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.
Robert Johnson
Thunder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where did they lay you down?
Two graves in Mississippi and nobody knows
Where did they lay you down?
Tell me where did they lay you down?
Did the Devil really buy your soul?
Did the Devil really buy your soul?
Did the Devil really buy your soul?
Did the Devil really buy your soul?
The heat was rising to the Delta haze
And your fate was sealed when you saw her face
Making love all afternoon
Another woman put a spell on you
Oh yeah
Saturday night at the Three Points Inn
You drank the whiskey with the poison in
Cause a jealous guy had a girl to lose
The last time you played the blues
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh, going down to the crossroads tonight
Around midnight
I'll be looking for you
Oh, going down to the crossroads tonight
I know it'll be alright
If I listen to you
Tell me where did they lay you down?
Where did they lay you down?
Two graves in Mississippi and nobody knows
Where did they lay you down?
Where did they lay you down?
Tell me where did they lay you down?
The song "Robert Johnson" by Thunder is a poignant tribute to the legendary blues musician who died at the age of 27. The opening lines of the song ask where Robert Johnson was buried, suggesting that his final resting place is unknown. This adds to the mystery surrounding his life and death. The next lines ask whether Johnson really sold his soul to the devil for his musical prowess, a popular myth that has long been associated with the musician. The song then goes on to recount some of the events that led to Johnson's untimely demise.
The lyrics suggest that Johnson found himself in a love triangle that eventually led to his death. While making love with one woman, another woman put a spell on him. Later on, at a local inn, Johnson drank poisoned whiskey because of a jealous man who had a girl to lose. The song paints a bleak picture of Johnson's life, as though he was doomed from the start. The haunting refrain of "Tell me where did they lay you down?" brings the song full circle and emphasises the mystery and tragedy surrounding the musician's death.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me where did they lay you down?
The singer is asking where the subject of the song, Robert Johnson, was buried after his death.
Two graves in Mississippi and nobody knows
There are conflicting reports and rumors about where Robert Johnson was actually buried, and nobody knows for certain.
Did the Devil really buy your soul?
The singer is questioning the popular legend that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical abilities.
Did he teach you how to play and take your soul away?
The singer speculates that if Robert Johnson did make a deal with the devil, he may have paid a steep price for his musical gifts.
The heat was rising to the Delta haze
The singer is describing the hot and humid conditions in the Mississippi Delta, where Robert Johnson lived and played music.
And your fate was sealed when you saw her face
The singer suggests that Robert Johnson's tragic and untimely death may have been caused by a romantic encounter with a jealous lover.
Making love all afternoon
The subject of the song, Robert Johnson, spent the afternoon with another woman.
Another woman put a spell on you
The singer implies that Robert Johnson may have been bewitched or cursed by the woman he was with before his death.
Saturday night at the Three Points Inn
The singer is setting the scene of a specific night when Robert Johnson played music at a local venue.
You drank the whiskey with the poison in
Robert Johnson may have unwittingly consumed alcohol that had been poisoned by someone with ill intentions.
Cause a jealous guy had a girl to lose
The singer suggests that someone may have wanted to harm Robert Johnson out of jealousy over a woman he was involved with.
The last time you played the blues
Robert Johnson's last performance may have been the night he was poisoned or met his demise in some other tragic way.
Oh, going down to the crossroads tonight
The singer imagines himself seeking out Robert Johnson's ghost or spirit at a crossroads, a place that is significant in blues mythology.
Around midnight
The singer is planning to visit the crossroads late at night, when it is dark and quiet.
I'll be looking for you
The singer hopes to encounter the spirit of Robert Johnson and learn more about his tragic life and death.
I know it'll be alright
Despite the dark and mysterious nature of seeking out a ghost, the singer believes that everything will be okay and that he will find what he is looking for.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: LUKE MORLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind