followed by an ear worm of a chorus that may well be another Marmite moment. I love it but I do understand why others may not.

We are detective

We are select

We are detective

Come to collect

I get a feeling of ABBA’s The Day Before You Came. If they'd pitched it differently it could well have had the same sense of noir but the lightness and comedic effect turns a potential stalking situation into an episode of Scooby Doo without the snacks.

Somebody's after me

He left his footprints by the garden tree

Last night when I got home

I got the feeling I was not alone!

Someone is on our tail

We think they're opening up our morning mail

And now each time the telephone rings

We think of frightening things

I'd actually love to hear it done completely straight. The chorus becoming an exercise in self preservation as the stalkee takes precautions. Like an episode of Baby Reindeer set to a Casio keyboard.

We are detective

We are select

We are detective

Come to collect

We dress up in disguise

To get away from all those prying eyes

Our friends all think we're mad

But we know better 'cause the spy is bad

We are detective

We are select

We are detective

Come to collect

We are detective

We are select

We are detective

Come to collect

I genuinely think it's a remarkable piece of pop art. Or probably more accurately art pop as defined in Wikipedia as

• Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's integration of high and low culture, and emphasizes signs, style, and gesture over personal expression. Art pop musicians may deviate from traditional pop audiences and rock music conventions, instead exploring postmodern approaches and ideas such as pop's status as commercial art, notions of artifice and the self, and questions of historical authenticity.

I'm probably overthinking it but Bailey, Currie and Leeway were not your regular pop stars. I think they were trying to recreate something in a pop song and I think they succeeded. Why is it overlooked? Maybe a little smug. A bit of look at us how clever are we? Or maybe people chose to just see it as a novelty record. Listened to now it still stands out among the tsunami of creativity and ideas that crashed into our senses in the first half of the 80s. I love it unashamedly as I do most of Thompson Twins output. Give it another listen with fresh ears. I hope you are able to uncover what I hear.

For the full 80s experience here's the 13 minute More Clues 12”