THUNDER - Wonder Days - New Album - New Label - New Website - New Everything

From the very latest THUNDER Newsletter:

Six years after the release of our last studio album, we’re very pleased to announce that we’ve recorded a new one.
Sorry for the tome, but we feel there is a lot to talk about..

What’s it called? 
Glad you asked, it’s called Wonder Days, and it’s really good. 
There are 11 cracking tracks, very classic Thunder at times, some heavier riff-tastic stuff, and a couple of ballads for good measure.

When it is released?
It’s out on February 16th next year, but see below for info on pre-ordering.

What’s the tracklist?
1.   Wonder Days
2.   The Thing I Want
3.   The Rain
4.   Black Water
5.   The Prophet
6.   Resurrection Day
7.   Chasing Shadows
8.   Broken
9.   When The Music Played
10. Serpentine
11. I Love The Weekend

Will I like it?
If you like anything we’ve ever done, you will love this. 
There are no fillers, every song is great in its own way.
In fact if you don’t love it, Harry says he will give you your money back (joke).

OK we get it, tell us more about the recording process..
It was recorded at Rockfield in Monmouth (where we made The Thrill Of It All in 1996). It was engineered by Nick Brine (he was the boy assistant on TTOIA), and mixed by our old mate Mike Fraser (he did Backstreet Symphony & Behind Closed Doors). In essence we got the A Team back together in our favourite studio, and it felt very good indeed. Ben being diagnosed with cancer was a massive shock, and it knocked us off track somewhat (as it would), but he went through it, and we did our best to support him, whilst continuing to work on the album. He’s thankfully been given the all clear recently, so that’s a huge relief all round. He’s not on the album much of course, and he has a way to go to get back to normal, but he will, and we’re all very happy about it.

Is the new album going to be on vinyl?
Yep, in fact it’s going to be available in a good few formats, in all kinds of fabulous Thunder Bundles, with signed stuff and exclusive items, limited edition this and that etc. 

Of course you’ll still be able to get the regular version on iTunes and Amazon etc, but we hope you’re going to like our Thunder Bundles.

We’ve worked very hard with our new record label earMUSIC to make all these extra formats really good, with exclusive brand new songs, some great live recordings, different covers, and Thunder stuff never released before.

When can I get it?
You can’t get it until Feb 16th 2015, but all the bundles will be available to pre-order tomorrow night at 7pm via our brand new website. 

It’s at the same address www.thunderonline.com, but it’s been redesigned from the ground up, so a massive big up to The Thin One for all his sweat & toil on the code.

If you want the iTunes and Amazon standard versions, these giants tend to be laws unto themselves, so it’s best to check those sites direct. 

We will of course get the links up as and when we know they’re selling the album.

OK, you split up, I bought the 20 Years & Out tee shirt, why come back? 

We thought you might ask that, and it’s a valid question..

We honestly had no intention of coming back when we went our separate ways in 2009, but we had no crystal ball, and didn’t know then what would happen in 2013.

We could have said we were taking a break like other bands have done, but that wasn’t what we felt, so we thought it would be misleading to say it when it wasn’t true.

Having been away for 2 years, we freely admit we were lured back for fat a pile of cash in 2011 when we did High Voltage, and the show was great, but as with 2008, we all had other things going on. Annual Xmas shows seemed like a good solution, and they were also great. They always sold out, so it was obvious there were still a lot of Thunder fans, and we were happy & grateful. The problem was we were still busy with other things, so we went back to them each January. 

It changed when we did the tour with Journey & Whitesnake last year. We were unsure if it would send the wrong signals when we agreed to it, but it’s not like you get asked to do an arena tour every week, so we said yes. We were not prepared for the reaction. It was almost like we were the headline band, the crowd every night was so good, and there seemed to be so many people wearing Thunder shirts, it felt a bit like we’d become more popular in our absence. We started wondering if maybe we should make a new record, but once again we were all busy, so there was much soul searching, while we debated whether or not we could all commit to doing it again properly. This went on for months, until Luke decided to start writing anyway, and when we heard the tunes, there was no choice, they were so good we simply had to do it. 

Whether or not you choose to believe it, that is the truth. We have never been cynical or manipulative, just human beings, with lives and families and the usual pressures. 

No grand plan, we’re just not that organised…

If you want a taste of how the new songs work live, click here to check our new Wonder Days video, live in Tokyo.

You’ve got me excited, so when are you playing live again?
Our 3 shows in March at Leeds First Direct Arena (12th), Birmingham NIA (13th) and Hammersmith Apollo (14th) are going to be very special, not only because we’ll be playing in arenas in our own right for the first time, but we’ll be playing these new tunes, which will be amazing. The huge cherry on the top is that we’ll hopefully have Ben back, fighting fit, and ready to rock.

Links to the shows and the tickets are also on our new killer website www.thunderonline.com. 

Did we perchance mention that we have a new website?

Thanks a million for all your support over the past 25 years.

We haven’t always been active, but you’ve always been there, and we’re very grateful.

We’re back.

Ben, Chris, Danny, Harry & Luke
Thunder