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Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
@Maxximum23Clark
12:45 PM 23rd November 2021
arts

Danny And Luke – Thunderstruck In Ilkley

 
If you had said to any rock fan who saw Thunder in the early 90s that in 30 years’ time you would be sat down at the Kings Hall in Ilkley, listening to the two leading members giving an insight to their career, they might not have believed you.

Danny Bowes and Luke Morley led the audience through a poignant, revealing and, at times, hilarious journey through the highs and lows of being in one of Britain’s top rock groups – Thunder.

Naturally, there is a book to plug too. Though the show is entitled Unplugged and Unscripted, it was the acoustic versions of some of Thunder’s tracks that were the highlights. Hearing songs such as 'Backstreet Symphony', 'River of Pain' and 'The Devil Made Me Do It' performed acoustically, rather than as full-blown rock songs, allowed the tracks to shine even more.

Bowes came across as a good raconteur – his timing of the punchlines of some of the stories equalled many a comic, with Morley being his straight man, so to speak.

The bond between the two has lasted more than 50 years. Not surprisingly, the chemistry between them worked well in the format of tonight’s show.

Detailing chronologically how the pair first met and later formed Terraplane, which led into Thunder, the stories seemed to stop around 1990 – the year when Thunder broke through successfully. If you wanted any more stories after that time, you were out of luck – unless of course you buy the book!

A question-and-answer session after the interval was a bit hit and miss. The questions that were answered were preempted as members of the audience were asked to write them down on a card during the interval. Some were answered fully whilst others were given short shrift.

'Love Walked In' has apparently been used for fans to walk down the aisle to when getting married or the first dance at their wedding. As the closing song of the evening, it rounded off another partnership that remains as strong as ever.