80’s hitmakers T’Pau return with new music

One of the songs that gets played often on my Nation Easy Radio show is ‘China In Your Hand’ by T-Pau. This immense 1980’s power ballad was not only number one in the UK music chart for five weeks in 1987, but also hit the top spot in Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The album from which it came ‘Bridge of Spies’ – which was the band’s debut album - was also a number one bestseller achieving sales of over 1.2 million in the UK alone. T’Pau are now back with a new album called ‘Be Wonderful’ and it is their first release of new material in over ten years.

Fronted by the always charismatic Carol Decker, the album is a real reminder of the raw talent and songwriting that propelled T’Pau to success in 1987. If you love the music of the 1980s as I do – do take a listen. The album manages to achieve that rare quality of sounding familiar, yet fresh, at the same time.

You know you are getting old when you discover that an album you thought was only released a few years ago is actually approaching its 20th anniversary. That is the case with ‘Undiscovered’ by James Morrison which was unbelievably was released in July 2006! James will be celebrating the anniversary of his debut album that gave him the hits ‘Wonderful World’ and ‘You Give Me Something,’ as well as playing all his other great songs at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday, 28 May. It will be a cracking gig!

My musical gem: ‘Out of Hours’ is a three-piece acoustic covers band who have played various venues in Chichester, Bosham and Southsea over the years. They bring a relaxed chilled-out vibe to their versions of songs by Fleetwood Mac, U2, Blondie and others. They perform at the Little Monster Tap, The Hornet, Chichester on 16 May from 7pm  

Tune into Duncan, Monday to Friday nights on Nation Easy Radio from 10pm. Nation Easy Radio can be heard on DAB digital radio, via the Nation Player app and on your smart speaker – just say “Play Nation Easy Radio.”