Thomas Hanke, born in Leipzig - Germany, started playing mouth harp when he was 14. In few years, he already built himself a considerable reputation in his hometown. At first, his main focus lay at the traditional playing technique of the blues harp. Later, he started concentrating on amplified playing. Nowadays, he incorporates both styles in his work.

Hanke is one of the few who was allowed by the GDR regime to play mouth harp as his profession (in 1988 he acquired the official licence with the highest possible grade in the category Jazz). Two years later, together with guitar player and singer Joerg Schneider, he founded the blues duo 'Last Fair Deal'. Until 2006 almost 1000 concerts followed in clubs, cafes and at festivals.
In this epoch, both CDs of Last Fair Deal were created: Number One and Another Lucid Moment (R.U.M. Records / Loewenzahn-Verlag). Furthermore, Hanke was frequently booked by several bands and musicians for live concerts as a special guest, or for productions as studio musician.

The two protagonists of Last Fair Deal devoted themselves to their own projects from 2006 onwards. This resulted in the album: Out of Pain (R.U.M. Records/Loewenzahn-Verlag) by Thomas Hanke and Plaintive Cry in 2011. Within this project, he succeeded in bringing artists such as Charlie Musselwhite, Marc Breitfelder & Georg Schroeter and Joe Filisko & Eric Noden to Leipzig for joint concerts.

In 2023, he began working together with pianist Tobias Deutsch. The symbiotic collaboration developed into concert pieces, which were released on the album: Monday Blue in December 2024.

After the start of the Hohner Affiliated Customizer Program in 2010, Thomas Hanke was appointed the first Hohner Affiliated Customizer by Joe Filisko, head of the program. Since then he has been working as an Affiliated Highend Customizer in cooperation with Hohner.

Thomas Hanke also imparts his knowledge to interested harmonica players in courses and individual lessons.