Anthony Benedict Thompson, known professionally as Tony Thompson and Darkboy, is a British singer. He sung in Benz, who had two UK Top 40 singles, sung on Phats & Small's second album This Time Around, including on "Change", which charted at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart, and Four Story, who partook in Making Your Mind Up.
Career
Anthony Benedict Thompson joined Benz in 1993; his nickname in the band was Darkboy, and the other members were Tim Shade (Benjamin Balogun) and B.I.G. Ben (Benedict Ofoedu). He and Balogun were old friends, and Balogun invited him to join after seeing him walking down the street. Their first single was "Boom Rock Soul", a term used by Benz to describe their music; they used a December 1995 issue of Echoes to explain that Balogun contributed the Boom, or "the deep hip hop, the hard bass", while Ofoedu contributed the Rock, and Thompson contributed the Soul. "Boom Rock Soul" charted at No. 62; subsequent singles "Urban City Girl", "Miss Parker", "If I Remember", and "On A Sun-Day" charted at No. 31, No. 35, No. 59, and No. 73 respectively.
In 1999, Thompson and Ofoedu provided vocals for Phats & Small's "Turn Around", "Feel Good", and "Tonite"; which charted at No. 2, No. 7, and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. He was promoted to main vocalist for their second album, This Time Around; the song's title track charted at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, and Thompson lip-synched to it on Top of the Pops. He also sung on the album's "Change", which charted at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart. In late 2003, Thompson joined Four Story, a band formed from Ofoedu, Mark Brightman, and Rodney Williams, who had previously been in REDhill with Shane Lynch; they took part in Making Your Mind Up, with the intention of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. They came fifth. Thompson, Ofoedu, and Phats & Small reunited for an appearance on stage in the 2015 NYE MarbsFest at the Brentwood Centre; he used a 2015 appearance on Phoenix FM that month to advertise the event to note that he had started his own fitness, nutrition, and athletics company, and that he was an ex-cage fighter.
References
People from Buckhurst Hill
Singers from Essex
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people