New solo album from Hove-based Luke Morley from the band Thunder

And it has enjoyed rapid success. Songs from The Blue Room hit the number-one spot in the UK Indie Breaker Albums charts earlier this summer, number two in the Official Record Store Chart, and number three in the Official Americana Albums charts.

“'I’m really pleased with the reaction to the album,” says Luke “The critical response has been amazing, particularly in some quarters where I wasn’t expecting it at all! It’s good to surprise people and challenge their perceptions a little bit so let’s hope people keep listening with open minds.

“It started because I'd written a couple of songs that just didn't really fit into the Thunder remit. I just couldn't imagine the band playing them. They didn't feel quite right for the band and so I just put them to one side and then Covid happened. And I wrote a lot during that Covid time. I got lots done and then I just started thinking what should I do with these songs and I started writing others that were going along with them and it just developed into an album. It ended up going in that direction but I wasn't seeking to go in that direction in the first place. And so over a period of six or seven months I finished writing and then it was question of how am I going to record this because I couldn't go anywhere. And so I realised I was going to have to play it and record it myself. I did another solo album 23 years ago so the world was ready! The last one was for a Japanese label at a time when Thunder first stopped and had a little bit of a break. They asked me if I would make a solo album.

“Obviously it's different to working with Thunder though I am the songwriter. Obviously the other guys have their input but I am the person that writes the songs and that is just the way it has evolved over the years and I like doing it. But having said that this is still very different. When I am writing for the band I have to think about Danny's vocals. Danny is a full-on proper tenor with a very beautiful voice and I am very much more in the baritone area so it's a question of making sure it's in the appropriate key but also there's no point making an album outside of Thunder that sounds exactly like Thunder. Really it needs to be different.”

Plus it's perfectly natural these days to have a bit of a sideline now that the bottom has fallen out of the market for albums and CDs: “Most people in bands will be doing something else as well these days, but having said that actually Thunder is one of the few bands that still do well with CDs. We have a fan base over many years that is very, very loyal and that still like the physical product and we've just really done a number of reissues. That's allowed us to be one of the few bands around that still make money out of records but with this one it's very different. The last two Thunder albums have both been very much concerned with what is going on in the world, the good, the bad and the indifferent. When you've got to a certain age, you're writing about the things that concern you which does mean that they're always going to be genuine and from the heart.. It is maybe a little bit more personal.”

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