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Lightning may have struck twice for Thunder but since their 2011 comeback they have produced some of their best work via albums and shows
Photo: Darren Griffiths
The millennium has marked the “second coming” of several bands who had differing forms of success in the late 1980s (and later) and who – reconstituted – went on to to gain more success or consolidate early triumphs. We might mention in despatches – and covered regularly at GRTR! – Europe, FM, Dan Reed Network, Gun and Quireboys. We might add also, Thunder.
As Pete Whalley put it in 2018: “Thunder came along too late in the day to be part of the Giants Of Rock generation, but as Old Mother Time slowly but inexorably erodes the bands of the sixties/seventies, Thunder find themselves in the relatively unique position of being a ‘classic’ rock band, with a pretty much original line-up, and still able to ‘cut it’.”
The band developed from the band Terraplane. Interviewed by Jason Ritchie in 2003 drummer Harry James gave the reason: “The pressure put upon Terraplane by the record label was immense! They initiated a change in our musical style and appearance! Just look what happened to my hair!!!!!!! The clothes………..!!!!!! Oh the memories just come flooding back !!
We had had enough of being pushed around, and wanted to play the music WE wanted to play-Hence, the birth of Thunder!
We experienced the same pressures in Thunder, to a lesser degree, especially in the EMI days. And outside pressures managed to break the band up in 2000! But, thankfully, those pressures have now gone.
And that’s why we’re back again and can just concentrate on making music, without those destructive outside influences !!!!”
The band achieved chart success in 1990 (on both sides of the Atlantic) with their debut album ‘Backstreet Symphony’ and even greater success with the follow-up ‘Laughing On Judgement Day’. It wasn’t until 1996 that the bass revolving door was stopped by current incumbent Chris Childs.
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We always thought of ourselves as outsiders, as we were never embraced by the mainstream media in the UK. We never got on Radio 1′s playlist or anything like that. We just concentrated on playing live and making the best albums we could and not bother too much what was going on around us. Fashion is a dangerous thing. With Terraplane, we experienced that with the label. |
After a two year hiatus, the band returned in 2002 but by 2009 they had decided to call it a day again (not long after our Childline Rocks review). They cited their other interests.
During this time, for example, Danny Bowes was involved with artist management and there was an off and on musical partnership between Bowes and guitarist Luke Morley which had produced two albums including ‘Mo’s Barbecue‘ in 2004. Morley formed the The Union releasing a self-titled album in 2010.
The band reformed for High Voltage festival in 2011 and, following various live appearances since 2014, have released consistently well received albums backed up with consistently entertaining live shows.
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After having two and a half years away, to then get back into Thunder where you left off, and the first shows you play are in arenas, its a bit of a weird one. We got back together primarily for the Monsters of Rock and we made a record subsequently, then we decided to release it ourselves and play record companies, it has been a real learning curve. Although its been hard work its been massive fun, going out and playing in May (2003) was great. |
Photo: Steve Perks
Reviewing the band’s Astoria gig in 2003, and the opening song taken from the most recent album ‘Shooting At The Sun’ Ian Pollard noted “This song - is already a bona-fide live classic that makes a superb set opener. The packed theatre is literally bouncing from the off (suitably encouraged by Danny doing his aerobics on stage), and there must be some concern amongst the building’s insurers.”
| An essential cornerstone of British Classic Rock (Pete Feenstra) |
Pete Feenstra summed things up when reviewing the band’s 2011 album, recorded in 2005 on their Japanese tour:
For a band with so many career highs Thunder was never a band in danger of diminishing returns. Sure you could argue they carved out power ballad/hard rock niche and stuck to it, but in Luke Morley they had an inventive song writer with an eye for a catchy hook, good lyrics and the guitarist skills to bring his creations to life. And while the band was always the sum of its parts, charismatic front man Danny Bowes adds that extra dimension that make the band special…
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Do you find the UK rock scene is in better shape, particularly with all the coverage and success The Darkness are getting? Anything that helps rock music is a good thing. My own personal opinion on The Darkness is given that it took them eight years to get anywhere, they’re probably not taking the Mick. I think they’ve decided to do it like they do to help the radio get round it. The radio in this country have never been massive fans of rock, they don’t play it. But if they can play a band who are seen to be tongue in cheek and poking fun at rock music that helps the radio as they feel comfortable with that. It’s almost like they are playing the radio at their own game. That can only be good. If they open the door and get record labels all excited about rock music, the labels will start signing rock bands again. You’ll get a new wave of bands coming through and The Darkness will have paved the way. |
In July 2005 Thunder played the annual Guilfest when Jason Ritchie thought they should have been on the main stage but the following year, in February 2006, Jason Ritchie commented on the band’s Hammersmith Apollo gig “Thunder have a very large and passionate following. Trends and bands may go but you always know you will get entertained at a Thunder show. The band play with ease and Danny Bowes is one of the best singers and frontmen around, working the audience with ease.”
Photo: Darran Scott
In June 2006 Nikk Gunns witnessed Thunder’s gig at the return of Monsters Of Rock (which ultimately morphed into Download) whilst Stuart A. Hamilton opined “we all know why they were so far up the bill, but they were a real revelation. I’ve seen them a fair few times over the years, good, bad and indifferent, but they pulled out all the stops, working the audience in tremendous style, getting the party going after the yawnfest that had went before.” (Queensryche, ed.)
Dean Dukelow in November 2006 wondered why the band didn’t garner greater (wider) acclaim.
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Morley’s guitar riffs and soloing delight the ears and of course the percussive delights of Harry James never tire on the listener – he is a very underrated drummer. Thunder are on a roll, both live and in the studio and long may this continue. **** Jason Ritchie Album review (Robert Johnson’s Tombstone, 2006) |
Pete Feenstra chatted to Harry James and Chris Childs at the Cambridge Rock Festival in 2007.
At Chepstow Castle in July 2007 Bill Leslie said “Always willing to inject songs from their latest releases Thunder ensure that even those of us that have been watching them live since ’89 find the set interesting and fresh.” And he commented on the band’s headlining Cambridge Rock gig in August 2007 another of several festival appearances that summer, “what a pleasure it was to witness a band nearly lost to us forever a few years ago once again grace a large, festival stage.”
Photo: Darran Scott
Pete Feenstra added: “Thunder don’t deal in the unexpected, but what they deliver is a stupendous rock show that lives off the back of some compelling melodic hooks, lots of sing-alongs, plenty of hand clapping, bags of fun and of course crunching guitars and Hammond a plenty.
Thunder take it all back to how it was many years ago, and for most of us at Cambridge 2007, this was the band that personified what the festival was all about. Thunder were simply magnificent.”
Photo: Ian Pollard
In November 2007 Dave Hunter reviewed the band’s set at Bristol Academy where evidently the band were shaking up their set-list: “…Thunder took the stage, in front of a suitably packed, mixed age audience, seemingly hell bent on banishing recent criticisms of predictability and overblown crowd participation.
Even though there has never been such a thing as a bad Thunder show, this was to be a departure from the expected, keeping everyone guessing as to just what was coming next. Worn out songs were retired, long forgotten ones reborn and a healthy dose of newer material was presented as more than ample replacement.”
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Another fine effort with songs you can easily see making their set list on their upcoming tour and the band are all firing on six musically. One of the band’s finer efforts. **** Jason Ritchie Album review (Bang!, 2008) |
In late 2008 the band released the third in a series of EPs including The Joy Of Six. Jason Ritchie commenting: “The good thing about Thunder is that they are keeping their older fans but are also gaining a whole new generation of fans as can be seen at their live shows.”
In July 2008 Thunder were part of a three-way arena tour with Def Leppard and Whitesnake and, in July 2009, part of the inaugral Sonisphere festival.
In October 2008 Pete Feenstra chatted to Danny and Luke from Thunder.
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We stopped as Danny wanted to do something else and I didn’t want to carry on with Thunder without Danny. The other thing he was doing he did but didn’t enjoy doing it, and during this time The Union started, which is very time consuming. To make another Thunder would mean a lot of work for me, not for the others (laughs)! I am too busy to undertake writing the songs. I am not saying we wouldn’t do it in the future. We’ve stopped and started twice with Thunder, so you won’t get me to predict anything! I don’t want to say ‘no’ and I don’t want to say ‘yes’. The same applies to Bowes/Morley, it is all about timing. If there was a period (of time) then all these things are a possibility. |
Thunder’s essentially third coming, reforming for High Voltage in 2011 coincided with GRTR!’s move to a new publishing format. In May 2013 they toured with Journey and Whitesnake. Unusually GRTR! reviewed the tour at three different venues.
Live Editor Dave Wilson noted “It’s a brave band that put Thunder on before them as they always have been one of the most entertaining live acts in rock. With the band now only getting together occasionally for the odd Christmas gig you would forgive them for being a bit rusty at the start of this tour, but nothing could have been further from the truth.”
And In Manchester David Randall: “Thunder opened the show in yet another example of their stop-start farewell. Whatever, it is a real treat to hear some of their classics. They are too good to be hidden away as a distant memory of “what might have been”.
Even if Danny Bowes now looks like Everyman’s Dad he has the character and charisma to work the crowd whilst the rest of the band churn out quality songs like ‘Love Walked In’ and ‘Low Life In High Places’.”
Reviewing the Wembley Arena gig, Andy Nathan mused “Their recording days are over and they may only occasionally convene these days, but they have the same party starting effect as their fellow South-East Londoners Status Quo did at Live Aid. They even led off with their best known song and traditional audience participation number ‘Dirty Love’, getting the whole of the floor to their feet from the off to set the tone for the rest of the set.” Andy added “if only everything in life was as reliable as Thunder.”
Pete Feenstra chatted to Luke Morley (left) and Danny Bowes, London, 25 February 2011 (Camera: Eric Harvey)
Photo: Andy Nathan
Andy didn’t have long to wait for his next Thunder gig, as they appeared at Download in June 2016
“…the Londoners showed with their ability to work a crowd exactly why a Donington appearance in 1990 sparked a massive surge in popularity, and why they were then festival perennials for nearly 20 years.”
Ten years after our first live review of the band, Jason Ritchie saw the band supporting Mott The Hoople in November 2013 whilst – promoting their first studio album for years - Dave Wilson reviewed their Glasgow gig in February 2015.
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What the band have produced is yet another highly polished collection of blues laden rock songs which will have the Thunder faithful smiling from ear to ear. **** Dave Wilson Album review (Wonder Days, 2015) |
The band toured the new album in March 2015 when Andy Nathan was surprised as anyone that the band had recorded their first studio album in seven years.
“…trotting out a standard greatest hits at festivals or multi-band bills, or playing an annual Christmas show for fans is one thing. To move forward is much harder, but the creative juices that had run dry have been flowing again to the extent that the Londoners have not only recorded a new album, ‘Wonder Days’, but by common consent it is their finest since their critical and commercial peak of the first half of the nineties, and even reached the top 10.”
The album ‘Wonder Days’ was voted ‘Top Album’ by the GRTR! review team in 2015. It was Andy’s top album whilst long-time fan Jason Ritchie summed it up “They are back with one of their strongest albums in ages. Rockers, ballads, acoustic workouts, sing-a-long choruses this album has it all, classic Thunder.”
Photo: Paul Clampin
Thunder started 2016 with a UK tour, featuring guests Terrorvision and King King. Andy Nathan:
Once seen as the cheeky Londoners reliably entertaining loyal crowds in theatre sized venues or livening up a festival crowd halfway up the bill, since returning for a third time a couple of years ago Thunder have hit a purple patch in their career.
‘Wonder Days’ was a quite superb comeback album which also returned them to the top 10, and now 27 years into their career, for the first time they headlined an arena tour.”"Many will tell you that Thunder’s own ‘wonder days’ were in their earliest years, when they were thicker and darker of hair and stole the show when they opened Download. For me though, this triumphant gig proved that, for all the seventies themed nostalgia, they are a band that has returned in the finest form of their career yet.
Photo: Paul Clampin
The band consolidated their purple patch appearing at the second Ramblin’ Man Fair in July 2016. Reviewer Dave Atkinson was, like many, re-acquainting himself with the band. But, as he enthused: “The swagger was back.” That swagger continued at Steelhouse Festival when Darren Griffiths expanded: “It’s a shame that it has taken nearly the best part of 30 years to get to this point and the band have undergone a much-deserved renaissance in recent years just when it looked like they had thrown in the towel.
Well-oiled gems like ‘River Of Pain’, ‘Low Life’ and ‘Love Walked In’ were shoehorned into a one and a half hour set that could have been much longer. We have waited a long time to see Thunder on top of the mountain and, boy, did we enjoy the view.”
Photo: Darren Griffiths
The band appeared in our end of year popular poll (2016) for the album ‘All You Can Eat’ whilst also making reviewers’ best live act lists.
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The claims that Thunder are bigger, better and harder than before are indeed born out by their new CD ‘Rip It Up’, but the inevitable hype almost misses the point. Yes, the album is excellent, but the real reason for Thunder’s successful return is their own indefatigable spirit which never settles for complacency. It’s also the very reason their fans have stuck with them over the years. Thunder still have plenty in the tank and their enduring brand of Classic Rock has come round again. This is their time and ‘Rip It Up’ gives them all the ammunition they need to take full advantage. **** Pete Feenstra Album review (Rip It Up, 2017) |
Pete Feenstra chatted to Danny Bowes for his show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. First broadcast 5 February 2017
Photo: Johann Wierzbicki
The band’s tour in March 2017 to promote the new album – with support from fellow Grotto inductees Cats In Space – was witnessed by Dave Wilson in Glasgow but Dave was less than impressed:
“The party which was served up however proved to be a bit of a sad cheese and wine affair with flat Prosecco accompanied by a dodgy stereo…Having said that, I did read a comment from someone else who had been at the show who stated it was the best Thunder performance he had witnessed. Just goes to prove that one man’s flat Prosecco is another man’s vintage Champagne. As Thunder once said ‘Welcome To The Party’!”
It seems that Dave was not so impressed with the sound mix and the elongated Luke Morley solos where he was thrust centre stage. “To be honest if I was Ben Matthews and Chris Childs I would be less than pleased with this development.”
The 2017 tour was commemorated on the multi-format Stage release in 2018. Also in 2018 the band returned to Download, where Andy Nathan stated: “The great thing about Thunder is their rare knack of combining showmanship – Danny’s twinkly Dad charm (though a Little Mix t-shirt was perhaps taking irony too far) and Luke Morley’s classic guitar hero poses- with accomplished musicianship, topped off with Danny’s soulful but ever precise vocals”
Photo: Darren Griffiths
A year earlier Cats In Space had taken the edge off Thunder’s gig in Glasgow and that pairing happened again in July 2018 at Caerphilly Castle. Darren Griffiths was convinced though: “Thunder never play a bad show, tonight was no different.”
With the release of the band’s “stripped back” album ‘Please Rain Seated’ in 2019 David Randall assessed the band’s more recent impact:
Let’s be quite clear: ‘Rip It Up’ was one of the best albums of 2017, a vibrant, relevant chapter in the modern-day Thunder storybook. It must surprise the band themselves that they have been allowed to “retire” a couple of times – once even in more recent memory – only to come back with renewed vigour and a bigger audience. The truth is not hard to find. In a topsy turvy millennium music business there will always be a place for quality songs and musicianship. Even better if you have an admirable back catalogue to draw upon.
Maybe with more (younger) competition things would be harder for these veteran bands who effectively stalled at the first hurdle “back in the day”. This can only help explain the renaissance of bands like Thunder, Europe, and FM?
The persistent trend for consumer quick fix and a grasshopper mentality and of course the lack of real mainstream exposure for new bands via radio or TV and – moreover – lack of real investment, leads to stasis. It allows old rockers to breathe again, especially if the original line-up is pretty much intact and the creative marbles untainted.
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You have to think that Thunder have missed the boat a bit, because in a different age ‘Please Remain Seated’ would be termed “unplugged”. It’s like a group of ageing rockers are getting a long-hibernated vanity project out of their system. Of course, the songs always stand up – as does Danny Bowes’ voice – but some fans (or the yet to be converted) may have been better off with a more natural successor to an excellent previous album. It means essentially that the true successor will be delayed. And following a trend the band will be promoting the album in February with not a large rock venue tour but a rather more civilised excursion taking in some of the finest concert halls such as Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. All they need to do is add orchestra and maybe their journey will be complete. ***1/2 David Randall Album review (Please Remain Seated, 2019) |
The “civilised excursion” came to St.David’s Hall in Cardiff but the less rocky exposition confused some including our reviewer/photographer Darren Griffiths who queried:
“When the Please Remain Seated album and tour was announced, it brought a mixed response from myself: on the one hand, it was interesting to see Thunder doing something different from their usual electric shows. What I was fearful of: would the energy normally present go missing in this laid back setting, and hadn’t it been done 15 years previously by Bon Jovi, to a muted response?”
Photo: Darren Griffiths
But Darren was won over even after the opening number ‘Love Walked In’ which sounded “almost hymnal”. He accepted “Thunder have done something different if not original – some of it works and some of it doesn’t – but what is always guaranteed is just how damn good they are at doing it.”
Before the two year hiatus that was Lockdown, Thunder appeared – in more recognisable form – at The Garage in London (September 2019) promoting a band-curated ‘Greatest Hits’ collection. Andy Nathan: “…to hear their old favourites at such close quarters and among such a raucous atmosphere made this one of my favourites of the countless times I have seen them.”
Photo: Andy Nathan
In October Andy attended Danny Bowes and Luke Morley’s Unplugged and Unscripted Evening where between reminiscences the pair played acoustic renditions of some classic songs. This was a similar format to Bowes and Ben Matthews outing in 2012.
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Thunder fans will love this album as it touches all the band’s key strengths – memorable songs, party rockers, ballads, lyrics to make you think and above all, well-crafted hard rock tunes. An Album of the Year and one that could turn out to be their best since their legendary debut album. Album review (All The Right Noises, 2021) |
2021/2 proved that Thunder were not resting on their laurels with the release of two studio albums - ‘All The Right Noises’ and a double album ‘Dopamine’. The former made Pete Whalley’s “Best of 2013″ when he enthused “Messrs Morley, Bowes and &Co. must have made a pact with the devil to be sounding this good at this stage of their career. Quite possibly the best album they’ll ever make.”
In May 2022 at Wembley Arena Andy Nathan reflected on whether “we have taken for granted the reliable and unfussy excellence of the band…
I was thinking special mention must be made of Danny Bowes, at a time when the declining vocal prowess of many of the stars we grew up on – Coverdale, Bon Jovi etc- is a talking point.
Danny always had one of Britain’s classic blues rock voices but watching him was a masterclass- his tone and diction and ability to hit all the original notes exemplary. While still quick witted, the frontman did noticeably cut back on the dad dancing and ‘sing-along a-Danny’ of old, but that was a small price to pay for retaining peak vocal performance.”
Photo: Darren Griffiths
Sadly Bowes sustained an accidental head injury when falling at his home in the summer of 2022 followed by a stroke in hospital. This immediately put future plans on hold although he returned to his Planet Rock radio show in February 2023.
He told Planet Rock: “I will not be performing anytime soon, but my voice has come back. So, what it means is hopefully I’m good to go when it comes to doing the radio again. So here I am!”
In the meantime, Luke Morley has released his second solo album- Songs From The Blue Room – which has been well received. He tours the UK in January 2024.
Thunder have had some setbacks over the years, and also personally, with Ben Matthews countering cancer twice and not least Danny Bowes’ more recent debilitation. As with other contemporaries who have stayed together through thick and thin, and arguably producing some of their best work 30 years on, Thunder should be cherished and applauded for both their endurance and consistent quality.
As our reviewers reflect, more recently Thunder just got better and better. This is a key attribute for our Grotto inductees especially allied to longevity and it applies to Thunder more than most. We look forward to Danny Bowes’ full recovery and return to continue their story.
Story coordination: David Randall
Contributors: Dave Atkinson, Dean Dukelow, Pete Feenstra, Fluffmeister, Darren Griffiths, Nikk Gunns, Stuart A. Hamilton, Dave Hunter, Bill Leslie, Andy Nathan, Ian Pollard, David Randall, Jason Ritchie, Pete Whalley, Dave Wilson
Competition (Ends 22.10.23) – win Thunder reissues!
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Latest session: Sunday 14 April
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.
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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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