Back in 2011 one of our favourite bands Thunder who had been on hiatus since the Farewell Tour in 2009 announced two shows, we got in to talk to Danny as fast as we could…
MARK TALKS TO DANNY BOWES OF THUNDER ABOUT THE USA ROAD TRIP, HIGH VOLTAGE FESTIVAL AND BEYOND…
Since the band’s farewell tour ended at Sonisphere in 2009 Thunder has been absent from the stage, but July sees the band together again for two shows. Firstly at the culmination of the USA Road Trip to raise money for Childline Rocks they play a show at The Sun Valley Pavilion in Ketchum, Idaho; followed by a much anticipated slot at this year’s High Voltage Festival. Danny kindly dropped by to tell us all about it…
Hi Danny thank you so much for taking the time to talk to The Rockpit. You have a charity road trip planned for the start of July, riding through parts of Canada and the Northern US ending with a show at the Sun Valley Pavilion. It’s all for Childline & NSPCC. How can people help?
[DB] They can give us their hard earned loot! Not all of it of course, just whatever they can afford. We know it’s tough for everyone right now, but every little bit helps.
USA ROAD TRIP
10 July Fly UK to Cranbrook via Calgary (British Columbia)
11 Ride to Waterton (Alberta)
12 Ride to Whitefish (Montana)
13 Ride to Missoula / Lolo (Montana)
14 Ride to McCall (Idaho)
15 Ride to Ketchum (Idaho)
16 Ketchum – Sun Valley Pavilion (Idaho ) – the show
17 Fly to UK
You have a long running association with Childline Rocks, are you already cooking something up for next year?
[DB] It’s not us who do the cooking, we just get roped in to the taking part. I have no doubt Daryl & his evil crew have something in mind, and as we’re patrons of CLR (Childline Rocks), I’m sure we’ll probably be there whatever it is..
Can people join you on the trip?
[DB] It’s a bit late now to become a rider, as it takes a bit of organising with paperwork etc, but anyone who can make it along to any of the towns we’ll be passing through will be welcome to stop by and say hello.
So the big question – what are you riding? And how experienced are you with bikes?
[DB] Ben and I have been riding on and off since we were kids, and we’ve rented a Heritage Soft Tail each. Luke and Pete don’t ride but they’ll be following us in a pick up truck, with the film crew..
The rest of the guys from Thunder and The Union join you for the show at Ketchum – do you have anything special planned, it’s almost 2 years since Thunder last played at Sonisphere?
[DB] The Ketchum show is very much a warm up show for Thunder’s appearance at High Voltage in London. As it’s the first show for 2 years, we’ll be concentrating mostly on not falling off the stage, and as for the music, well that’s a case of wait and see..
I must admit we’ve been big Thunder fans for years at the Rockpit. I first saw you supporting Aerosmith on the Pump Tour in Birmingham; I’ve got some great memories especially of the Rock City shows. Is there any chance that Thunder would ever consider some sort of annual show for the faithful?
[DB] I wouldn’t rule that out, but let’s see how we feel after High Voltage. If it goes well, we’d probably look at doing something else, but right now there are no plans beyond High Voltage.
So how are things for you both since Sonisphere? We Know Luke has been busy: we loved the Union’s first CD and are looking forward to hearing the new album ‘Siren’s Song’ (the single was great by the way). Are you both itching to get out and play High Voltage?
[DB] Chris and Harry are always playing with loads of different people, Luke has been hard at it with The Union, Ben has been in the studio engineering and mixing, as well as doing some live concert sound work. I’ve been talking about making a solo album, had a spell as an agent, doing some management consultancy, as well as a few shows here and there with friends. It’s all go for all of us, but we’re looking forward to a bit of a knees up at High Voltage.
What happens the day after?
[DB] I would imagine if past history is anything to go by, we’ll be doing very little except nursing colossal hangovers..
How do you look back on Thunder’s legacy at this point, I know it’s not been long, but now that you aren’t regularly playing has it given you any new perspectives?
[DB] When you stop doing something, it doesn’t disappear completely, and although we don’t play or make new albums, the business continues (we released a live album called Rough & Ready earlier this year). We’re all still good mates, and we talk all the time, so for me it’s a bit like the band is still there, we just don’t meet up as often..
Do you think you will continue to regroup in the future, like an elite ‘gentleman’s club’?
[DB] We’re all busy, so it’s hard to say what will happen, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen again in some form at some stage, but it will be a matter of good timing, stars aligning correctly etc.
Are there any places in the World you missed that you wish you had made it to?
[DB] I’ve never been to Australia, and it really bothers me. Thunder never got to tour the US properly either, so I will have to find a way to address both situations at some stage..
With 24 Live albums to your name do you have a favourite Thunder live recording?
[DB] Is it that many? Surely not.. Thunder was a really good live band, and the atmosphere was always fantastic with the fans. It’s impossible to say which is the favourite, they’re all snapshots of a great moment in time, that’s why we released them.
Are there any demos or discarded songs out there that might one day see the light of day?
[DB] I think we’ve released pretty much all the demos, but there are plenty of unreleased live recordings that may or may not ever see the light of day. We have to be able to justify every release to ourselves before we put it out there. If a show is essentially the same as another in terms of songs, but in a different town, it makes no sense to my mind to release them both. Everything should stand up to scrutiny, especially in this day and age where we could release everything. The way we see it, just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
Where do we go to keep up with all things Thunder and The Union?
[DB] The websites are the best places, or our Facebook pages.
Do you have anything else lined up like the ‘Sunflower Jam’ show at the Albert Hall on July 8th?
[DB] I’m looking forward to the Sunflower Jam, as it’s always a pleasure to work with the Deep Purple guys, and I’ve never performed at the Royal Albert Hall before. After that I’m busy with the Harley ride in the US and Canada, then High Voltage. I was hoping to make a solo album this year, but I’m not sure if that’s going to work out now, and me and Ben are talking about doing a 2 man “evening with” acoustic & chat type show, so who knows, you never know what’s around the corner.
If individually you could have been involved in the recording of any piece of music or album at any point in rock history what would it have been and why?
[DB] I’d like to have been the tea boy when The Beatles made the Abbey Rd album. They made a great album and I make a blinding cup of tea, so it would have been a fair exchange..
What is the meaning of life?
[DB] Comfortable underwear works for me..
And finally is anyone writing that book? If not who do you think will write it?
[DB] I think it would be great, but we’ll have to wait until almost everyone we know is dead, or we’ll get sued. Then I’m guessing no one will care if we write it or not so it won’t matter who does it.
Thanks mate, Thunder has always been one of my favourite British Rock bands of the last twenty years. Give our regards to Thinny and best of luck on the road. Let’s hope you get those Childline coffers overflowing!
[DB] Cheers Mark
Danny originally spoke to Mark Diggins June 2011
