Luke Morley has spent the last three and a half decades as the guitarist and main song writer for Thunder; the band he formed back in 1989 with lifelong friend and singer Danny Bowes. With Bowes in recovery following a fall that left him with a serious head injury after suffering a stroke, Luke has busied himself with a number of projects, and is about to release a brand new solo album. "You've got to keep moving forward", he tells us as we sit down for a chat. Talking 'Walking on Water', his love of guitars, and his hopes for future for Thunder, we caught up with the Luke Morley.
Photo: Jason Joyce.
Hi Luke, you're back with a new solo album; has this all came about really, because of what Danny Bowes has went through.
Kind of, yeah. I mean, with the with the last album 'Songs from the Blue Room' [2023], I was going to release that but I wasn't quite sure when I was going to do it. I told the band I was going to do that, and because it was written in between, certainly there was no intention of not carrying on with Thunder at all. It was ironic that Danny's injury happened when it did, in that it came at the end of a really successful couple of years and one of the biggest tours we've ever done. Doing arena tours, like, thirty-five years into our career is mental, but we got it back up to that point again, so, obviously, when Danny had his accident, he was like; "oh, my god, of all the times...", What it meant was the album 'Songs From the Blue Room' was going to come out fairly shortly after that Thunder tour, but obviously once that happened, I didn't have the stomach for it. It wouldn't have been right, so we got put back, and then while he ass still recovering, I thought; "well, I quite enjoyed the process of making the last one, Let's do it again", and so it rolled on from there without too much planning or forethought. I just wrote some more songs and recorded them.
You're the only songwriter in Thunder, so I can't imagine that you would have been happy to just sit this out until the day that Danny is good to go again.
No, but I think it's that you've got to keep moving forward as a songwriter or musician, really. I don't like not working. I don't like not being busy, so with production work as well here and there, and playing guitar with The Quireboys. I've just been keeping myself busy really, and enjoying it as well. I still love what I do, and I'm very fortunate to get paid to do something that I love. Not many people can say that, and every morning when I get out of bed, I'm grateful for that.
The first thing that people will wonder is how does this differ from Thunder? In places it reminded me of the first Bowes Morley album, which toned down the distortion and is less rocky; would you say that's a fair assessment?
I think so. Certainly, one of the things that I would not want to do is to try and make a Thunder album, because on my own, there's no point, because it can't be as good. The solo thing allows me to explore other areas of musical influence and other things that I like. I've always been a massive fan of American acts like Tom Petty and Nils Lofgren and James Taylor. That kind of singer songwriter that has always fascinated me, so it's a chance for me to do that. Obviously there's going to be moments here and there where it gets a little bit rockier, and moments where it doesn't, because I'm a guitar player at the end of the day, and I write using the guitar. So it's going to take me down various roads, but I think, no, it'd be pointless trying to try to make a Thunder album in my mind. I wouldn't do it. Just nonsense. There's no point.
There's a great mix of styles on the album; soul, rock, country, singer songwriter, gospel, but I want to chat first about the first single 'Walking on Water'; you recorded a really cool video for that one.
It was shot in a place called Calvert Studios, and it's basically an outdoor photographic studio in Spain, and the water platform that most of it is shot on, that's mainly used for advertising cars, because it's only about five mil of water, and they put black ink in it so it looks like a mirror. I'm sure you've seen photographs of cars that will have the perfect reflection underneath, and that's basically what it's used for, usually. My very good friend Jason [Joyce], the photographer who I work with a lot, just said to me; "I've got this brilliant idea. I think we should go here", and he showed me and I said; "wow, that's fantastic!" Weirdly enough, the song hadn't been written at the point. We had the idea for the album sleeve, and he said he thought we should go there so we could make it look like I'm walking on water. So I went away, and I thought; "well, I wonder if I can write a song called 'Walking on Water'? What would it be about?" So that's how the song and the album title came about; it was the tail wagging the dog, almost!
There's a little snippet you had on your YouTube channel where you say the song's about people like Liam Gallagher and the whole Jesus analogy; at the height of Thunder's success, was there anything kind of relatable where it's like you had the kind of the rock god thing going on?
I don't think so. I think because when Thunder was in its first flush of success, we were all kind of 29 / 30, so we'd been around the block once with a band called Terraplane that ended, very, very badly, and we knew how the industry worked. We were a bit older, and I think a couple of guys were married by this point, so for that kind of rampant ego stuff, I think if we'd been ten years younger, maybe. I think we're all fairly normal guys. Obviously Danny and I have known each other since we were 11 years old, so I think if anybody got a bit up at themselves, the others would soon have a word. I don't think it really is us as people, whereas I think the Gallagher brothers, they're probably quite like that anyway, so even if they worked in another job, I'm sure they'd still be the same kind of people they are.
Kind of, yeah. I mean, with the with the last album 'Songs from the Blue Room' [2023], I was going to release that but I wasn't quite sure when I was going to do it. I told the band I was going to do that, and because it was written in between, certainly there was no intention of not carrying on with Thunder at all. It was ironic that Danny's injury happened when it did, in that it came at the end of a really successful couple of years and one of the biggest tours we've ever done. Doing arena tours, like, thirty-five years into our career is mental, but we got it back up to that point again, so, obviously, when Danny had his accident, he was like; "oh, my god, of all the times...", What it meant was the album 'Songs From the Blue Room' was going to come out fairly shortly after that Thunder tour, but obviously once that happened, I didn't have the stomach for it. It wouldn't have been right, so we got put back, and then while he ass still recovering, I thought; "well, I quite enjoyed the process of making the last one, Let's do it again", and so it rolled on from there without too much planning or forethought. I just wrote some more songs and recorded them.
You're the only songwriter in Thunder, so I can't imagine that you would have been happy to just sit this out until the day that Danny is good to go again.
No, but I think it's that you've got to keep moving forward as a songwriter or musician, really. I don't like not working. I don't like not being busy, so with production work as well here and there, and playing guitar with The Quireboys. I've just been keeping myself busy really, and enjoying it as well. I still love what I do, and I'm very fortunate to get paid to do something that I love. Not many people can say that, and every morning when I get out of bed, I'm grateful for that.
The first thing that people will wonder is how does this differ from Thunder? In places it reminded me of the first Bowes Morley album, which toned down the distortion and is less rocky; would you say that's a fair assessment?
I think so. Certainly, one of the things that I would not want to do is to try and make a Thunder album, because on my own, there's no point, because it can't be as good. The solo thing allows me to explore other areas of musical influence and other things that I like. I've always been a massive fan of American acts like Tom Petty and Nils Lofgren and James Taylor. That kind of singer songwriter that has always fascinated me, so it's a chance for me to do that. Obviously there's going to be moments here and there where it gets a little bit rockier, and moments where it doesn't, because I'm a guitar player at the end of the day, and I write using the guitar. So it's going to take me down various roads, but I think, no, it'd be pointless trying to try to make a Thunder album in my mind. I wouldn't do it. Just nonsense. There's no point.
There's a great mix of styles on the album; soul, rock, country, singer songwriter, gospel, but I want to chat first about the first single 'Walking on Water'; you recorded a really cool video for that one.
It was shot in a place called Calvert Studios, and it's basically an outdoor photographic studio in Spain, and the water platform that most of it is shot on, that's mainly used for advertising cars, because it's only about five mil of water, and they put black ink in it so it looks like a mirror. I'm sure you've seen photographs of cars that will have the perfect reflection underneath, and that's basically what it's used for, usually. My very good friend Jason [Joyce], the photographer who I work with a lot, just said to me; "I've got this brilliant idea. I think we should go here", and he showed me and I said; "wow, that's fantastic!" Weirdly enough, the song hadn't been written at the point. We had the idea for the album sleeve, and he said he thought we should go there so we could make it look like I'm walking on water. So I went away, and I thought; "well, I wonder if I can write a song called 'Walking on Water'? What would it be about?" So that's how the song and the album title came about; it was the tail wagging the dog, almost!
There's a little snippet you had on your YouTube channel where you say the song's about people like Liam Gallagher and the whole Jesus analogy; at the height of Thunder's success, was there anything kind of relatable where it's like you had the kind of the rock god thing going on?
I don't think so. I think because when Thunder was in its first flush of success, we were all kind of 29 / 30, so we'd been around the block once with a band called Terraplane that ended, very, very badly, and we knew how the industry worked. We were a bit older, and I think a couple of guys were married by this point, so for that kind of rampant ego stuff, I think if we'd been ten years younger, maybe. I think we're all fairly normal guys. Obviously Danny and I have known each other since we were 11 years old, so I think if anybody got a bit up at themselves, the others would soon have a word. I don't think it really is us as people, whereas I think the Gallagher brothers, they're probably quite like that anyway, so even if they worked in another job, I'm sure they'd still be the same kind of people they are.
You followed it up with the second single 'Natural High', which opens the album. It's such a feel good rock track; is that the vibe you wanted to start the album off with?
Yeah, I just thought once the song was finished, that that's probably got to go first because it's very 'up'. The world is a very fucking dark place at the moment, and one of the things that really grinds my gears about a lot of modern pop music is that it's all very inward. It's all me; "he disrespected ME". You know; "you've done that to ME". It's all; "Me, me, me ", and so many of the songs are completely inward, and I can't think of many contemporary writers who will look at the world around them and write about that. It's all about what's happening in your own little world, and it's kind of an insular thing. I think it's good to do that sometimes, but there's a big world out there, and there's lots of things that are more interesting than why your boyfriend's dissed you or whatever it is that young people write about. So when I started to write this song and I got the title, I just thought it's got to be a really positive thing. It's a happy melody, and as you say, it's uplifting, and that's what it was designed to do, I guess. I hope it has that effect on everyone that listens to it because that's the general idea. If that happens, then obviously I'll have done my job.
You're someone who has written some of the finest ballads in rock music, and 'Breathe' from this album is another one, but it's got a darkness to it.
Yeah, it's funny because when the album was done and finished, I sent it out to a few friends and I played it to a couple people, and everybody picked up on that song and said it has got to be a single because there's something about it. Sometimes it's like that. It's like 'Love Walked In' - this is the absolute, honest truth - when I'd written 'Love Walked In', I played it to Andy Taylor who was producing the first Thunder album ['Backstreet Symphony', 1990], and I said to him; "this might be a bit cheesy", and he said; "If you don't put that on the album, you're fucking insane". I'm glad he said that, because that song has earned me more money than anything else! So, songs sometimes can connect with people, and as a writer, some of the time you think; "well, that's a bit special", but some of the time you don't know, and with 'Breathe', at the time of writing. I thought, in terms of, like, balance; "I think this is kind of up there". But yeah, it is quite dark, but I'm sure it will be a single at some point. It will just be interesting to see how people react to it, so we'll see. Fingers crossed.
The song 'Texas' is another one that jumped out at me; that's got to be a Telecaster guitar solo you've got going on there.
It is, yes, it's a Telecaster. There's not much on that, really, it's just my old trusty Gibson J-200 acoustic, and yeah, Tele. I really like that song. It's about as country as the album gets. It's about a specific thing that happened, and so it's kind of a very dark thing, actually. Thunder got involved in this charity, Childline, the best part of twenty years ago, and that developed, and one of the fundraising things was this motorcycle trip around the states. In 2022 we went out and did it, and one of the guys got in a bizarre accident that had nothing to do with the bike, and he was hit by a motorist, and died two days later.
That sounds horrific.
It was right in the middle of the trip, and it was awful, and it happened after a particularly great night as well. It was very odd. We were in this little town called Alpine in the middle of nowhere in Texas. We went out, had dinner, we took over this little bar, and I had my guitar with me, so we had a bit of a sing song, and had a great night. All the locals joined in, and they persuaded us to go to this karaoke bar with them afterwards, which we did. It was a really great evening, and this lad, he just wandered off on his own and he got clipped by a truck crossing the freeway, and he died two days later. It was awful, and it came right in the middle of the trip, and we couldn't stop the trip. We had to keep going because we were committed to be in certain places at certain times, and it was just dreadful, as you can imagine. So the song is about that evening and that trip. It's quite a personal thing. I'm sure most people will listen to it and won't notice because it's quite a sort of cheerful thing, but yeah, there's a dark thing going on behind it.
Is that cathartic for you? I mean, I would imagine it's like writing your feelings down on paper and getting it out.
Yeah, I mean, I couldn't even go near it for a couple of years. It didn't have good effect on me for a few weeks. I mean, it was not good at all, on any of us, really, so I didn't really think about it too much. Then when I was writing this album, I started thinking about it again, and the guy who died was a big fan of music, and I just thought, at least the last night of his his life, he had a fucking great time, and I think a great way to remember him would be via music, so then I kind of cleared the way for me to get it off my chest.
You mentioned the Childline thing, and I think people forget Thunder have always been connected to charities, going back as far as 'Low Life in High Places' [1992], which had a link to Shelter, hadn't it?
Yeah, we did a show for Shelter. I think it was in '93 at Brixton Academy. We had a few guests get up. We got involved with Childline because a guy who we were introduced to, who's since passed away, unfortunately, but went on to become one of my best mates, he was a complete mentalist, and he was from the financial sector, and he said; "I'm going to raise money. I'm going to put his gig on", and we were like; "don't do it". Promoting is a mug's game; everybody says they'll turn up, and then they won't!". But we couldn't talk him out of it, and basically, we ended up doing two shows at the at the Indigo2 in London, two years running, and we had all sorts of people. I sort of became a musical director for him, and we had people like Roger Daltrey, Lulu, Steve Harley, John Lord, Ian Paice, Glenn Hughes; all these people pitched up and did a few numbers, and it's because of this guy's amazing, amazing enthusiasm. He was like a real force of nature. But yeah, he got us involved with Childline, and we've still got that connection going, I think with the bike ride, we raised over £800,000, which is great.
That gig you're talking about sounds crazy; were you putting the all those guys together?
Yeah, basically Thunder was, myself, and Harry [James, drums] and Chris [Childs, bass] were like, the house band, really, and then we bought on various other musicians at various times. Loads of people just stuck their hand up and said; "I'll do it". Bob Harris was emceeing it, and Bob's wife, Trudy and myself did a lot of the persuading with the musicians. Obviously Bob's got a phone book that goes on for weeks, so we were able to get in touch with all sorts of people. It was great, yeah. Everybody really pulled up, it was really good, good fun.
Yeah, I just thought once the song was finished, that that's probably got to go first because it's very 'up'. The world is a very fucking dark place at the moment, and one of the things that really grinds my gears about a lot of modern pop music is that it's all very inward. It's all me; "he disrespected ME". You know; "you've done that to ME". It's all; "Me, me, me ", and so many of the songs are completely inward, and I can't think of many contemporary writers who will look at the world around them and write about that. It's all about what's happening in your own little world, and it's kind of an insular thing. I think it's good to do that sometimes, but there's a big world out there, and there's lots of things that are more interesting than why your boyfriend's dissed you or whatever it is that young people write about. So when I started to write this song and I got the title, I just thought it's got to be a really positive thing. It's a happy melody, and as you say, it's uplifting, and that's what it was designed to do, I guess. I hope it has that effect on everyone that listens to it because that's the general idea. If that happens, then obviously I'll have done my job.
You're someone who has written some of the finest ballads in rock music, and 'Breathe' from this album is another one, but it's got a darkness to it.
Yeah, it's funny because when the album was done and finished, I sent it out to a few friends and I played it to a couple people, and everybody picked up on that song and said it has got to be a single because there's something about it. Sometimes it's like that. It's like 'Love Walked In' - this is the absolute, honest truth - when I'd written 'Love Walked In', I played it to Andy Taylor who was producing the first Thunder album ['Backstreet Symphony', 1990], and I said to him; "this might be a bit cheesy", and he said; "If you don't put that on the album, you're fucking insane". I'm glad he said that, because that song has earned me more money than anything else! So, songs sometimes can connect with people, and as a writer, some of the time you think; "well, that's a bit special", but some of the time you don't know, and with 'Breathe', at the time of writing. I thought, in terms of, like, balance; "I think this is kind of up there". But yeah, it is quite dark, but I'm sure it will be a single at some point. It will just be interesting to see how people react to it, so we'll see. Fingers crossed.
The song 'Texas' is another one that jumped out at me; that's got to be a Telecaster guitar solo you've got going on there.
It is, yes, it's a Telecaster. There's not much on that, really, it's just my old trusty Gibson J-200 acoustic, and yeah, Tele. I really like that song. It's about as country as the album gets. It's about a specific thing that happened, and so it's kind of a very dark thing, actually. Thunder got involved in this charity, Childline, the best part of twenty years ago, and that developed, and one of the fundraising things was this motorcycle trip around the states. In 2022 we went out and did it, and one of the guys got in a bizarre accident that had nothing to do with the bike, and he was hit by a motorist, and died two days later.
That sounds horrific.
It was right in the middle of the trip, and it was awful, and it happened after a particularly great night as well. It was very odd. We were in this little town called Alpine in the middle of nowhere in Texas. We went out, had dinner, we took over this little bar, and I had my guitar with me, so we had a bit of a sing song, and had a great night. All the locals joined in, and they persuaded us to go to this karaoke bar with them afterwards, which we did. It was a really great evening, and this lad, he just wandered off on his own and he got clipped by a truck crossing the freeway, and he died two days later. It was awful, and it came right in the middle of the trip, and we couldn't stop the trip. We had to keep going because we were committed to be in certain places at certain times, and it was just dreadful, as you can imagine. So the song is about that evening and that trip. It's quite a personal thing. I'm sure most people will listen to it and won't notice because it's quite a sort of cheerful thing, but yeah, there's a dark thing going on behind it.
Is that cathartic for you? I mean, I would imagine it's like writing your feelings down on paper and getting it out.
Yeah, I mean, I couldn't even go near it for a couple of years. It didn't have good effect on me for a few weeks. I mean, it was not good at all, on any of us, really, so I didn't really think about it too much. Then when I was writing this album, I started thinking about it again, and the guy who died was a big fan of music, and I just thought, at least the last night of his his life, he had a fucking great time, and I think a great way to remember him would be via music, so then I kind of cleared the way for me to get it off my chest.
You mentioned the Childline thing, and I think people forget Thunder have always been connected to charities, going back as far as 'Low Life in High Places' [1992], which had a link to Shelter, hadn't it?
Yeah, we did a show for Shelter. I think it was in '93 at Brixton Academy. We had a few guests get up. We got involved with Childline because a guy who we were introduced to, who's since passed away, unfortunately, but went on to become one of my best mates, he was a complete mentalist, and he was from the financial sector, and he said; "I'm going to raise money. I'm going to put his gig on", and we were like; "don't do it". Promoting is a mug's game; everybody says they'll turn up, and then they won't!". But we couldn't talk him out of it, and basically, we ended up doing two shows at the at the Indigo2 in London, two years running, and we had all sorts of people. I sort of became a musical director for him, and we had people like Roger Daltrey, Lulu, Steve Harley, John Lord, Ian Paice, Glenn Hughes; all these people pitched up and did a few numbers, and it's because of this guy's amazing, amazing enthusiasm. He was like a real force of nature. But yeah, he got us involved with Childline, and we've still got that connection going, I think with the bike ride, we raised over £800,000, which is great.
That gig you're talking about sounds crazy; were you putting the all those guys together?
Yeah, basically Thunder was, myself, and Harry [James, drums] and Chris [Childs, bass] were like, the house band, really, and then we bought on various other musicians at various times. Loads of people just stuck their hand up and said; "I'll do it". Bob Harris was emceeing it, and Bob's wife, Trudy and myself did a lot of the persuading with the musicians. Obviously Bob's got a phone book that goes on for weeks, so we were able to get in touch with all sorts of people. It was great, yeah. Everybody really pulled up, it was really good, good fun.
Back to the album, and 'Don't Cry Now' is a really soulful number. There's some nice keys in that one, and a kind of Chris Isaac whammy guitar.
Well, that was interesting because it didn't start like that. The chord progression in the verse is quite a common jazz progression; it's basically just two chords, but different inversions. I won't bore you with the details and this sort of swing jazz thing, but I thought; "no, I'm not sure about that". Then I got the chorus as a separate idea, and then I went; "I wonder if I can stick those chords with it?" That then gave me the groove and the tempo and everything, and I just thought I'd try and take it down a more bluesy direction. It's an interesting song, and it's a mixture of several different sorts of styles, really. One of my mates said; "it sounds a bit like Gary Moore", which I hadn't considered, and yeah, I suppose it does. It's a bit like 'Still Got the Blues', because that's a sort of circular chord progression in the same sort of way, but yeah, it's interesting with the guitar sounds as well. I tried several things, and I wasn't sure about any of them. Then I sat in the studio one day, and I randomly pushed up a few faders and thought; "that sounds alright; don't touch it!" So some of the parts that I thought I wasn't going to use, I did use, and vice versa, but yeah, then Sam Tanner came in and put some beautiful keys on it, and yeah, all good.
Would you say Gary Moore was an influence on you as a lead player?
I think he's a brilliant guitar player, but he wasn't really. My influences really predate Gary Moore, really, so Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Hendrix is a big one, George Harrison, Dave Gilmore, Paul Kossoff, Mick Ralphs, and Mick Ronson was a big one as well. That was all before I knew who Gary Moore was, but he was a great guitar player. Oh, my God. I mean, I saw him a few times, and yeah, unbelievable technique.
You're known for being a song writer, and I think sometimes people forget that you're an amazing lead player.
Funny enough, I've just done an interview, and the guy asked me; "what's your favourite guitar solo?" I said; "well, I don't know what my favourite one is, but I know one that I dread". It's not 'Love Walked In,' actually. I don't find it a difficult solo, but the one that I do that really must focus me is 'Don't Wait For Me'. It's got like, three key changes underneath it, and there's no bailout, there's no escape lane. You're out there in the middle of nowhere with your pants down, so that was a big thing, whereas I think normally, with any kind of blues-based rock and roll, unless it's particularly on a complicated chord sequence, there's always a way that if you get lost, you can come back. Obviously, I like to improvise, and growing up listening to Hendrix and Paul Kossoff and those kind of players, the idea of having to play exactly the same way every night didn't really appeal to me. Having said that, when I play 'Love Walked In', I do play it the same every night because the song is one of our biggest songs, and I think people know the solo, so it'd be disappointing if I did something else,
Obviously, back then you were using the white Les Paul. Do you still own it?
Yeah, I was playing it the other day, actually. Well, I have two that are identical, pretty much, and I bought them within six months of each other, around 1989. Even the serial numbers are very close as well, so they obviously both come out of the same batch. To be honest with you, I can't remember which one I played on which. I know when we did Donington in 1990, I used both of them, and I certainly used both of them on 'Backstreet Symphony' as well. So it's weird; I can't remember which one's my favourite. It's a bit odd.
I know you switched because of back problems, but when I first saw you using a Strat, it was really, really odd!
It's funny how people see you a certain way. I mean, quite a few guitar players have said to me; "you're the reason I play a white Les Paul", and you think; "oh?! Why?!" I suppose when I first bought the first one of the two, when we were just starting Thunder, I was very conscious of the fact that I wanted to buy a guitar that stood out, because that was the time of everyone was playing those bloody Jackson guitars and I just thought; "I want something really good and traditional, but a bit flashy; not too flashy, a little bit flashy". People look at a Les Paul, and you know what you're going to get with the Les Paul, and what it represents; you know, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend etc. So it was definitely a choice.
I mean, I've always loved Les Pauls, but I'm a bit of a guitar slut. I love all of them because they all do different jobs. I mean, with the solo stuff, it's much more suited to a Fender, generally. I love when you drive a Fender really hard, be it a Tele or a Strat; there's a kind of quality, particularly with with solos and lead parts were there's a kind of brightness that you maybe don't get with a Les Paul. With a Les Paul you get this lovely, layered, warm kind of sound, but with a Fender, you get this kind of little front end on the note, which is unique. So I love them both, and I still play all of them, but for the purposes of touring, certainly the solo thing, I think it's probably a Fender because of all the changes in tone that Fenders can accommodate, that maybe Gibson's can't as much.
Well, that was interesting because it didn't start like that. The chord progression in the verse is quite a common jazz progression; it's basically just two chords, but different inversions. I won't bore you with the details and this sort of swing jazz thing, but I thought; "no, I'm not sure about that". Then I got the chorus as a separate idea, and then I went; "I wonder if I can stick those chords with it?" That then gave me the groove and the tempo and everything, and I just thought I'd try and take it down a more bluesy direction. It's an interesting song, and it's a mixture of several different sorts of styles, really. One of my mates said; "it sounds a bit like Gary Moore", which I hadn't considered, and yeah, I suppose it does. It's a bit like 'Still Got the Blues', because that's a sort of circular chord progression in the same sort of way, but yeah, it's interesting with the guitar sounds as well. I tried several things, and I wasn't sure about any of them. Then I sat in the studio one day, and I randomly pushed up a few faders and thought; "that sounds alright; don't touch it!" So some of the parts that I thought I wasn't going to use, I did use, and vice versa, but yeah, then Sam Tanner came in and put some beautiful keys on it, and yeah, all good.
Would you say Gary Moore was an influence on you as a lead player?
I think he's a brilliant guitar player, but he wasn't really. My influences really predate Gary Moore, really, so Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Hendrix is a big one, George Harrison, Dave Gilmore, Paul Kossoff, Mick Ralphs, and Mick Ronson was a big one as well. That was all before I knew who Gary Moore was, but he was a great guitar player. Oh, my God. I mean, I saw him a few times, and yeah, unbelievable technique.
You're known for being a song writer, and I think sometimes people forget that you're an amazing lead player.
Funny enough, I've just done an interview, and the guy asked me; "what's your favourite guitar solo?" I said; "well, I don't know what my favourite one is, but I know one that I dread". It's not 'Love Walked In,' actually. I don't find it a difficult solo, but the one that I do that really must focus me is 'Don't Wait For Me'. It's got like, three key changes underneath it, and there's no bailout, there's no escape lane. You're out there in the middle of nowhere with your pants down, so that was a big thing, whereas I think normally, with any kind of blues-based rock and roll, unless it's particularly on a complicated chord sequence, there's always a way that if you get lost, you can come back. Obviously, I like to improvise, and growing up listening to Hendrix and Paul Kossoff and those kind of players, the idea of having to play exactly the same way every night didn't really appeal to me. Having said that, when I play 'Love Walked In', I do play it the same every night because the song is one of our biggest songs, and I think people know the solo, so it'd be disappointing if I did something else,
Obviously, back then you were using the white Les Paul. Do you still own it?
Yeah, I was playing it the other day, actually. Well, I have two that are identical, pretty much, and I bought them within six months of each other, around 1989. Even the serial numbers are very close as well, so they obviously both come out of the same batch. To be honest with you, I can't remember which one I played on which. I know when we did Donington in 1990, I used both of them, and I certainly used both of them on 'Backstreet Symphony' as well. So it's weird; I can't remember which one's my favourite. It's a bit odd.
I know you switched because of back problems, but when I first saw you using a Strat, it was really, really odd!
It's funny how people see you a certain way. I mean, quite a few guitar players have said to me; "you're the reason I play a white Les Paul", and you think; "oh?! Why?!" I suppose when I first bought the first one of the two, when we were just starting Thunder, I was very conscious of the fact that I wanted to buy a guitar that stood out, because that was the time of everyone was playing those bloody Jackson guitars and I just thought; "I want something really good and traditional, but a bit flashy; not too flashy, a little bit flashy". People look at a Les Paul, and you know what you're going to get with the Les Paul, and what it represents; you know, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend etc. So it was definitely a choice.
I mean, I've always loved Les Pauls, but I'm a bit of a guitar slut. I love all of them because they all do different jobs. I mean, with the solo stuff, it's much more suited to a Fender, generally. I love when you drive a Fender really hard, be it a Tele or a Strat; there's a kind of quality, particularly with with solos and lead parts were there's a kind of brightness that you maybe don't get with a Les Paul. With a Les Paul you get this lovely, layered, warm kind of sound, but with a Fender, you get this kind of little front end on the note, which is unique. So I love them both, and I still play all of them, but for the purposes of touring, certainly the solo thing, I think it's probably a Fender because of all the changes in tone that Fenders can accommodate, that maybe Gibson's can't as much.
Photo; Jason Joyce.
Did you have many endorsement deals for gear where you'd get your guitars cheaper, and all that kind of stuff?
Yeah, with Gibson, certainly, when the band started, because there were lots of photographs, obviously, with that white Les Paul, and in those the days you had magazines like Karang! and RAW, so the people at Gibson were really good. They never gave me a free guitar - I'd just like to point out - but we got very good deals on them, and I still have a relationship with Gibson, but I just don't need any more guitars. I've already got a lot!
How many guitars do you have?
I think, last count was about twenty-six. I mean, I sold some, and I've still got a few too many that I don't play, and you know, guitars should be played. I'm not an obsessive collector. As long as I've got a guitar that does the job I need it to do - and sometimes two of them, because it's good to have a back up - then I'm happy, really.
Kirk Hammett from Metallica has sold guitars off recently, but he didn't let anyone know it was him; did you do it anonymously too?
Yes, I always do it anonymously. I think if ever I was to sell one of the white Les Pauls, I think I'd probably do that publicly, because the guitar in itself is a thing. But yeah, occasionally I've bought guitars on a whim without seeing them, which is never a smart thing to do. The trouble is, when you're left-handed, things don't come around very often, so when you see one on eBay or whatever I'll have a little punt on that, and I'll buy it. Sometimes it's great, and sometimes it's a bit of a disaster, and you have to move it on.
The last time we spoke, you told me somebody broke the 'Low Life in High Places' acoustic.
Yeah. I've still got a twelve-string that's got that on it which looks beautiful, but doesn't sound great. It's nice to look at.
Before I let you go, I've been loving the Thunder vinyl reissues. Have you got plans for more of them?
I think, yes, I'm not quite sure. I can't remember how far we got back in the catalogue.
I think the last batch went up to 'Robert Johnson's Tombstone'.
Okay, that's where it left. Do you know what the answer is? I don't know. I don't think we generally know, because I think the plan was to go to up to there. I'm sure at some point it will happen because obviously, there's a demand for vinyl now, and fortunately for us, a lot of people are Thunder collectors and like to have the full range of stuff, so I'm sure it probably will happen.
What does the future bring for you? You've got the album, obviously, and the tour is coming up as well, but what's going on beyond that? Are you just purely focused on the album at this point?
Largely. I mean, I'm doing a run of festivals with the Quireboys over the summer, and then I'm doing some shows with them at the end of the year. Next year, I'm not 100% sure. I'm always looking for other acts to be involved with as a producer because I enjoy that very much. I've just done an album with a band called MuddiBrook, which will be out at some point next year. It's great. I'm very proud of it. It sounds really good. So I'm always looking for something like that to keep me occupied. I like working with other people because every time I do it, I learn something, even if it's how not to do something. Being a solo artist is great, but it's just me really, so it's taking all the responsibility and doing everything, but I think working in a band environment agrees with me. That's a good environment to be in, so yeah, it's a nice thing to work with young people as well.
This is a very difficult question to end on. but do you foresee a day when Thunder are back on stage?
I certainly hope so. I mean, that's a question for Danny. I went and saw him the other night. He did a show here in Brighton where I live, and we had a long chat afterwards, and he looked absolutely knackered, but he was good. But he was all over it, the mental sharpness, completely 100%. Obviously, physically, he's still got a few things that he needs to improve on, and with a brain injury, there is no road map. It's different for everybody, how and when you improve, and like I said, there's no set rules or terms for it; you just have to keep doing what you're doing, and hopefully it will come back. It's really up to him. Obviously, all of the guys in the band love being in Thunder, and if he gets to the point where he feels he can do it again, then we will. Whether or not that comes is really a question for him. I really, really, hope it does. It'd be a shame to... Like I said, it's very ironic that it happened at the end of our most successful year, but that's life. I mean, god, people have got far worse problems, so I'm not worried about it, but yeah, I hope it isn't the end of Thunder because we all love doing it as people. We all love each other, and it's great, great fun to do, so, yeah, I hope it's not done.
Luke Morley's 'Walking on Water' is released on 1st August 2025. Order here.
Yeah, with Gibson, certainly, when the band started, because there were lots of photographs, obviously, with that white Les Paul, and in those the days you had magazines like Karang! and RAW, so the people at Gibson were really good. They never gave me a free guitar - I'd just like to point out - but we got very good deals on them, and I still have a relationship with Gibson, but I just don't need any more guitars. I've already got a lot!
How many guitars do you have?
I think, last count was about twenty-six. I mean, I sold some, and I've still got a few too many that I don't play, and you know, guitars should be played. I'm not an obsessive collector. As long as I've got a guitar that does the job I need it to do - and sometimes two of them, because it's good to have a back up - then I'm happy, really.
Kirk Hammett from Metallica has sold guitars off recently, but he didn't let anyone know it was him; did you do it anonymously too?
Yes, I always do it anonymously. I think if ever I was to sell one of the white Les Pauls, I think I'd probably do that publicly, because the guitar in itself is a thing. But yeah, occasionally I've bought guitars on a whim without seeing them, which is never a smart thing to do. The trouble is, when you're left-handed, things don't come around very often, so when you see one on eBay or whatever I'll have a little punt on that, and I'll buy it. Sometimes it's great, and sometimes it's a bit of a disaster, and you have to move it on.
The last time we spoke, you told me somebody broke the 'Low Life in High Places' acoustic.
Yeah. I've still got a twelve-string that's got that on it which looks beautiful, but doesn't sound great. It's nice to look at.
Before I let you go, I've been loving the Thunder vinyl reissues. Have you got plans for more of them?
I think, yes, I'm not quite sure. I can't remember how far we got back in the catalogue.
I think the last batch went up to 'Robert Johnson's Tombstone'.
Okay, that's where it left. Do you know what the answer is? I don't know. I don't think we generally know, because I think the plan was to go to up to there. I'm sure at some point it will happen because obviously, there's a demand for vinyl now, and fortunately for us, a lot of people are Thunder collectors and like to have the full range of stuff, so I'm sure it probably will happen.
What does the future bring for you? You've got the album, obviously, and the tour is coming up as well, but what's going on beyond that? Are you just purely focused on the album at this point?
Largely. I mean, I'm doing a run of festivals with the Quireboys over the summer, and then I'm doing some shows with them at the end of the year. Next year, I'm not 100% sure. I'm always looking for other acts to be involved with as a producer because I enjoy that very much. I've just done an album with a band called MuddiBrook, which will be out at some point next year. It's great. I'm very proud of it. It sounds really good. So I'm always looking for something like that to keep me occupied. I like working with other people because every time I do it, I learn something, even if it's how not to do something. Being a solo artist is great, but it's just me really, so it's taking all the responsibility and doing everything, but I think working in a band environment agrees with me. That's a good environment to be in, so yeah, it's a nice thing to work with young people as well.
This is a very difficult question to end on. but do you foresee a day when Thunder are back on stage?
I certainly hope so. I mean, that's a question for Danny. I went and saw him the other night. He did a show here in Brighton where I live, and we had a long chat afterwards, and he looked absolutely knackered, but he was good. But he was all over it, the mental sharpness, completely 100%. Obviously, physically, he's still got a few things that he needs to improve on, and with a brain injury, there is no road map. It's different for everybody, how and when you improve, and like I said, there's no set rules or terms for it; you just have to keep doing what you're doing, and hopefully it will come back. It's really up to him. Obviously, all of the guys in the band love being in Thunder, and if he gets to the point where he feels he can do it again, then we will. Whether or not that comes is really a question for him. I really, really, hope it does. It'd be a shame to... Like I said, it's very ironic that it happened at the end of our most successful year, but that's life. I mean, god, people have got far worse problems, so I'm not worried about it, but yeah, I hope it isn't the end of Thunder because we all love doing it as people. We all love each other, and it's great, great fun to do, so, yeah, I hope it's not done.
Luke Morley's 'Walking on Water' is released on 1st August 2025. Order here.
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