"Sugar Daddy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Thompson Twins | ||||
from the album Big Trash | ||||
B-side | "Monkey Man" | |||
Released | 25 September 1989 (UK) [1] | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:30 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Thompson Twins singles chronology | ||||
|
"Sugar Daddy" is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, which was released in 1989 as the lead single from their seventh studio album Big Trash . The song was written and produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie. "Sugar Daddy" reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (their final Top 40 hit in the US) and number 97 in the UK Singles Chart. [2] [3]
In a 1989 interview on MuchMusic, Bailey described the song as sounding "quite sugary" but added "the message is quite disturbing". He added, "It's about sexual manipulation, affection traded for power, and as with all those sort of power-gain relationships, there's always a sugar coating, so that's why the song is so sugary but the message so bizarre." [4]
Speaking on MuchMusic, Currie revealed some of the unused sequences of the video, "The video was funny. I wanted to be the angel of death in it, with a black guitar and wings, but I kept getting stuck up there and screaming to get down, so we had to lose some of those shots. And then they built this enormous 12 foot skirt, I wanted to have these men coming out from under my skirt, and they edited that down to make it a bit more acceptable. I wanted to be the original hell's angel, it didn't quite come off. I always get disappointed by our videos." [4]
On its release, Music & Media considered the song "playful and catchy", with "more raunch than their previous material". [5] Phil Cheeseman of Record Mirror commented, "The Twins return to what they're best at - bad pop/rock singles with inane lyrics, those bursts of guitar and pressing the button on the synthesiser marked 'orchestral boom'." [6]
Billboard described "Sugar Daddy" as "refreshing pop" and a "jaunty piece of ear candy". [7] Stephanie Brainerd of Cash Box commented, "This is your average neo-disco synthesized dance mix, and really, it's not a bad one, but from the Thompson Twins? This tune might possibly fare well on the dancefloor, but I don't believe it's their best effort." [8]
In a review of Big Trash, Australian daily newspaper The Age noted the song as one of the album's "superb creations", adding that it was a "pleasant single, though not as amusing as the observant title track". [9]
7-inch single
12-inch single
12-inch single (US only)
CD single
CD single (US only)
CD single (US promo)
Chart (1989) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA Charts) [10] | 155 |
Canadian Singles Chart [11] [12] | 38 |
UK Singles Chart [3] | 97 |
US Billboard Dance/Club Play [13] | 2 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] | 28 |
US Billboard Hot Dance Music Sales [13] | 28 |
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks [13] | 16 |
Thompson Twins were a British pop band that formed in April 1977. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently dissolved.
"I Want That Man" is a song by American singer Deborah Harry. The song was released as the lead single from her third solo album, Def, Dumb & Blonde, and was the first record Harry released in which she reverted to using Deborah as her name instead of Debbie. It became a hit in several territories, reaching number two in Australia and on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single also became a top-twenty hit in Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Here's to Future Days is the fifth studio album by British pop group Thompson Twins, released on 20 September 1985 by Arista Records. It was the third and final release for the band as a trio, which was their most successful and recognisable line-up. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 20 on the US Billboard 200.
Big Trash is the seventh studio album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins, released in 1989 by Warner Brothers/Red Eye. It was produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie, with two tracks produced by Steve Lillywhite.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by British pop band Thompson Twins, released in 1996 on the Arista Records label.
Queer is the eighth and final studio album by the British pop group Thompson Twins, which was released in 1991 by Warner Bros.
"Hold Me Now" is a song by British band the Thompson Twins. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alex Sadkin and the group's lead vocalist Tom Bailey. The song is a mid-tempo new wave song that uses a varied instrumentation, including keyboards, a xylophone, a piano and Latin percussion. It was released in November 1983 as the first single from their fourth studio album, Into the Gap.
"Come Inside" is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, released in 1991 as the lead single from their eighth studio album Queer. It was written and produced by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey. The single peaked at No. 56 in the UK and spent four weeks on the chart. The single also peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles Chart. The single had a music video filmed to promote it.
"Doctor! Doctor!" is a song performed by the British new wave band Thompson Twins. It is the second single from the band's fourth studio album, Into the Gap (1984). It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway, and prominently features a keyboard solo. Following the successful chart performances of the Into the Gap single "Hold Me Now", "Doctor! Doctor!" was released in the UK on 27 January 1984 as the album's second single.
"In the Name of Love" is a 1982 single written and performed by The Thompson Twins, at the time a septet. It was the first of twelve entries on the Billboard dance chart for the group.
"Long Goodbye" is a song by the British pop group Thompson Twins, released in 1987 as the second and final single from their sixth studio album Close to the Bone. It was written by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey, and produced by Rupert Hine and Bailey. "Long Goodbye" peaked at No. 89 in the UK.
"Nothing in Common" is a song by the British band Thompson Twins, which was released in 1986 as a single from the soundtrack of the American comedy-drama film Nothing in Common. The song was written by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey, and produced by Geoffrey Downes and Bailey. With the departure of band member Joe Leeway earlier in 1986, "Nothing in Common" was the Thompson Twins' first release as a duo. It reached No. 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Lay Your Hands on Me" is the first single released from the album Here's to Future Days by the British band Thompson Twins. Written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway, it was released in the UK almost a year in advance of the album.
"King For A Day" is a 1985 song by the British band the Thompson Twins. It was released as the third single from the band's fifth album Here's To Future Days.
"Don't Mess With Doctor Dream" is a 1985 song by the British band Thompson Twins. It was released as a single from their album Here's to Future Days, and peaked at No. 15 in the UK, spending six weeks on the chart. Written by bandmembers Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway, it is an anti-drug song warning of the dangers of drug addiction. It was the first Thompson Twins single to be co-produced by Nile Rodgers. A promotional music video was made for the single which was directed by Godley & Creme along with Meiert Avis.
"The Gap" is a song by the British pop group Thompson Twins. It was the title track from the group's 1984 album Into the Gap, and was also released as a single in certain countries though not in the group's native UK. The single peaked at #69 in the U.S., spending six weeks on the US Billboard 100. It also charted in Germany where it peaked at #62. There was no promotional music video for this single.
"You Take Me Up" is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, released as the third single from their fourth studio album, Into the Gap (1984), on 19 March 1984. It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway and prominently features the harmonica and a melodica solo. In addition to the regular 7-inch and multiple 12-inch releases, Arista Records also released four different shaped picture discs for the single, three of which were part of a jigsaw.
"Play with Me (Jane)" is a song from the British pop duo Thompson Twins, which was released in 1992 as a single from Songs from the Cool World, the soundtrack release for the 1992 film Cool World. The song was written and produced by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey.
"Groove On" is a song from the British pop duo Thompson Twins, which was released in 1992 as the third single from their eighth studio album Queer (1991). The song was written and produced by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey.
"The Saint" is a song from the British pop duo Thompson Twins, which was released in 1992 as the second single from eighth studio album Queer. The song was written and produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie.