T’Pau /Carol Decker
T'pau burst onto the music scene in 1987 with the hit "Heart & Soul" reaching No. 4 in both the UK & US charts. Taken from the debut album "Bridge Of Spies," it’s innovative use of a rap verse by a white female vocalist introduced the world to the distinctive lead vocals of Carol Decker & the song writing talents of Carol & Ronnie Rogers.
"Heart & Soul" led to a meteoric rise in T'pau's fortunes both at home & in the USA, where the track stayed on the US billboard chart for 6 months. After a UK arena tour supporting Bryan Adams, the band immediately toured UK City Halls as headliners to tie in with the next single, the classic ballad "China In Your Hand." Nobody could have predicted the enormous impact of "China" which stayed at No. 1 for 5 weeks - the longest serving No. 1 of the year! simultaneously Bridge Of Spies occupied the number1 album slot for 2 weeks .Keeping George Harrison off th number 1 single slot & Paul McArtney off the number1 album slot.Two Beatles trounced! ☺
To date, "China In Your Hand" has appeared on more than 150 compilations, and has become one of the most played songs of the 1980's. After further hits such as "Valentine," "I Will Be With You," and "Sex Talk," the "Bridge Of Spies" album was certified quadruple platinum in the UK, selling 1.2 million copies. ‘Rage’ the 2nd album also went platinum.
The original line up of T'pau split in 1991 after the final hit "Whenever You Need Me" (No. 16)
The final album, "Heart & Soul: The Very Best Of T'pau," was released in 1993. Ron Rogers returned to production and studio work, whilst Carol embarked upon a co-writing career, occasionally performing solo and on other projects. Carol also address The Oxford Union in a Q& A about her career & take on the music business, plus an acoustic performance.
By 1997, Carol had taken the decision to build a new T'pau around her, and get back on the road after assembling a massive amount of new material. A 25-date UK tour in the summer of '97, including some festivals, preceded the release of a brand new version of "Heart & Soul" on the band's own Gnatfish label. Encouraged by the response, Carol embarked upon recording ‘Red’ the first new T'pau album for 6 years, After 6 months in the studio, T'pau performed an orchestrated version of "China" with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Princess Diana Tribute Concert at Althorp in June 1998. It was broadcast live around the world, and later in a BBC primetime show. All this no mean feat as Carol had been pregnant throughout the recording of the album and gave birth to her first child, Scarlett Olivia, just 3 weeks before the Diana concert! Business as usual as T’pau quickly joined Status Quo on the European Tour.
In 2004 Carol appeared in the West End cast Of ‘Mum’s the Word’ at The Albery Theatre with Patsy Palmer, Imogen Stubbs & jennie Éclair. Other acting opportunities offered were’ Doctor’s’ for BBC One, ’Star’ with Nicolas Hoult for Children’s BBC Two. Uk films ,’Nine Dead Gay Guys‘ with Steven Berkoff, Fish & Michael Praed. ’Running Time, the first UK Interactive Film & BAFTA nominated.
TV appearances include Buzzcocks, Trigger Happy TV, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Just The Two of Us & The Mathew Wright Show .Carol has always been a popular guest on radio, including Ken Bruce & Steve Wright ,Claudia winkleman & Sara Cox. Carol has presented shows for Absolute 80’s, LBC & BBC Radio Berks & is a regular conttributor to Sky News
Carol continues to perform live in concert regularly to huge crowds in the UK .In 2013 Carol completed a 28 date T’pau tour, celebrating 25 years in the business,culminating in a packed out Big Top tent at IOW Festival.
A new album is planned for 2014
www.tpau.co.uk
Twitter @caroldecker