Michael White, 58, UK-born 1980s musician (Thompson Twins) turned Australian-based author/educator

[That Derek]

https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/music/tributes-for-former-1980s-pop-star-michael-white-ng-b88744105z

Music

Tributes for former 1980s pop musician Michael White

Liam Croy | The West Australian
Tuesday, 13 February 2018 6:23AM

Michael White lived in Perth for many years after finding fame in the 1980s with the pop band Thompson Twins.

Prolific author and former pop musician Michael White has died in Perth aged 58.

White’s first claim to fame was as a member of 1980s British pop band, Thompson Twins, best known for their 1983 hit, Hold Me Now.

He went on to become a science lecturer, a bestselling author of 43 books and a screenwriter for the upcoming film, The Gateway.

The biography on his website says he is the only person to appear in three Top 10 charts - as a musician, a novelist and a non-fiction writer.

White has lived in Perth with his wife, Lisa, and their four children for many years.

He has held writing courses in Perth under the moniker, The Book Guru.

Mrs White delivered the sad news on Facebook, confirming her husband died on Tuesday last week.

“I can't really put into words the grief and shock the children and I are feeling right now,” Mrs White said.

“Twenty five years of being married to a writer has not resulted in any of his talents being passed on to me and I have deleted and rewritten this post countless time in order to do justice to my beloved husband and my children's beloved father.”

Popular Cottesloe identity, the Cottesloe Barbie, worked alongside Mr White to run the local writing courses.

She posted a heartfelt tribute to him on Facebook on Sunday.

“Michael was an exceptionally talented and versatile individual but he also exemplified an even rarer gift: humility,” Cottesloe Barbie said to her 16,000 followers.

“Michael was passionate about everything he did but the greatest passion of his life was his family.

“He leaves a wife whom he loved and adored and four children of whom he was rightly proud.

“Known as 'The Book Guru', Michael was just and fair, extremely funny and wonderful company.

“He taught both at UWA and most recently, with me. He was a wonderful friend and it was a privilege to know him.”

[DCComics]

Odd that none of the Wikipedia articles on the Thompson Twins or their albums mention his name.

[Terry del Fuego]

Post by DCComics
Odd that none of the Wikipedia articles on the Thompson Twins or their albums mention his name.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_White_(author)>

He appears to have been one of several additional musicians briefly
hired for live shows so the band (which by then had only three
members) wouldn't have to resort to tapes to fill out the sound. So he
isn't on any of their albums but was arguably a "member" if you define
the concept very generously.

[Guilty Bastard]

https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/music/tributes-for-former-1980s-pop-star-michael-white-ng-b88744105z

[That Derek]

Wikipedia's "Deaths in February 2018" page credits Michael White as having been a member of British pop band "Thompson Twins." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2018#February]

On Wikipedia's "Thompson Twins" page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_Twins], the only mention of Michael White is in the bibliography section as having been the author of "Thompson Twin: An '80s Memoir" (2000).

The "Thompson Twins" page states that the group obtained their name from "Thomson and Thompson" the two bumbling bowler-hatted detectives depicted in the Belgian-based adventure comic strip "Hergé's 'The Adventures of Tin Tin.'". hese "twins" were unrelated doppelgängers whose differentiation in appearance could only be detected by the shape of their respective mustaches.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_and_Thompson]

The main "Thompson Twins" page states from the get-go:

"At various stages, the band had up to seven members, but their most known incarnation was as a trio between 1982 and 1986."

Several names not including White are bandied about. In his defense, White might have had some sort of connection. Unfortunately, I'm not the least bit passionate of acquiring his too-expensive and out-of-print imported biography [https://www.amazon.com/Thompson-Twin-Memoir-Michael-White/dp/0316851981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519312210&sr=1-1&keywords=thompson+twin++white].

Thus, I imagine Michael White probably had enough "creds" to warrant a memoir ... but then again, a fellow named Don Marlowe wrote a memoir titled "The Hollywood That Was" [https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-that-was-Don-Marlowe/dp/B0006BVRDC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519314068&sr=1-2] whose dust jacket reads "by Don Marlowe of Our Gang Comedies"]. For many years, Marlowe claimed to have portrayed "Spanky" wherein; however the real kid was named George McFarland."

[e***@gmail.com]

Below is what was written on one of the music forums I read regarding Michael White being in Thompson Twins:

White was hired in late-1982 as live band embellishment for a U.K. tour and was gone in a matter of months. He never recorded with the Thompson Twins.

The beginning:

After two post-punk albums as a six- or -seven-piece, the Twins pared down to the iconic three-piece haircut group in mid-1982
Album #3, Quick Step And Side Kick (aka QSSK, and Side Kicks in North America) came out in early 1983 (Lies, Love On Your Side, If You Were Here, We Are Detective)
The studio band was just the iconic three-piece, but they wanted a fully functioning live band so there was no reliance on tapes (drummer, bassist, keyboardist, guitar/synth)
White and his girlfriend Jan Cozens had their own new romantic/funk-styled band (Watch With Mother, and then Colour Me Pop), and were hired on for the first QSSK UK tour

Here's where the confusion lies:

Playing on the idea of "twins," management instructed White and Cozens to style their hair and wardrobes like singer Tom Bailey and percussionist Alannah Currie, respectively. Bailey and White actually bore quite the resemblance, and per White's book, even fooled a few people ("you guys brothers? Twins, even?") out in the wild

[n***@gmail.com]

http://firstbourneband.com/

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