Thunderstick (former drummer with both Iron Miaden and Samson from the early NWOBHM days) is to return to live action next year. His recent album – Something Wicked This Way Comes – is a cracker (read my review here) and it seems that the success of the album as tempted the Stick on to the road again.
Here’s a press release I received about it:
Following the extremely positive reception for ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ – the first new Thunderstick album in over thirty years – Barry Graham Purkis (aka Thunderstick) has announced a return to live gigging for Thunderstick the band in 2018. It follows the news that Thunderstick will be one of the acts on the bill for Hard Rock Hell 2018, after being selected by fans of the infamous hard rock weekender in an online poll.
Thunderstick creator Barry Graham Purkis comments: “I am delighted to announce that Thunderstick will be touring in 2018. The inclusion of the new reformed Thunderstick on the HRH bill for 2018 has given me both a feeling of pride and a real sense of achievement. It has been over 30 years since a Thunderstick band have toured. The genuine love that we have received from fans, from other musicians and from the music press in support of the ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ album has given us the impetus to once more crusade and fly the flag for NWOBHM / Classic Rock live.”
Hard Rock Hell XII takes place 8-11th November 2018 in North Wales. Other live dates will be announced next year.
Commenting on what fans can expect, Barry added: “The new shows will not only feature Thunderstick material, but also some Samson tracks. We want to pay respect to the Samson legacy by reliving the intensity of those songs.
First noticed playing with a developing Iron Maiden in the seventies then moving to Samson (being instrumental in finding a very youthful Bruce Dickinson) Barry Graham Purkis became the figurehead of the newly emerging NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) scene. This was done by creating an alter ego Thunderstick, a masked persona known not only for his wild style of playing drums but doing so from inside a cage and playfully terrorizing audiences. He went on to form his own highly theatrical band in the eighties. Fronted by a female rock ’n’ roll wildchild (something comparatively new for its time) Thunderstick the band was a perfect ‘Beauty and the Beast’ combination, playing live and recording for six years until it folded in 1987.
Top news is it not and certainly something to lok forward to next year. In the meantime to help with the wait, why not get yourself a copy of Something Wicked This Way Comes?
>> THUNDERSTICK SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES ON AMAZON HERE <<
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