Thomas Dolby Never Stands Still
For more than four decades, Thomas Dolby has refused to stand still.
Although many fans first discovered him through the MTV era and hits such as “She Blinded Me with Science,” Dolby has spent much of his career pursuing new creative challenges. Along the way he’s become a producer, film composer, novelist, entrepreneur, and educator, always seeming more interested in exploring the next idea than revisiting the last one.
That spirit of curiosity continues today. Dolby has called Baltimore home for more than a decade while teaching at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, making him a familiar face to music fans throughout the Washington-Baltimore region. On August 7, Thomas performs live at the Warner Theatre to headline the Totally Tubular Festival, this time with something longtime fans haven’t seen in decades: a reunion of the Lost Toy People, the band behind his 1988 album, Aliens Ate My Buick.
Ahead of the tour, Parklife DC Editor Mickey McCarter caught up with Dolby to talk about Baltimore, revisiting one of the most exuberant chapters of his career, and why he’s always happiest venturing into unfamiliar territory.
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Mickey McCarter: You’ve lived in Baltimore for quite a while now, and you’ve become a familiar face in Washington too. Does playing here almost feel like a hometown show these days?
Thomas Dolby: Yeah, it really does. I mean, I’ve played in DC over the years, but I’ve lived in Baltimore for the last 14 years or so, so it really feels like a home crowd. A lot of my friends come down from Baltimore, and from Johns Hopkins Peabody where I teach, and hopefully some of my students too.
MM: I think that’s exciting as a fan — not just of your music, but of that whole music-video era that you helped define. You’ve really become part of the local cultural tapestry. I’ve seen you here doing everything from book talks with Amanda Palmer to sitting in with Berlin and other bands, and it’s been fun watching you become a regular part of the scene. [Note: As far as these local appearances go, I was perhaps most excited to see Thomas sit in last year with his former boss, Lene Lovich, in a performance of “New Toy,” which he wrote as a member of her band!]
TD: Well, it’s definitely become a home away from home.
When I first moved to the United States from the UK, I moved to Los Angeles, and I never completely felt at home there. I always had a sort of love-hate relationship with California.
The East Coast is much more my speed. Baltimore — Fells Point, where I live, and Mount Vernon, where I work — feel very English to me. A lot of the same architecture, the same brickwork and so on. Baltimore Harbor, which I overlook, could very easily be a port like Liverpool or Bristol or Newcastle before the Blitz. It just feels familiar.
MM: Let’s talk about Totally Tubular.
This year you’ve reunited the Lost Toy People and you’re returning to material from Aliens Ate My Buick. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised when that announcement came out.
During the pandemic, I finally had the chance to catch up on The Speed of Sound, and one thing that stayed with me was your account of how bassist Terry Jackson’s death affected you personally and seemed to close the book on the Lost Toy People. What made this feel like the right time to reunite the band and revisit that music?
TD: In 2024, I did the first Totally Tubular tour, and I was playing solo. It was just me with the looping setup on the computer and the video projections behind me.
When they asked me back, I thought, “Well, I’m not just going to repeat the same show. I ought to do something a bit different.”
It’s nearly 40 years since I put the Lost Toy People together, and the album we made, Aliens Ate My Buick, is really unique in the canon of my albums because it’s almost 100 percent extroverted. It’s very on the nose, very risqué.
I’ve had flashes of that before in songs like “She Blinded Me with Science,” “Hyperactive!” and “The Pirate Twins,” but generally speaking my records are much more introspective — more cinematic and atmospheric.
Aliens Ate My Buick was the first album I wrote after moving to Los Angeles, and it’s almost like a postcard home: “Hey, Mum, I’m in L.A., and I’m having a wild time.”
Watch the official music video for “Airhead” by Thomas Dolby on YouTube:
MM: So part of it was simply wanting to do something different this time around?
TD: Yeah, mainly.
I’d always thought it would be nice to play those songs because I really haven’t performed most of them over the last couple of decades. They’re very live songs, so it wouldn’t really have been appropriate to do them electronically.
The obvious thing was to see who from the original Lost Toy People was still out there playing.
I’m very happy that Laura Creamer, who played percussion and sang backing vocals, and Larry Treadwell, who played guitar, are back. Butch Thomas, who played saxophone with us, is joining us for parts of the tour as well, along with some more recent collaborators.
Matt Hector is a terrific drummer I’ve worked with on and off over the years, and Terry Jackson’s substantial shoes are being filled by an amazing bass player and singer named Divinity Roxx. She’s probably best known as the musical director for Beyoncé’s band.
MM: That’s quite a lineup.
One thing that’s always fascinated me about your career is that people often describe it as a series of reinventions. Musician. Producer. Film composer. Entrepreneur. Educator.
But after reading The Speed of Sound, I came away thinking it wasn’t really reinvention at all. It seemed like you’ve simply followed your curiosity wherever it happened to lead. When you look back, do you see a series of reinventions, or does it all feel like one continuous journey?
TD: That’s a really good question.
I think curiosity is probably the common thread. I’m always very drawn to the new thing. I’m very happy floundering around in a field where I really have no right to be there, trying to work out how things function and whether I can contribute something.
I’ve always enjoyed that feeling of being a beginner.
Sometimes people have said to me, “You seem to reinvent yourself every 10 years,” and maybe there’s some truth in that. But it never felt calculated. It wasn’t as though I sat down one day and thought, “Right, now I’m going to become an entrepreneur,” or, “Now I’m going to teach,” or, “Now I’m going to write novels.”
Those opportunities just presented themselves, and they appealed to me because they were new territory.
I’ve always liked poking around and seeing what I can come up with.
I suppose that’s been the pattern all the way through my career.
Watch the official music video for “Hot Sauce” by Thomas Dolby on YouTube:
MM: You mentioned teaching. At Peabody, you’re working with students who are preparing for careers in film scoring, games, and emerging media at a moment when artificial intelligence can imitate musical styles almost instantly.
What do you tell your students about AI? Particularly the impact it may have on their careers?
TD: Well, it’s a huge topic, obviously.
What’s interesting is that a lot of my students are much more skeptical about AI than I am. I think people assume that because I’m known for technology, I’d be the one saying, “Let’s use AI for everything,” but actually many of my students are philosophically opposed to it.
They’re worried that it removes too much of the creative process.
My own feeling is that I’ve always been an optimist. I’ve always looked at new technology as a potential way to express myself in a new way.
The danger is when people use it simply to eliminate the work they don’t want to do. If all you’re doing is asking AI to write the music, then you’re not really developing as a composer.
On the other hand, if it helps remove some of the drudgery — if it gives you more time to think creatively — that can be a very positive thing.
The point is that it’s really the scarcity of tools, and the hurdles you come across, and the creative solutions you invent to get around those hurdles — that’s where the gold is.
That’s where you discover your own voice.
If everything becomes effortless, you lose something very important.
So I tell my students that AI is just another tool. Like any tool, it can be used well or badly. The important thing is that you’re still making the creative decisions.
You’re still the author.
MM: Before we wrap up, I wanted to mention something from last year’s Totally Tubular tour that really meant a lot to me.
The 40th anniversary of Live Aid seemed to pass with surprisingly little attention — but during your show, you found a way to acknowledge it. In doing so, you also paid tribute to David Bowie, who was obviously such an important figure in your own musical life.
As someone who spent that day glued to the television back in 1985, I just wanted to thank you for keeping that moment — and its spirit — alive.
TD: Thank you.
There’s often not a dry eye in the house when we get to that part of the show.
I think Live Aid has actually become more important with the passage of time than any of us realized at the time. It wasn’t just another concert.
When you look back now and think about the people who were on that stage — David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, so many extraordinary artists — it really was one of those moments that can never happen again.
I’m very happy that people still respond to it.
MM: Well, I appreciate you taking the time today. I’m looking forward to seeing both the full Lost Toy People lineup and the rest of the festival when it comes through Washington.
TD: Thank you very much. Nice talking to you.
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Thomas Dolby headlines the Totally Tubular Festival at Warner Theatre in DC on Friday, August 7.
Thomas Dolby
w/ A Flock of Seagulls, The Producers, Animation, The Escape Club, Tommy Tutone, Men Without Hats
Totally Tubular Festival
Warner Theatre
Friday, August 7
Doors @ 6pm
$75-$170.80 Reserved
$358.70 VIP Meet and Greet
All ages
