Thunder
Bang
Imported from italy by Listening-Post Music
Reminiscent of great ‘70s Classic British Rock bands and upbeat cockney sense of style.
Formed in 1989, from the ashes of the pop rock combo Terraplane, Thunder were discovered by Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, who produced their first and second LPs.
The band quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting live acts of the scene, effortlessly making the transition from clubs to theatres and then stadiums. With their fusion of music influenced by all the great ‘70s Classic British Rock bands and upbeat cockney rapport, audiences warmed to them everywhere they went.
1990 saw the release of their critically acclaimed debut album “Backstreet
Symphony” which went ahead to sell 250,000 copies in the US, due
to “Dirty Love” achieving 6 weeks at number 1 on Dial MTV.
A combination of the onset of grunge and record label inertia meant this
was as far as it went.
By 1992 Thunder were still very popular anyway: their second LP (“Laughing On Judgement Day”) entered the UK charts at n. 2. Touring included South America with Iron Maiden and Europe with Extreme. In 1995 they opened for Bon Jovi on their European stadium tour and once again, predictably, stole the show. During the first 10 years they were together, Thunder notched up an incredible 18 top 40 singles in the UK releasing another three successful studio albums.
Having become disillusioned and frustrated, they split up for 2 years,
only to be lured back for the special guest spot at 2002’s UK Monsters
Of Rock Tour, where the band’s passion was re-ignited. The tour
was a resounding success for them, so much so that a new LP was recorded
and released in March 2003. “Shooting At The Sun” saw the
band travel back to their earliest musical influences, with powerful riffs,
soaring melodies and sheer classic rock class stamped all over it. Two
more successful studio albums followed in 2005 (“The Magnificent
Seventh”) and 2008 (“Robert Johnson’s Tombstone”)
all followed by acclaimed tours of Europe and Japan.
Thunder enters their 20th Anniversary year with a new album: “Bang!”.
In a never ending quest for new recording experiences, the band decided not to return to Spain, where they recorded their last LP (Robert Johnson’s Tombstone), instead opting for a seriously old castle in the west of England.
Danny Bowes says: “We’ve known Marge the owner for years, and always felt her castle would make a great studio, but it was only last year that we decided to see if we were right. She loved the idea, so we dipped a toe in the water by shipping our recording kit down there for a few days, just to try it out with some guitar overdubs and percussion. It was perfect, with 2 foot thick stone walls, and loads of different rooms to choose from, everything sounded brilliant. It was a no brainer, we had do the whole album there, so we invaded the place, recorded 20 + songs, and stayed for 3 months. Marge loved it, and she got on the record too!”
Luke Morley says “We’ve always made our best
albums in a rural, English setting so Walton Castle was the perfect location
for us. We had cables and wires running everywhere but it was definitely
worth it, as it’s the best sounding album we’ve ever made.
I knew we had a great batch of songs so it was a question of giving ourselves
the best possible circumstances to bring them all to fruition, and we
definitely function better when we’re having fun. We moved in, set
up our studio, frightened the local wildlife and befriended the local
landlords (who were inconsolable when we moved out), as were the better
looking sheep in the neighbouring field, well that’s what Harry
said anyway...” The resulting record is a great collection of songs,
assembled and delivered in the way only Thunder know how. Several are
surely destined to become future Thunder classics.
Also check out - The Magnificent Seventh, and Shooting At The Sun and Robert Johnson's tombstone- Thunder's other cd's!
THUNDER: Bang. Imported from Italy by Listening Post Music
Price- $19.00