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Bridge of Spies (album)

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Bridge of Spies
Studio album by
T'Pau
Released14 September 1987 (1987-09-14)
Genre
Length44:19
LabelSiren
ProducerRoy Thomas Baker
T'Pau chronology
Bridge of Spies
(1987) 		Rage
(1988)
Singles from Bridge of Spies
  1. "Heart and Soul"
    Released: February 1987
  2. "Intimate Strangers"
    Released: June 1987
  3. "China in Your Hand"
    Released: October 1987
  4. "Bridge of Spies"
    Released: 1987 (US)
  5. "Valentine"
    Released: January 1988
  6. "I Will Be with You"
    Released: June 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Record Mirror[2]

Bridge of Spies is the debut studio album by English pop group T'Pau, released on 14 September 1987 by Siren Records. In the United States and Canada, Virgin Records released the album under the title T'Pau.[3]

Overview

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The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It spawned five singles—"Heart and Soul" (a top-five entry in the US), the chart-topper "China in Your Hand" (re-recorded especially for single release), "Valentine", a live version of "Sex Talk" (previously released in its original form as "Intimate Strangers"), and "I Will Be with You". A further release, a remix of the title track "Bridge of Spies", was also released in the US, Canada, Australia and Germany.

The artwork for the release includes the name "T'Pau" rearranged to form a face (similar to the Moai stone heads found on Easter Island). This practice was replicated with the titles of the band's follow-up albums Rage and The Promise.

The album spent one week at number one on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold on 14 October 1987 and Platinum on 18 November 1987. It was eventually certified four-times Platinum in September 1988.[4]

An extended and digitally remastered version of Bridge of Spies was released in the UK and Europe in 2017. It includes remixes, B-sides and live versions of the album tracks. A companion album called The Virgin Anthology was released shortly afterwards, and this triple CD and DVD contains the radio edits and remixes of all the singles released from Bridge of Spies and digitally remastered versions of the follow-up albums Rage and The Promise.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Heart and Soul"4:16
2."I Will Be with You"4:05
3."China in Your Hand"5:06
4."Friends Like These"3:45
5."Sex Talk"4:14
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Bridge of Spies"5:23
2."Monkey House"4:24
3."Valentine"3:58
4."Thank You for Goodbye"3:54
5."You Give Up"4:39
6."China in Your Hand" (Reprise)0:45

View from a Bridge

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A video of the following selected tracks was released as View from a Bridge in 1988 on VHS and LaserDisc.

  1. "Intro"
  2. "Heart and Soul"
  3. "Bridge of Spies"
  4. "China in Your Hand"
  5. "Valentine"
  6. "Sex Talk"

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • Carol Decker – all vocals
  • Ronnie Rogers – guitars
  • Tim Burgess – drums, percussion
  • Michael Chetwood – keyboards
  • Paul Jackson – bass
  • Taj Wyzgowski – guitars
  • Peter Ballin – tenor saxophone[5]
  • Gary Barnacle – tenor saxophone (single version of "China in Your Hand")

Technical

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  • Roy Thomas Baker – production
  • Jerry Napier – engineering, mixing

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Bridge of Spies
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 50,000^
Germany (BVMI)[26] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[27] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[28] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[29] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ O'Toole, Lesley (26 September 1987). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 18. ISSN 0144-5804.
  3. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5588/biography
  4. ^ a b "British album certifications – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies". British Phonographic Industry. 22 September 1988. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Peter Ballin has performed or recorded with". peterballin.com. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 312. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0874". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  10. ^ "European Hot 100 Albums". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 9. 27 February 1988. p. 24. OCLC 29800226.
  11. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "T'Pau". Sisältää hitin – Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 262. ISBN 978-952-7460-01-6.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Charts.nz – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Billboard 200 – Week of August 29, 1987". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Gallup Year End Charts 1987 – Albums". Record Mirror. 23 January 1988. p. 37. ISSN 0144-5804.
  20. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – CD 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  21. ^ "1988 Year End Eurocharts – Top 100 Albums". Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 52/1. 1 January 1989. p. 31. OCLC 29800226.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1988" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Albums – Year-End Chart 1988". Music Week Awards. Music Week. 4 March 1989. p. 8. ISSN 0265-1548.
  25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – T'Pau – T'Pau". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  26. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (T'Pau; 'Bridge of Spies')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Dutch album certifications – T'Pau – Bridge of Spies" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Enter Bridge of Spies in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1988 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  28. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  29. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Bridge of Spies')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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