Wonder Days

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Thunder are without a doubt one of the most popular and enduring British rock bands of the last 25 years, with 18 Top 40 singles in the UK and a sting of gold and platinum albums around the world. Formed at the turn of 1989, Thunder have enjoyed an eventful 20 year career. Having met in 1971 when they were 11, Danny and Luke have been playing in bands together since they were 15, so they knew exactly what they were going for in 1988 when they began working with Andy Taylor (Duran Duran) and engineer Mike Fraser (Bryan Adams, Aerosmith etc) to cut their first magnificent offering in the shapely form of debut album Backstreet Symphony . A lot of gigs followed and the band s fondness for the road would only increase their popularity. Thunder s fondness for hard graft and a good laugh into the bargain on the other hand turned them into one of the most visible and popular British rock acts of the 90s. By the time the Taylor/Morley produced second album, Laughing On Judgement Day was released in August 1992 (held off the Number One spot in the UK s album chart only by a Kylie Minogue greatest hits package) the quintet had worked extremely hard out on the road. Not only had they made inroads into Scandinavia, and South America, they had also appeared at the Milton Keynes alongside ZZ Top, experienced the delights of New Year s Eve in Tokyo on a bill with Metallica, Europe and Tesla and, to perhaps top it all, made a triumphant return to the Donington stage as guests of Iron Maiden. In 1998, eight months after the release of the studio album Giving The Game Away in 1998, Thunder surprisingly announced a split due to outside business forces , going out in typical style with a series of farewell shows, climaxing at Dingwalls in Camden on May 4, 2000. We thought it was all over..... Not so. Like the proverbial bad penny, Thunder returned in 2002. Years after, in 2008, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary year with the glorious new album Bang! . Soon after, the band officially announced another split up and went on a grand Farewell tour, playing at Download Festival, touring Europe, Japan and the UK, playing Rock of Ages Festival in Germany and Sonisphere all in 2009. In 2011, the band reunited for a one off live show at High Voltage Festival and since then, the band members have has never been fully able to let go of the band, playing Christmas shows and a fulminant return to Wacken Open Air in 2013. Luckily, they tasted blood again. The result is their landmark tenth studio album Wonder Days . The group s first studio album in six years, Wonder Days reminds us why Thunder are now more revered than ever before. With a lineage dating back to the cream of hard rock Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Who and Deep Purple and songwriting greats such as The Kinks, The Beatles and The Faces the band s sound is a timeless marriage of unforgettable melodies and sheer rock power. Their long awaited return with Wonder Days should ensure that Thunder are elevated to their rightful place in the pantheon of truly great British bands. In parts a rumination and reflection on the dreams and desires of young men growing up in the 70 s that inspired the band members to form their first band in their early teens, Wonder Days is also a potent mix of blues, soul and rock n roll that is as contemporary as it is steeped in the finest music of the last few decades. From the epic Zeppelin esque title track, through the no holds barred pop prowess of potential hit singles TheThing IWant , Resurrection Day and BlackWater , to the big screen ballad Broken , Thunder have delivered one of the finest rock albums of recent years.