Musicians Danny Bowes, Harry James, and Luke Morley worked together in the 80s-era [tab]blues outfit Terraplane. After experiencing what Morley has called "a 'eureka' moment", the guys devised a high-energy British rock project directly inspired by the likes of Bad Company, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin. The aptly named Thunder spent a year or so in constant touring and gradually built a positive reputation that helped its debut album, named Backstreet Symphony, reach a wide audience. Released 4 April 1990 by EMI / Geffen, it became an international success. The album didn't just get RIAA certified as 'Gold' but earned them a spot on BBC's 'Top of the Pops', playing their hard-edged version of "Gimme Some Lovin'" to a global audience. A well-received performance at Castle Donington's 'Monsters of Rock' event before gigantic crowds brought it home to the guys how far they'd broken through.
After touring with female-fronted rockers Heart and other artists with the same style, the guys prepared the second album, which they ominously titled Laughing on Judgement Day. Despite their deliberately 'retro' sound quite unlike the alternative and post-punk trends of the time (or, in fact, precisely because of their sticking to their guns), their sophomore album achieved even more success. Released on 24 August 1992, it proved an even bigger hit in the U.K. than their debut, reaching the number two slot on the nation's top albums chart. Its singles include "Everybody Wants Her" and "Low Life in High Places", the titles alone showing Thunder's interest in classic rock n' roll hedonism.
Bassist "Snake" Luckhurst left the band citing 'personal differences', a move that wasn't just Thunder's first line-up change but a sign of future turmoil to come. He got replaced by Swedish musician Mikael Höglund, and the band went on to record their third album, 1995's Behind Closed Doors, before facing a dilemma with their label. Finding that "most of the people who'd been there at the beginning of our tenure had moved on", as Morley put it, as well as that talk of a contract extension had terms that they simply couldn't accept, Thunder jumped from EMI.
Despite being championed by U.S. contemporaries such as Aerosmith and Guns n' Roses, the guys still faced a tough time making a lasting impact 'across the pond'. Though focused on pumping out more and more material, Morley later remarked that the mid-90s found Thunder "suffering from 'hamster in the wheel' syndrome". Mikael Höglund was unavailable for recording the band's fourth album, called The Thrill of it All, and so the 1996 release had bass duty left with Morley. For the subsequent tour, the band recruited bassist Chris Childs, who stayed with the band to record their fifth album. Although Giving the Game Away, released in 1999, earned a positive fan response, it had become totally clear how Thunder had disconnected from a record industry whose connected network of radio stations, TV networks, and music magazines dismissed the guys' sort of melodic hard rock as either endangered or extinct.
In Autumn of that year, the group announced an upcoming split, and their final tour concluded in May 2000. Still, Thunder's interest in new technology and the continuing camaraderie felt among the band's members meant that they didn't drop off the radar. After being given a slot in the 2002 'Monsters of Rock' shows, Thunder decided to return in 2003 with a new album, titled Shooting at the Sun, which the guys released on their own record label. Fully embracing the internet's ability to unite hard rock fans across the globe, 2005 resulted in the band's seventh album, aptly titled The Magnificent Seventh! by the guys. It earned praise from many critics, with musicOMH writer Neil Daniels remarking that the "terrific return to form" seemed like "a hard-hitting giant but with fists of steel and cast iron balls".
Feeling vindicated, the group's album managed to produce a return to the top 40 singles charts and spawned a bunch of live performances. After two well-received tours in 2006, with many gigs completely selling out, and two gleeful experiences in Japan, the band captured that live feel in the DVD Thunder Go Mad in Japan. The release included a documentary piece following the band's situation setting everything up and trying to sort out all of the traveling. That year additionally saw the guys releasing their eight studio album, titled Robert Johnson's Tombstone, which featured nods to the musicians' early history before Thunder's very formation. Receiving acclaim from critics and fans alike, some even claimed that the album was Thunder's best studio release yet. A U.K. tour took place at the end of November 2006, with the band extending things into shows in Europe as well.
The 2000s represented not only a period of frequent touring but also increasing musical activities by the guys outside of the band. Thunder's career renaissance continued with a 2008 studio album, which the guys simply titled Bang!, and the group's appearance with Def Leppard and Whitesnake at multiple gigs that same year. The group had found itself coming up to its twenty-year anniversary. Although not experiencing the same kind of personal conflicts or debates about musical direction that many of their contemporaries had, Thunder still appeared to have reached a kind of inflection point. In early 2009, the guys announced plans to split for the second time. Final tours and festival appearances occurred throughout the rest of the year. A well-received compilation album, called simply The Very Best of Thunder, came out as well that year.
Luke Morley stressed "only a fool would say never" when it came to talk of getting back together at some point. Still, he'd gotten focused on other endeavors and particularly dedicated himself to working on The Union, an outfit formed with musician Peter Shoulder (formerly of Winterville). Featuring a blues and soul drenched sound, that band has achieved significant critical acclaim. Other ex-Thunder members perused similar projects. Drummer Gary "Harry" James, for example, played with progressive rockers Magnum (including on their popular 2011 release The Visitation).
Thunder briefly reunited for the 'High Voltage Festival', held in Victoria Park, in 2011. Though expressing their reluctance to formally get back together, the guys agreed to future shows together, including a December performance at Nottingham's 'Rock City' venue. They intermittently took to the stage as the 2010s went on yet remained committed to their alternate projects.
In 2015, however, Thunder announced a full return with an upcoming studio album of new material. A tongue-in-cheek collective statement cited "a rather silly amount of knob-twiddling and string-pulling" as the final inspiration. The release of Wonder Days earned a warm response from critics and fans alike (the fellows at Classic Rock magazine, for example, naming it one of the year's 11 best albums), and multiple gigs got announced to preform the new material. 2017's Rip It Up was also well-received (the record's #3 spot on the U.K. Albums Chart was the highest the band reached for over two decades). This was followed with an acoustic selection, Please Remain Seated, after which the band promised to return to the "full throttle sound of Thunder" for the next studio record.
Delayed due to the pandemic situation, that full throttle new album was released in March 2021, All The Right Noises.
UK rockers Thunder will be releasing a new double album titled Dopamine on April 29, 2022.
Official Website: http://www.thunderonline.com/
2) - Thunder was additionally used by an obscure funk-based Southern rock band from the U.S. Their 1974 self-tiled album picked up some attention but failed to break through commercially. It's hard to find information about the group, but a bit is known given how it served as a stepping stone in the career of popular Texan singer-songwriter and guitarist John Nitzinger. The 1974 album is described on Discogs.com here.
3) - Thunder is the name of a defunct Pagan Black Metal band from Poland, formed in 1994.
4) - Thunder is the name of a German heavy metal band, that released 'All I Want' in 1984.
Flawed To Perfection
Thunder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Flawed to perfection yeah
You know it sends me half crazy driving down the strip
It's one place in the world I could lose my grip
I fall in love so easy got to bite my lip every time
I see a silicone sister in a black sedan
I feel so happy I was born a man she's so fine
Did I see her in a magazine?
Right off the top shelf you know just what I mean
She's like a loving machine, she's flawed to perfection
She's flawed to perfection baby, flawed to perfection yeah
She's flawed to perfection baby, flawed to perfection yeah
There's a ladder in her stocking that I'd love to climb
I'm hot under the collar for the hundredth time
If the girls in California gonna make me blind that's alright
When she put that red dress on she knew what it would do
To every single man including me and you
She wears it just the way she's s'posed to do it's so tight
And if my thoughts are gonna send me to hell
She ain't no angel 'cause I know she knows darn well
The way she's ringing my bell
She's flawed to perfection
She's flawed to perfection baby, flawed to perfection yeah
She's flawed to perfection baby, flawed to perfection yeah
And if my thoughts are gonna send me to hell
She ain't no angel 'cause I know she knows darn well
The way she's ringing my bell, ooh she rings it so well
She's flawed to perfection
She's flawed to perfection baby, flawed to perfection yeah
She's flawed to perfection baby, flawed to perfection yeah
The song Flawed to Perfection by Thunder is a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek ode to a stunningly beautiful woman who is "flawed to perfection." The song's protagonist is immediately dazzled by a "silicone sister" he sees driving down the street, and can hardly believe his luck that he happened to be born male to appreciate her beauty. He marvels at the way she stops traffic with just a raised hand, and the power she wields over every man who sees her.
The song walks a fine line between objectifying women and celebrating their beauty, but ultimately it comes down on the side of admiration rather than exploitation. The singer acknowledges that the woman in question might not be perfect in every way - hence the title "flawed to perfection" - but he finds her irresistible nonetheless. He is fully aware that his lustful thoughts might be considered sinful, but they're impossible to resist when confronted with a woman as breathtakingly beautiful as this one.
Overall, Flawed to Perfection is a fun, lighthearted rock song that celebrates the beauty of women while acknowledging that they are flawed human beings like anyone else. It's a perfect example of Thunder's energetic and upbeat style, and will likely appeal to anyone who loves classic rock or '80s hair metal.
Line by Line Meaning
Flawed to perfection baby
Despite imperfections, the person is perfect in their own way
Flawed to perfection yeah
The person is perfect despite their flaws
You know it sends me half crazy driving down the strip
Seeing attractive women makes him feel excited and overwhelmed
It's one place in the world I could lose my grip
The sight of attractive women can make him feel powerless and out of control
I fall in love so easy got to bite my lip every time
He is easily attracted to women and has to restrain himself from expressing his emotions too easily
I see a silicone sister in a black sedan
He sees an attractive woman in a fancy car, who may have had plastic surgery
She stopped the other traffic just by raising her hand
She is so attractive that she commands attention and makes people stop and stare
I feel so happy I was born a man she's so fine
He feels lucky to be attracted to women and finds the woman very attractive
Did I see her in a magazine?
He wonders if he has seen her before in a magazine or other media
Right off the top shelf you know just what I mean
She is high quality and desirable, like an expensive item on the top shelf of a store
She's like a loving machine, she's flawed to perfection
She is very attractive and desirable, despite having flaws like a machine with minor defects
There's a ladder in her stocking that I'd love to climb
There is a run in her stockings that he finds attractive and wants to touch or kiss
I'm hot under the collar for the hundredth time
He is feeling hot or passionate due to his attraction to the woman
If the girls in California gonna make me blind that's alright
Even if he becomes infatuated with many women in California, it's worth it to him
When she put that red dress on she knew what it would do
She put on the red dress to look attractive and knew it would get attention
To every single man including me and you
All men are attracted to her when she wears that dress
She wears it just the way she's s'posed to do it's so tight
She is wearing the dress in a way that is meant to make it look attractive and fits her tightly
And if my thoughts are gonna send me to hell
If he is considered sinful for having these thoughts
She ain't no angel 'cause I know she knows darn well
She is aware of her attractiveness and uses it to her advantage
The way she's ringing my bell
She is turning him on and making him feel excited
Ooh she rings it so well
She is very good at making him feel attracted and excited
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Luke Morley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind