'Dirty Love' Sure Is Catchy

I don't know why Thunder didn't get any bigger than they did in the U.S. but they were fairly popular in their native U.K. Perhaps it was that the band's debut didn't come out until 1990. Backstreet Symphony is a strong album chocked full of catchy tunes. None is more catchy than "Dirty Love." That track is just one of those songs that makes you smile and forces you to get up a move. I need to add this to my running playlist rotation!

I wonder if any readers here saw Thunder live back in the heyday of glam? Were any readers at Castle Donington in 1990?

Comments

[Gogmagog]

Looking back, it was likely impossible for a new band from Britain to get any traction here in 1990. Personally, the band from that year that was overlooked was Riverdogs. That debut album was as good as anything I heard that year, and that includes Rust In Peace (Megadeth), Facelift (AiC), Pornograffitti (Extreme), Empire (Queensryche), and the Young Guns II soundtrack (Jon Bon Jovi). Winger also released its second album in 1990, as did Warrant, and AC/DC released The Razor's Edge. Other bands with albums out in 1990 were: Scorpions, Pantera, Poison, Slaughter, Dio, Cinderella, Living Colour, Lynch Mob, Slayer, and who knows what other bands I missed.

Backstreet Symphony (the album) didn't connect with me, but "Love Walked In" is one of the finest power ballads I've heard. And Danny Bowes can still bring it. Check out this clip from 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMTqMJYXC1w

The band is still in standard tuning, meaning Bowes can sing pretty much as he did 30 years ago. I don't know if I can think of a band (with a male on vocals) from that time that hasn't tuned down at least a half step to compensate for the declining range of the singer. Maybe Gary Cherone. At least on the Pornograffitti: Live At 25 record they were tuned down a half step (which is what they did all along, like Van Halen).

[Him]

Thunder suffered from the 'let's dress them up like something they're not' syndrome. It didn't work, as they didn't fit in to the marketing box they were given.

Gogmagog is right: they still sound great. Their latest album, All the Right Noises, is a perfect example of what they are still capable of turning out. Solid, straight-ahead, rock. And they seems to be agreeable guys who take all that happened (and didn't) with a grain of salt and a smile. Bowes and Morley, in particular (well, they really are the band, after all), have done excellent interviews talking about all the stuff that happened around the time of BS.

I also highly recommend their book, Giving the Game Away. You purchase it on their site and it comes autographed. It is filled with interesting stories and some great pictures. I got a copy for myself and a Brit friend of mine who also happens to like the band. Work every penny.