Thunder
Robert Johnson's Tombstone
Over 52 minutes of Classic Blues based Classic Rock!
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 in the world, effortlessly making the transition from clubs to theatres to 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 MTV. A combination of the onset of grunge and record label inertia meant this was as far as it went. By 1992 Thunder were very popular indeed: their second LP (“Laughing On Judgement Day”) entering 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 has been 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. A successful European tour with Deep Purple followed which saw the band impress the numerous fans with riveting performances.
Since the 2005 release of the highly acclaimed “The Magnificent Seventh”, Thunder have kept being very busy indeed. The band played 2 UK tours, 2 European Tours, done lots of festivals and finished off with a triumphant appearance at the Monsters of Rock Festival at Milton Keynes in the UK in June. Harry performed with Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan at the Teenage Cancer Trust show at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Chris has assumed the role of in house designer for the band’s label. Luke wrote and produced the new album and Ben engineered and mixed it. Danny has spent the whole time (when not singing of course) plotting world domination for their record label (STC Recordings).
Luke Morley says: “Robert Johnson’s Tombstone is possibly our most cohesive album to date. The title track is one of the best things we’ve ever done. It says everything there is to say about THUNDER and where we come from musically.
There’s nobody else doing what we do right now and this album gets right into the soul of what we are. I didn’t realise until the album was finished that lyrically a lot of the material deals with temptation and regret, so what that says about us I don’t know! Despite that, it’s still an uplifting album though.
I can’t wait for people to hear it and it’s going to be great to play it live.
We went to Spain to record a lot of the album but instead of heading to the beach we rented a place up in the mountains to keep us out of trouble! It was all big, sweeping views down to the coast; very dramatic and inspiring. Hopefully some of that comes through in what we’ve done. With every album we’ve made for our own label we get closer to defining what we are as a band and that’s because we really are making music for ourselves. There’s a purity about that. We know what we want to do, and because we answer to ourselves only, we’re completely free to get on with it. People that buy our albums and come to our shows know that, and I’m sure that’s partly why we’re still here”.
Also check out - The Magnificent Seventh and Shooting At The Sun -and Bang - Thunder's other three cd's!
THUNDER: Robert Johnson's Tombstone Imported from Italy by Listening Post Music
Price- $19.00