In 2019 Tom announced the NEVER TOO LATE tour which was to culminate at the Shepherd's Bush Empire the night before his 70th birthday in June 2020. Two lockdowns and two postponements later, we are cautiously anticipating the GLAD TO BE BACK tour, during which we hope Tom and the band - who are all double-vaxxed and raring for a socially-distanced party - will instead celebrate his 72nd Birthday at the Bush.
Tom’s band TRB hit the UK top 10 in 1977 with the punk-era anthem '2-4-6-8 Motorway' and in 1978 'Glad to be Gay' entered the UK top twenty despite a BBC ban. Tom, one of the decade's few out gay musicians, continued to volunteer at the then Gay Switchboard as TRB's debut album went gold. TRB were founder members of Rock Against Racism and headlined the famous 1978 Victoria Park concert.
After fleeing to Hamburg to avoid bankruptcy, Tom returned to the UK top 10 in 1983 with the solo hit 'War Baby', subsequently collaborating with Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Dan Hartman and Manu Katché.
Moving into broadcasting, Tom won a gold Sony Award in 1997 for 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away', a radio documentary about queer music. He has been a presenter on BBC 6 Music since its launch, winning a second Sony in 2011, and is now regarded as a champion of emerging musicians while still touring himself at the age of 71.
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