Ali Thomson (born 1959 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. His brother is

Dougie Thomson Douglas 'Dougie' Campbell Thomson (born 24 March 1951) is a Scottish musician, born in Glasgow and raised in the Rutherglen area of the city. He was the Bassist, bass guitarist of progressive rock band Supertramp from 1972 to 1988. Career Th ...

, of

the Alan Bown Set The Alan Bown Set, later known as The Alan Bown! or just Alan Bown, were a British band of the 1960s and 1970s whose music evolved from jazz and blues through soul and rhythm and blues and ended up as psychedelia and progressive rock. The band ...

and

Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...

. Ali began singing and playing piano in local bands and moved to London in the 1970s where he worked for Mountain Records

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

Allmusic.com. Allmusic erroneously states that Thomson worked for Mountain as a songwriter. as an office help hand. Ali signed to

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

in the UK and recorded two albums. The first album was entitled ''Take a Little Rhythm'' peaking at #99 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

on August 9, 1980. The title track was a hit in the US, peaking at No. 15 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in the summer of 1980 and also peaking at No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song also reached No. 10 on the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' chart and No. 12 in the Hitline chart in January 1980 on London's Capital Radio in the UK. The song reached No. 22 (2 weeks) and No. 37 AC in Canada. A second single, "Live Every Minute", just missed the top 40, peaking at No. 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In early 1981, "Foolish Child" (the lead single from his second album ''Deception Is an Art'') peaked at No. 105, while the follow-up, "Safe and Warm", did not chart at all. Thomson also co-wrote

Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (April 26, 1943 – September 4, 2023) was an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive". Wright's breakthrough album, '' The Dream Weaver'' (1975), came after he h ...

's last hit, 1981's " Really Wanna Know You". Thomson continues to work in the industry as a songwriter, writing tunes for artists such as A1, Brian Kennedy, Steps, and

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

Discography

*''Take a Little Rhythm'' (

, 1980) (#99 US) *''Deception Is an Art'' (A&M Records, 1981) * ''Songs from the Playroom'' (P-Vine Records, 2019) * ''The Last Rodeo'' (P-Vine Records, 2022)

References

External links

Official website
* * Living people 1959 births 20th-century Scottish male singers A&M Records artists Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters {{Scotland-musician-stub