“You have to roll with the punches, and the big budgets are gone, but I mix those large retro shows with smaller sets and acoustic tours. Here's one I hadn't heard of Ronnie's before, so here it is! Speaking to uDiscover, Carol admits she was starting to get rattled by the relentless round of rejection. “We built it around ourselves, with the right intentions, but we’d do it very differently today.”. Ronnie Rogers, Actor: T'Pau: China in Your Hand. “I would actually pick ‘Only A Heartbeat’ from The Promise as my favourite T’Pau song ever.”. Ron Rogers was born on March 13, 1959 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England as Ronald Phillip Rogers. Carol has kept in touch with her 50,000 Twitter followers most days, offering plenty of laughter along the way. “Fortunately, we got it wrapped up just in time. They get really sniffy when we suggested something. Reached #57 in 1987. While lead single (and fan favorite) “Whenever You Need Me” performed solidly and secured the act a final Top Of The Pops appearance in May 1991, sales of The Promise, which the band wanted to title A New Decade, were modest, and T’Pau was dumped by Siren during a UK tour. "Although I’ve had a blessed 30-year run, I’m in T’Pau not the Rolling Stones, so I don’t have a private island and I can’t just kick back. That meant she would be unable to make a living without her normal fees for performing. As the The Virgin Anthology attests, however, Decker and Rogers’ assurance was well-founded. “He said I had just walked away from debts of £800,000. “We came from bands and embraced that culture, but we were signed as a duo to the label. “Ron and I had been together for five years writing by then,” says Carol. We had five arena shows lined up with the London Philharmonic. When I was in a relationship with Ronnie Rogers, my bandmate in T’Pau, I was allergic to children. "The funniest moment came when Dylan told me that he and Scarlett had six years’ experience between them at college. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s, most notably "China in Your Hand", "Heart and Soul" and "Valentine", and several hits in Europe, before disbanding in 1992. I did London Coliseum last autumn and Leeds Millennium Square with a 75-piece orchestra. The band formed in 1986 in Shrop­shire, tak­ing their name from a Vul­can elder of the same name in the sci-fi se­ries Star Trek. “But playing the shows isn’t just about having fun. Hearing China In Your Hands with real strings was emotional. On its release in October 1988, there was a discernible cooling of the band’s commercial fortunes, with lead single, “Secret Garden,” failing to break the UK Top 10. Flame-haired singer Carol Decker has created a lockdown video to accompany their latest single Be Wonderful, which was filmed by her two children, Scarlett and Dylan, who are media students. We could tell there was something about it too, even as a four-track demo.”, In 1986, the pair was invited to perform a three-song showcase at Nomis Rehearsal Studios, in front of Siren Records bosses, after the duo’s new manager, Chris Cook, had secured a hearing. “We put the band together around us,” says Carol. “Things started getting very difficult,” says Carol. Anybody can make a film in their bedroom. "Valentine" is a song by British band T'Pau, released in 1988 as the fifth single from their debut studio album Bridge of Spies. If you’re not Beyonce with millions of followers it is hard. The band’s first appearance on the classic BBC TV show Top Of The Pops would, Carol believes, lead to stateside promoters turning away from the group. Available with an Apple Music subscription. Their first hit was the 1987 re­lease "Heart and Soul". 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. “T’Pau was a manufactured band in one sense,” says Carol. Your email address will not be published. Feature writer and food critic Andy Richardson interviews celebrities, writes columns and hangs out with chefs for stories that appear across all group titles. “I knew it would just cause a massive row.” Though she and Ronnie were the songwriters, and the compositions for the first two albums were completed before the band had been signed, the pair admits that a lot of time was spent managing the situation. After a farewell tour, T'Pau broke up, and Decker began a solo career soon after. Carol Decker is best known as the lead singer of pop-rock band T'Pau, who scored international success in the late 1980s. “He was right about ‘Valentine’. In 2007, marking the 20th anniversary of T'Pau's initial success, Ron Rogers and Carol Decker released the new single, "Just Dream", exclusively as an internet download. I was filled with abject horror at that idea, so was starting to panic.”, A band was swiftly pulled together for the set, which ended with Carol and Ronnie being signed on the spot. Carol Decker and Ronnie Rogers of T’Pau talk about career highs, overlooked songs, and the eclecticism at the heart of the band. Prior to de­cid­ing on this name, they were called Talk­ing Amer­ica on early demossent to record and pub­lish­ing com­pa­nies. Ronald Phillip Rogers was born in Shrewsbury, England, in 1959. Ini­tially a flop in the UK, it first be­came a hit in the US Bill­board Hot 100 chart, reach­ing No. 4 in both the UK & US charts. “We appeared in the serious music press at first, but then they started to get increasingly snooty about T’Pau.”. “The kids think me and Ronnie are a pair of old boomers who don’t know what we’re talking about. “There always seemed to be someone who gave us enough support and encouragement to keep going,” he says today. March 13, 1959), keyboard player Michael Chetwood (b. August 26, 1954), bassist Paul Jackson (b. August 8, 1961), an…. In 2015, freshly reunited professionally with Ronnie, T’Pau released Pleasure And Pain, which received a strong critical response and solid sales, sparking a ferocious touring schedule that the band maintains to this day. Decker remembers trying to get initial interest even prior to forming T’Pau by sending demos to record companies. That looks like it will be next year. Carol, who met Prince Charles and Princess Diana during the late 1980s when her band became the biggest in Britain, said she was proud of her two children. Former guitarist Ronnie Rogers is currently in the band The Ronaldos. “Scarlett is a big fan of the American make-up artist Jeffree Star and she bought me some of his cosmetics. But as Decker herself recalls, it was never that simple for T’Pau. The band was earning a strong reputation as a live act and was soon on tour with Nik Kershaw. “China In Your Hand” was the band’s second single. Now former Midlands rock band T’Pau are going it alone by releasing music without the help of a record company. That one has really, really hurt.”. “We didn’t know any better then and were very in awe of everything, so we just agreed. Complemented by a disc of remixes, rarities and demos, it’s a body of work that’s hard to characterize, but proves that legacies are harder to shatter than fragile chart careers. “It was a bit out on a limb from everything else too, but, picking a song on its merit, it was the obvious one to choose.” Radio stations in the States now struggled to categorize the group, who refused to slot neatly into segregated playlist policies. "Those have been pulled and the arenas are hard to book in advance so we don’t know if they’ll go ahead. Ronnie recalls that one of their US singles was pitched to Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones for a solo contribution. Carol said her band was able to operate in the digital world by sending files to each other via email. "But it was quite funny. I’d benefited from a doting mother, but I … You have to rely on your social media. Sites: Wikipedia, repertoire.bmi.com. “I’m not an über-cool person and was always up for that stuff,” she says. Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article. Carol said the closure of concert venues had wrecked her band’s schedule for 2020 and they were unlikely to perform now until the end of the year at the very earliest. Photograph: Redferns. But Ronnie remained optimistic. They enjoyed their biggest hit 33 years ago when China In Your Hand became an international smash. T'Pau /təˈpaʊ/ are an English rock group formed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, led by singer Carol Decker. In fact, the classic 80s power ballad was to mark a commercial peak, and the group’s US career was already starting to unravel. This was in part why the band’s third set, The Promise, was recorded with each member playing a greater part, and a new producer was hired. I sometimes get frustrated that people focus so much on ‘China In Your Hand’ but it’s great to be remembered in such a fickle business. Now you can create a record in your own bedroom, but it just wasn’t like that back then.”, The investment paid off with the 10-song set, which was given a deluxe edition reissue in 2015, proving to be a multi-platinum smash and containing the song Carol is most proud of: “Heart And Soul,” which was picked as T’Pau’s first single. We burst out laughing. Ron Rogers returned to T’pau & they embarked on the hugely successful #Tpau25live anniversary tour in 2013. Explore releases from Ron Rogers at Discogs. March 13, 1959), keyboard player Michael Chetwood (b. August 26, 1954), bassist Paul Jackson (b. August 8, 1961), an…. In 1998, Decker revived T'Pau with a new lineup and released the album Red. The Virgin Anthology showcases every T’Pau single, plus the expanded Rage and The Promise albums. After a brief attempt at a solo career, 1997 saw Decker reform T'Pau with a new line-up. She said: “Three of my friends have suffered from the coronavirus. “By then, I felt so assured and assumed that people got us and we were going to be able to do what we thought was right. This became the British band’s only Billboard Hot 100 hit and it … Ron Rogers Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Ronald Bruce Rogers (born November 5, 1952, in the Soundview section of the South Bronx, New York) is a native New York songwriter, composer, Ze / Island Records recording artist and record producer. "I’ve always had a great association with Shropshire, particularly Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth, which were both home, and we’ve played lots of gigs in the West Midlands, from Bilston to Birmingham. “It was interesting working with the kids. All the press was slanted towards a Smash Hits audience and, with hindsight, that didn’t help. “We were marketed as a pop band and so their approach was simply to milk everything until it all dried up. I need to work – as much as anything to put my kids through university so that they can make more films.”. Decker still performs under the name T'Pau at solo shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts, and in 2013 she reunited with original bandmember and co-songwriter Ronnie Rogers for a 25th anniversary UK tour. “We have 18 shows in Germany with orchestra, choir and full band, md’ed by the singer and musician John Miles. ‎Named after a Vulcan character from the Star Trek TV series, the pop-anthem band T'Pau formed in 1986 around vocalist Carol Decker (b. September 10, 1957), guitarist Ronnie Rogers (b. Twenty-five years ago T'Pau, the band Decker formed with then boyfriend Ronnie Rogers, sprang into public consciousness after Heart And Soul was used in a Pepe Jeans advert in the US. The pair blocked the suggestion, which they now describe as a big mistake. It gave me the idea of writing her story within the wider Frankenstein tale. “Fortunately, we got it wrapped up just in time. It started OK, but tensions started to build with the others as time went on.”, Siren Records sent the newly formed six-piece stateside to a studio near Chicago to record their first album, Bridge Of Spies. She and Rogers toured the U.K. in 2013, the 25th anniversary of the group's formation and continue to perform their own headline tours and festivals in the UK and all over Europe. 9 in the UK and remained on the charts for eight weeks. It was a similar story elsewhere too, but the strength of the band’s songs cut through in Europe, where programmers had less influence on the charts. “Ronnie and I are really eclectic writers, which some people think is brilliant, but others – especially in America – struggled with,” says Carol. The technology we had access to was incredible. We had all of the symptoms except for the high temperature. Although T'Pau was a large band operation during their heyday in the late 80s and early 90s, only lead singer Carol Decker remains yet continues to tour under the pseudonym alongside long term collaborator Ronnie Rogers. It flopped on its first release in the UK, but in the US it started to receive radio play and began a hesitant ascent of the Billboard Hot 100. So I hope fans will like the new single.”. It was written by Ronnie Rogers and Carol Decker, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. You just don’t mess those sorts of people about,” says Carol. But she and Ronnie had also split by then and the collection was essentially a solo project. Despite this, the 11-song collection went platinum, and features in its entirety on Disc Three of The Virgin Anthology. But, for some reason, the public didn’t take to subsequent songs as much, even though we felt as strongly about them.”. They don’t understand the concept of working until it’s done and then getting drunk. T’Pau’s new single will be released on May 8 and the band are hoping to contact people who run 1980s websites and blogs so that they can promote it. I did a few last year. “Our manager came backstage and told me I was a very lucky girl,” recalls Carol. November 26, 2020 / Ronnie W Rogers Thanksgiving, quite contrary to political correctness and revisionist historians, began as an act of faith and worship by the Pilgrims. I knew following up Bridge Of Spies was going to be hard, but I am proud of Rage and, certainly initially, wasn’t particularly worried by it not doing as well. After meeting guitarist Ronnie on the gigging circuit, the early 80s would see the pair battle to capitalize on a series of promising leads that withered into nothing. But I have to keep away from social media when I have had a few glasses of wine. It reached No. The short set was a make-or-break moment. “It’s still a little poignant for me – even today – to discuss all the potential that was in front of us,” says Carol Decker, who fronted T’Pau with her boyfriend, Ronnie Rogers. Carol added that she hoped people in the region would download the single in May and check out the video online. The band still performs with Decker and original member Ronnie Rogers – her ex-boyfriend with whom she wrote many of their songs at the time. T’pau burst onto the music scene in 1987 with the hit “Heart & Soul” reaching No. “Valentine,” the band’s third hit single, finally lived up to its potential by making the UK No.9. “Our management was clear that we had to keep the ball rolling,” says Carol. It’s definitely being put that back. Ron Rogers, Soundtrack: Sisters. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for The Virgin Anthology - T'Pau on AllMusic - 2017 "I have a dark sense of humour, quite gallows, and people might think some of the things I post are inappropriate. 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. "Some of the things that I was particularly upset about was the 80s classical concert. “But when we were making The Promise, we didn’t realize how much had changed,” says Carol. T’pau burst onto the music scene in 1987 with the hit “Heart & Soul” reaching No. There were, however, a few unexpected challenges when they made the video for Be Wonderful. “We flew back to London to appear on it and were never told we weren’t going back to the States,” she says. Decker met Rogers in the gigging circuit in 1981. "You don’t earn any money from the records, you have to go on the road to earn a living. ‎Named after a Vulcan character from the Star Trek TV series, the pop-anthem band T'Pau formed in 1986 around vocalist Carol Decker (b. September 10, 1957), guitarist Ronnie Rogers (b. "Then Richard and I felt really unwell for about a week. Happy Birthday, Ronnie Rogers. The audience reaction is irreplaceable but putting it bluntly, that’s how I earn my money. The song would peak at No.4 and, on the back of being picked for a jeans commercial, finally made the same position back home in September 1987. “I’m so impressed with my children. “It was horrible as we were tied into touring a dying album with everyone hating each other.” Ronnie believes if the band members had been better friends they might have been able to secure a new deal, but the fractures in the working structure proved too severe to fix. 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