![Album Review: Thunder - Live [REISSUE]](https://i0.wp.com/therazorsedge.rocks/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/thunder.webp?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1 "thunder")
Album Review: Thunder - Live [REISSUE]
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
There was a time, back in the early Nineties, when Thunder were damn-near unstoppable. Reconstructing Eighties rockers, Terraplane, it was the release of the Back Street Symphony debut in 1990 that saw their meteoric rise up the echelons of the UK Rock Scene. If you were at the Donington Monsters of Rock on 18th August 1990, you’ll know the exact moment Thunder became contenders, with the electrifying opening forty-five minutes of the day, beneath brilliant blue skies, they caused a major headache for all who followed – and I’m including both Aerosmith and Whitesnake in that comment.
Over the next few years Thunder were guarantees to get any party started, and they found themselves on festivals with ZZ Top, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, as well as a return to a much-damper Donington in 1992, rocketed up Iron Maiden’s bill, but still holding their own after W.A.S.P. and Slayer.
Sophomore album, Laughing on Judgement Day, picked up where the debut left off, showing a maturity in songwriting, leading to sold out tours and greater exposure. Sadly, third album, Behind Closed Doors, in 1995, failed to maintain the upward trajectory of Laughing… failing to match its predecessors Gold ranking in the UK. The band moved away from EMI for their fourth record, The Thrill of It All in 1996, but they were still a fearsome and fun live experience.
In 1998, their first commercially available globally released live album hit the shelves, simply called Live, it was built from shows in Wolverhampton and London during the 1997 November tour and featured songs from across the discography and a few covers. This reissue takes the original’s twenty-two songs and adds a further nine tunes, available on other versions of the album in different markets.
Kicking off with the de facto set opener, the politically charged Welcome to the Party, Thunder instantly hit their stride of infectious hard rock blended with emotional blues, all topped off with Danny Bowes’ cheeky-chappie persona. Higher Ground and Don’t Wait Up take us into the cold warning of 1992 single, Low Life in High Places, which feels even more prescient in 2026 than it did back then. The cover of Spencer Davis Group’s Gimme Some Lovin’s good time vibes had more or less been reassigned to Thunder back then, the combination of keys and Luke Morley’s guitar leading a singalong.
![Album Review: Thunder - Live [REISSUE]](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/55035429016_8754828b0e_o.png?w=678&ssl=1 "Album Review: Thunder - Live [REISSUE]")
Empty City feels like Low Life’s natural extension, with the themes of loss and alienation being presented in the way Thunder do so well. Until My Dying Day, Better Man and Does It Feel Like Love? demonstrate the band’s emotional range and the mid-set cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s Dance to the Music gives both band and audience another chance to cut loose.
The debt album trio of She’s So Fine, Back Street Symphony and the observant An Englishman on Holiday find the crowd in great voice, as does the haunting version of I’ll Be Waiting. The reintroduction of Like a Satellite has a particularly personal resonance to me and here it’s offered in a more stripped-down version. Moth to the Flame and Living For Today give way to the brand new The Only One, destined for a January 1998 single release. The opening notes of Love Walked In were heartily received, River of Pain upped the tempo, and obligatory set closer, Dirty Love brings the curtain down in the usual raucous fashion.
Not previously available on any issues of this album outside of Japan come five additional tracks that you might often find in a Thunder set of the day. New York, New York is suitably overblown, the Small Faces’ Lazy Sunday Afternoon sees a band giving homage to an artist that clearly has been some inspiration to their development. Whereas Pilot of My Dreams, Stand Up and the previous single, Everybody Wants Her comes with Danny requesting everyone shout as loud as they can.
The aforementioned single release of The Only One is included as additional bonus material here, alongside the driving Too Bad, and alternate versions of The Thrill of It All’s Something About You and This Forgotten Town.
Clocking in at thirty-one songs, this revision of Live took me right back to the Nineties, when Thunder were everywhere but never anything other than a sheer pleasure to spend time with. Combining catchy rockers with heartstring plucking emotion has been the band’s bread and butter since their inception, and Live reminds us how damned good they are at it. Checking my ticket stubs I saw the band over a dozen times during the decade, yet only twice since the turn of the millennium. I feel that is something that needs to be rectified as soon as possible.
