| Tom Hooker | |
| Alias: | T. Beecher, Thomas Barbéy, Tam Harrow, Lou Sern |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Thomas Beecher Hooker |
| Birth Date: | 1957 11, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Origin: | Los Angeles, California |
| Genre: | Pop, Italo disco, hi-NRG |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Occupation: | Singer, actor, photographer |
| Years Active: | 1980–1994, 2010–present |
| Label: | Full Time Records (1980–1984) Baby Records (1984–1995) BMG Records (1988–1995) MK Music (2010–2011) |
Tom Hooker or Thomas Barbéy (born Thomas Beecher Hooker on November 18, 1957) is an American singer and fine art photographer. He was the voice and one of the songwriters behind most songs for popular Italo disco artist Den Harrow.[1] The 2018 documentary Dons of Disco covers Hooker's involvement in the Den Harrow project.[2] [3]
Barbey, best known as Tom Hooker, was brought to Europe when he was six months old. At the age of ten, he started his musical career as a drummer. At 13, he created his first band. At 15, he first appeared in public at a concert as a drummer/singer. He studied languages in Switzerland.
In 1980, he moved to Italy, where he was discovered by Italian producers. His first hit was "Flip Over", b/w the track "We Can Start It All Over Again". He had his first major success in 1986 with "Looking for Love".
Starting in 1985, Hooker co-wrote and sang lead vocals on the first two Den Harrow albums, backing vocals on the third album and co-wrote many subsequent Den Harrow songs under the name T. Beecher. When Hooker was credited for vocals at all, it was only for background vocals, as it was the producer's intention to have the lip-synching model Stefano Zandri as the public face of the project.
In 2010, Tom Hooker recorded and published on YouTube a press conference-style video in which Hooker, flanked by Den Harrow co-producer Miki Chierigato, states and demonstrates that he was the vocalist on most of the Den Harrow records, and in which he accuses Stefano Zandri of continuing to publicly lip synch to those recordings.[4] He also states that Zandri made threats and insults against Hooker and his family on Facebook for exposing the vocal inauthenticity of the Den Harrow recordings. Hooker asserts that Zandri no longer has permission to publicly lip sync to Den Harrow recordings that use Tom Hooker's voice.
His later work included collaborations with several other artists and producers, including Eddy Huntington, for whom he provided several lyrics and backing vocals, including those for the Europe-wide hit "U.S.S.R.".[5]
In 1986 he took part in the project Fahrenheit 104, a band also composed of Maurizio Vandelli, Jane Hill and Dario Farina, with which he recorded the song Highway To Freedom, composed by Vince Tempera for the musical part and by Michael Kunze for the lyrics, also published as a single by Baby Records.[6]
In 1987, he was one of the writers for the hit Boom Boom (Let's Go Back to My Room) by Paul Lekakis, which became #1 in Australia and #43 in US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[7]
In the 90s he recorded some singles under the pseudonym David Harleyson, obtaining some commercial success in Thailand.
In 1994, he moved to America to marry his American girlfriend Suzanne Berquist and pursue his longtime hobby of photography. He changed his name to Thomas Barbéy, his mother's maiden name, because his wife did not want to be known as "Mrs. Hooker."
In October 2010, Hooker collaborated with his longtime musical colleague and fellow composer, Miki Chieregato, to produce and release a brand new single and video, "Change Your Mind". This collaboration marks the return to the roots of the same production team that was responsible for all of the initial Den Harrow and Tom Hooker output between 1985 and 1988. In 2011, Hooker released a new recording and music video of the Den Harrow track "Future Brain", which features himself.[8]
Since 2014, Tom Hooker and Miki Chieregato have been issuing Den Harrow parody tracks under the name of Tam Harrow.[9]
In 2017, he released the double CD Back in Time, 27 songs including the duet with Linda Jo Rizzo I Want You Tonight.[10]
In 1994, he began a career as a visual artist under the name Thomas Barbéy, creating surreal photomontages.[11] He currently exhibits in galleries around the world.[12]
Barbéy combines multiple images, with very different subjects, obtaining a result that is totally different from reality. All this is done with classic photographic techniques without the use of computer post-production. He prefers the use of 35mm cameras.
He lives in Las Vegas with his wife Suzanne Berquist.[13]