Danny & Luke from Thunder

THUNDER’S DANNY & LUKE HEADING TO THE PLAYHOUSE Surprisingly, it was only in the late eighties that Danny Bowes, Luke Morley etc got together and formed the now iconic rock band that is Thunder; over thirty years on, that pairing of Bowes and Morley are taking to the road, embarking upon a 20 plus date, ‘The First 50 Years’ UK tour, including a stop-off at the Playhouse in Whitley Bay (November 1). Having been around themselves, throughout that of the eighties, thrashing out the sounds as part of those London pop-rockers, Terraplane, it’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride, one which has seen over fifty albums, Thunder’s first being that of ‘Backstreet Symphony,’ release back in 1990. Together however, you have to go back before Thunder in the nineties, and before Terraplane in the eighties, to the childhood, schooldays, of Bowes and Morley, in the seventies, to place the pairing together for the first time – and we’re talking the early seventies mind. “We met way back in ’71, when I had an interview for secondary school at 11-years-old,” explained Danny about what already a hairraising time for the unlikely of pairings. “When I got there (with parents) I was sat opposite this lad who had bright orange hair down past his shoulders; I’d had many a disagreement with my parents prior to going for the interview as they were constantly having mine cut – they said that this other kid would never get in. “We both got in though and, although we weren’t friend immediately – it honestly took me about four years to get over his hair, it bothered me that much. “One day though, I was round his place, and he had this drum kit – it was on that night in which I decided that I wanted to be a musician, a singer. “At that time, I wasn’t anything, musically, but I talked myself into an audition for the band, and I was given the gig – that in the December of ’75.” Since those early, childhood days, their teenage years, Bowes and Morley have both kept going, and kept themselves involved in the

music scene, in one way or another, up to and including, the formation of Thunder. With Thunder, they’ve just about been, seen, and done it all, whilst keeping themselves firmly planted on, terra firma – you have to really as getting carried away can lead you down a dark and deadly path. “We did all those things that other bands did back in the day (80s and early 90s),” continued Danny. “There was a few albums, and some assumptions, with Terraplane, and we ended up on the reject pile, so we went to America instead, at the start of the metal era, and that’s what brought about Thunder. “We were the British equivalent, but we weren’t at the same time, but we were headlining places pretty quickly, and were ready for it – it was a lively, second chance for us. “There’s been so many highlights though, like opening for Aerosmith in 1989, playing Wembley with Bon Jovi, Van Halen telling us they’d be glad to go home (that’s a story in itself), Donnington’s Monsters of Rock where I’d lost my voice not long before the show – it was a terrifying experience and became a collective release of adrenaline beforehand, and then playing the Tokyo Dome with Metallica. “We’ve been very, very lucky though, and we keep delivering, something you can’t really say about every band, but we’ve had a

fantastic time doing it all.” But what about the here and now though? This, after all, is not a ‘Thunder’ gig, far from it, this is just Danny Bowes and Luke Morley tearing things up on stage – no doubt there’ll be some tunes, there’ll be some banter, and of course there’s a meet and greet with their ever loyal fan-base. How that started off though is something else entirely; it wasn’t planned, the best things never really are, it coming about because of happenstance more than anything. “The two-man show actually started as a result of us wanting to inspire teenagers at a school in Kent,” explained Danny. “As a band we spend a lot of time together, laughing, getting on with each other, so doing this, with just me and Ben (Matthews), was a strange experience. “Afterwards, we manager a two year run of it, and had a ball, then Mick Wall (legendary author/journalist) asked if we fancied reprising it, Ben didn’t, but Luke did (external circumstances prevent Mick Wall from partaking the current tour). “He’d seen what we’d done (he’s even wrote a book about it) and it was very easy, very relaxed; he tries to stick to a script, and we just wreck it, so we’ll have to come up with something else this time around.” Thunder’s Danny and Luke – The First 50 Years, appears at the Whitley Bay Playhouse on Monday 1 November, tickets for which are available from https://www. playhousewhitleybay.co.uk/events/ thunder-s-danny-luke-the-first50-years/ Keep up-to-date with all things Thunder via their website https:// www.thunderonline.com/site/ Facebook https://www.facebook. com/thunderonline and Twitter https://twitter.com/thundertowers

NERG is the biggest retro gaming event in the North East, held at Gateshead Stadium over the course of 2 days, this event is as big as it gets for retro gamers or just the big kids re-living their youth playing the games they used to play, after all, they don’t make them like they used to. 2017 will be the fifth year of NERG and it will be a big one. With 100 video arcade machines, 35 pinball machines and 60 consoles and computers this really is an event you do not want to miss!.

The event is held over the weekend of 1st & 2nd of July. Entrance is £15 per day or £25 for the full weekend. Children aged 5-13 years can also get in for only £10 on the Sunday.

All the machines are set to free play so once you pay the admission fee, it’s free gaming all day., so no need for those pockets full of change.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE. or you can pay on the day if the event hasn’t sold out.

More details can be found at www.northeastretrogaming. com

Machines are announced on a regular basis through the social feeds so make sure you keep checking to see what games will be there, though with so many we are sure your favourites will be there.

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For Twitter - @NERGOfficial