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.
One Bullet
Thunder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One dead, but we all bleed son
And you know it's such a shame
One life, more tears
I can't believe that it's going on here
God knows it's such a shame
'Cause it's much too late
Once the horse has run
You can't go back and shut the gate
If we ever see the day
When all innocence is gone
Tell me, what have we become?
One child in the way
Wrong time at the wrong place
And you know it's such a shame
Too young to live in fear
But you ain't got the time
To be a kid 'round here
Lord knows it's such a shame
You shouldn't have to worry now
When you barely reach fifteen
You got enough to cope with anyway
If we can't protect the young
From themselves it would seem
We're watching as our future slides away
Why in this crazed new millennium
Do we still have so much to learn?
Tell me why
When it's clear in the past every scared kid would run
Now he's wrapping his fist 'round a gun
And somebody dies
One bullet, one gun
One dead and we all bleed son
And you know it's such a shame
One life, more tears
I can't believe that it's going on here
And you know it's such a shame
You know it's such a shame
The lyrics in Thunder's song "One Bullet" highlight the tragic reality of gun violence and its destructive impact on innocent lives. The first verse talks about the devastating consequences of a single bullet. The line "One dead, but we all bleed son" suggests that even though only one person may have been hit, the pain and suffering are shared by everyone affected. The next line, "And you know it's such a shame," emphasizes the senselessness of the violence and the frustration and hopelessness that comes with it. The second verse focuses on the loss of innocence and the fear that permeates daily life for many young people, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The lines "Too young to live in fear, but you ain't got the time to be a kid 'round here" paint a bleak picture of a childhood filled with violence and trauma.
The chorus points to the broader societal issue of gun violence in America, emphasizing that it is far too late to undo the damage that has already been done. The lines "If we ever see the day when all innocence is gone, tell me, what have we become?" suggest that the prevalence of gun violence is a collective failure, and that it reveals something troubling about our society. The last verse highlights the inadequacy of current efforts to address the problem of gun violence, and the urgent need for change. The line "If we can't protect the young from themselves it would seem, we're watching as our future slides away" suggests that our ability to create a safer, more just society is intertwined with the safety and well-being of young people.
Line by Line Meaning
One bullet, one gun
The simplicity of a gun and a bullet can cause devastating consequences
One dead, but we all bleed son
The loss of a single life affects all of us and causes pain and suffering
And you know it's such a shame
The tragedy of gun violence is widely recognized, but little is done to prevent it
One life, more tears
The death of a single individual causes endless tears and mournful emotions
I can't believe that it's going on here
The prevalence of gun violence is shocking and disappointing, and it's happening in our own country
God knows it's such a shame
The magnitude of the tragedy of gun violence is known even to a higher power, yet little is done to prevent it
Take a look at America
The issue of gun violence is prevalent in America and needs to be addressed
'Cause it's much too late
We have allowed the issue of gun violence to get out of control and it's too late to reverse its effects
Once the horse has run
Once something is done, it cannot be undone, and we must deal with its consequences
You can't go back and shut the gate
Once something is set in motion, it cannot be undone, and we must face its consequences and find ways to prevent it from happening again
If we ever see the day
If there will come a time when things change and gun violence is no longer a threat
When all innocence is gone
When we have lost all innocent lives due to gun violence, and the tragedy is recognized by everyone
Tell me, what have we become?
We must reflect on ourselves and our actions and wonder how we have allowed this tragedy to occur
One child in the way
Even a single child can fall victim to gun violence and be caught in the crossfire
Wrong time at the wrong place
Being in the wrong place or time can result in a tragedy that could have been prevented
And you know it's such a shame
The inevitability and prevalence of gun violence is a tragedy that needs to be recognized
Too young to live in fear
Children are not meant to be living in fear of violence and must be protected from it
But you ain't got the time
Children are expected to grow up quickly and mature faster than they need to due to the threat of violence
To be a kid 'round here
The pressures of violence and tragedy prevent children from being able to have a happy and carefree childhood
Lord knows it's such a shame
The tragedy of gun violence and its impact on children is a shame that we must recognize and work to prevent
You shouldn't have to worry now
Children should not be subject to worry and fear due to the prevalence of gun violence
When you barely reach fifteen
Children are too young and inexperienced to deal with the threat of gun violence, especially at such a young age
You got enough to cope with anyway
Children already have enough challenges to cope with, and the threat of gun violence should not be one of them
If we can't protect the young
The responsibility of protecting our youth falls on all of us, and if we can't do that, we have failed
From themselves it would seem
The threat of gun violence often comes from our own society and its accessibility to dangerous weapons
We're watching as our future slides away
The prevalence of gun violence and its effects on our youth is causing us to lose hope for the future
Why in this crazed new millennium
Despite the advancements and progress we have made, gun violence continues to plague our society
Do we still have so much to learn?
We must acknowledge our failure to prevent gun violence and find ways to learn from our mistakes and prevent it from happening again
Tell me why
We must question ourselves and our actions and wonder why we have allowed gun violence to become such a prominent issue
When it's clear in the past every scared kid would run
In the past, children would run when scared, but now they are taking up arms and seeking revenge
Now he's wrapping his fist 'round a gun
Children are now resorting to violence and seeking revenge with guns, rather than running away from danger
And somebody dies
The end result of gun violence is often death, and it's a tragedy that affects us all
You know it's such a shame
Once again, we must recognize the tragedy of gun violence and work to prevent it from happening again
Contributed by Bentley D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.