Close to the Bone (Thompson Twins album)
| Close to the Bone | ||||
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| Studio album by Thompson Twins | ||||
| Released | 31 March 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1986-1987 | |||
| Genre | Alternative, New wave, Synthpop | |||
| Length | 41:42 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | Rupert Hine and Tom Bailey | |||
| Thompson Twins chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992 Edition) |  |
| The Spokesman-Review (USA) | |
Close to the Bone is the sixth album by the British pop group Thompson Twins, and was released in March 1987. Now only the duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie remaining, this was the first album the Thompson Twins made without Joe Leeway. Produced by Bailey and Rupert Hine, the band commented that they wrote and recorded the album quickly, in an exercise to see how fast they could produce a complete LP.
Ending their run of top 5 albums in the UK, the album was a commercial failure, peaking at number 90 on the UK album charts and failing to yield any hit singles. It fared a little better in the US, peaking at number 76, with the single "Get That Love" peaking at number 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Although the original release of album remains out-of-print, the album was re-issued as part of the 2012 Thompson Twins set Original Album Classics, which featured the albums In the Name of Love, Quick Step and Side Kick, Into the Gap, Here's to Future Days and Close to the Bone.
The Thompson Twins took a break from music in 1986. Following Joe Leeway's departure from the band, Bailey and Currie experienced the loss of their unborn child due to a miscarriage (Currie had also lost her mother the same year). Eventually, "to have something positive to do," the pair bought an old house in Ireland, moved in with Bailey's collection of religious objects and Currie's collection of first editions by British poet Edith Sitwell and forgot about music altogether. When Currie felt like working again, the pair started on the next album as a duo.
In an issue of The Spokesman-Review from early July 1987, an article/interview with The Thompson Twins was published, based on the band's touring for Close to the Bone. In the issue, the article speaks of the album, stating "The Thompson Twins are riding high on the success of their latest album "Close to the Bone," which, in addition to carrying the hit "Get That Love," delves into Bailey and Currie's personal experiences during the period since their last album, "Here's to Future Days"." Bailey, quoted from a press release, stated "The reason the album is closer to the bone is that for the first time in years we had taken a break from the music business and we actually had real experiences to write about." The article also spoke of some of the personal experiences, stating "For Bailey, one of those experiences was being accepted back into the fold by his parents who had disowned him more than 10 years before; for Currie, one of those experiences was the emotional trauma of seeing her mother die, and losing her and Bailey's baby to a miscarriage - both on the same day." Currie also spoke of the experience and putting it into the song "Long Goodbye", stating "I spent all of last summer crying. It was an awful time, and I put a lot of my feelings into that song. It was like a parting gift. It's all OK now. I'm OK. But I still can't bear to listen to that song."
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