THOMPSON TWINS "YOU TAKE ME UP"

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by Mark Nobes, chief editor

"You Take Me Up" became Thompson Twins third consecutive top 5 hit in the UK, and also the highest-charting. The single entered the singles chart at No.13 on 25th March 1984, reaching a peak position of No.2 on 15th April for one week, being held off the top spot by Lionel Richie's "Hello".
The track was released as the third single from the band's fourth and most successful studio album Into The Gap, and spent 11 weeks in the UK Top 100. 
The 7" single featured "Passion Planet" as the B-side. The standard 12" featured four tracks; "You Take Me Up (Machines Take Me Over)" (7:33) and "Down Tools" (4:18) on the A-side, and "Leopard Ray" (3:50) and "Passion Planet" (3:44) on the B-side.
Four picture discs were also released by Arista Records, and three of these formed a jigsaw.
A wide range of instruments were played on the track. Alannah Currie played marimba and xylophone, Tom Bailey played synths, contrabass, melodica, harmonica and programmed the drums. Joe Leeway played congas and a Phrophet V analog synthesizer. 
The single was produced by Alex Sadkin and the Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey.
Despite being a big success in the UK, the single did not reach the Top 40 in any other country. Unlike the previous two singles "Hold Me Now" and "Doctor! Doctor!", the single failed to break into the top 20 in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Germany. 
The video features the band as prisoners, and we seem them in their cells and being forced to work on a mine. They can be seen shovelling sand in time to the music. It was directed by Dieter Trattmann, who also directed "Into The Gap Live", which won the award for "Best Live Concert" at the 1985 UK Music Video Awards.

Lyrics for You Take Me Up

Don't Mess With Doctor Dream

Thompson Twins Greatest Hits