Photos by Adrian Hextall
With Thunder still on hiatus, their founding guitarist and songwriter, Luke Morley, has embraced a period of reflection and reinvention, both in his career, and in his approach to life. Joining the Quireboys in 2023 saw Luke unite with his longtime friends, Spike and Nigel Mogg, at a challenging junction for their own band – following the death of Guy Bailey. However, whilst that allowed Luke to scratch that itch to play live, his creative flow has remained undiminshed, spawning his 2023 solo album ‘Songs from the Blue Room’ – his first solo material in some thirty years. In the ensuing 2 years, Luke has taken a modest career pause, but is now back with renewed energy. Throughout September he will return to the live stage, with his solo band, and branding his latest solo album ‘Walking on Water’, which many are describing as his finest recorded work. Luke Morley talks to MyGlobalMind.com.
Interview by Mark Lacey
MGM: The last time you spoke to MyGlobalMind.com about your solo work was two years ago, around the release of ‘Songs from the Blue Room’. At that time you explained that the album had stemmed from finding some demos in a drawer and your wife telling you to explore them further, and then you went on to write an entire album from it. Now you’re back with your third solo album ‘Walking on Water’. Are these further songs that you’ve dug out of the drawer, or are these completely new?
Luke: No, to be honest, this one was a bit more considered. The last one was well received …. better than I thought it would be … and because I enjoyed the tour as well, I just thought, I might as well do it again. That was interesting because after the ‘Songs from the Blue Room’ album was finished, I didn’t write anything for two years. I took two years off. And then I thought, well, I’d better get back to work, and I sat down and wrote this one very quickly. This was written and recorded probably in about three months. Obviously, I’d not written for two years. I had lots of ideas, little pencilled ideas sitting around, so it was very easy to work through them and turn it into 11 songs.
MGM: Is it unusual for you to take time off?
Luke: It is, yes. First time I’ve done it for a long, long, long time. But ‘Songs from the Blue Room’ and ‘Dopamine’ were all going on at the same time, or some of it was. And that came quite quickly after ‘All the right noises’, so I felt like I’d written a lot in a fairly short space of time. And of course, one of those albums is a double album, so I just thought, I needed to recharge the old batteries a little bit. Initially it was going to be a year, and then it ended up being two years, but I wasn’t worried about it. I just thought, when the time’s right, I’ll pick up the guitar and start again.
MGM: When you were writing the last album, you pretty much put all of that together yourself through COVID. And then Dave McClusky came in to work with you on the drums quite late in the day. You also had some other contributions, including Ricky Warwick, and Danny Bowes contributed some vocals on there. So, did this feel quite different for you this time around?
Luke: It was the same process, to be honest. Most of it I did in my home studio. It seemed to work last time, so I just went about it the same way. I made demos of all the songs but paid particular attention to the guitar parts and the vocals and made sure that I was happy with them before I got anybody else involved. This time, some of the keyboard parts were a little bit out of my comfort zone, so I got Sam Tanner, who did the last two Thunder tours to come in and play keys. And a drummer who was recommended to me by Chris, our bass player, a young lad from Wales, called Rhys Morgan. He came in and did a fantastic job. A really good drummer, very laid back in his feel, and it seemed to fit with the material really well. As a result of that, he’s doing the tour with us as well. It’s always nice to work with young musicians who surprise you with their maturity, and he was one of them. A lovely lad as well. In fact, he’s out with the Feeling at the moment, I think. So, he’s obviously becoming much in demand as a session drummer.
MGM: We’ve seen you play with Sam before, and Rhys is a new part of your live band. Did you write the songs and then bring the team together to record them? Or do you involve them earlier in the process?
Luke: By the time we get to putting the drums on, which is obviously fundamental to everything, the songs are all in shape. I send the demos off to whoever’s playing, and they learn it, and they come in, and they do it. Obviously, being the control freak I am, I’ve got a pretty clear idea of what’s going where and why. But to their credit, nobody ever moans. They just come in and do it, and that’s it.
MGM: You previously described ‘Songs from the Blue Room’ as being quite an inward-looking album; for example ‘Errol Flynn’ was about getting older; ‘I want to see the light’ was about COVID, and so on. How have you approach this album lyrically or thematically?
I don’t think there’s any kind of general thrust, but probably because the songs were all written during the summer, I think it’s a bit lighter in feel. I drove myself a little bit mad with ‘All the right noises’ and some of ‘Dopamine’ writing about current world themes. I just thought, I’m going to steer away from that this time. I’m just going to write about more day-to-day things and not wind myself up too much in everything else that was going on. So, I took a lighter approach this time. I think a lot of the musical ideas felt a bit lighter as well, so I just lyrically went along with that and didn’t question it, really. And then we ended up where we are. There’s a couple of serious moments on it, but I tried to maintain my sense of humour throughout.
MGM: You’ve worn a number of different hats throughout your career; you’ve collaborated with many artists over the years; enjoyed a hugely successful career with Thunder, which will hopefully return at some point; and more recently you’ve been working with the Quireboys, which has a much looser style. Your solo material has its own unique identity too. But how would you describe your musical personality on this latest album?
Luke: Oh, crikey. Honestly, I haven’t got a fucking clue. Self-analysis is not something I do. I just write the songs, put them together, and if I’m happy with them, they get released. There’s never really been a grand plan. Self reflection isn’t something that I do at the time. Maybe in a few years time. If I listen to early Thunder records, I’ll be somewhere and I’ll hear one and I’ll go, oh my God, we sound young, or what was I thinking? I have a desire to keep moving forward, so I don’t worry too much about it. Making records or recording it, is a bit like taking a photograph. You’re capturing a moment in time, and that’s all you do. It’s no more important or less important than that. You do it. You’re happy with it, you put it down, you move on. The whole analysis aspect of it, I think that’s really for other people, not for me.
MGM: Your album captures the feel of artists like Tom Petty or ELO. There are also some moments which have a stadium vibe, akin to Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen. Are they people that you would recognise in your own sound?
Luke: Well, I’m a massive fan of Tom Petty and obviously a massive Beatles fan. And via the Beatles, ELO. I think John Lennon once said that had the Beatles kept going, that probably would have sounded like ELO. So, I’m drawing on those influences. Springsteen as well. I think if you’re one bloke with a guitar writing songs, there are going to be some things that permeate, and all your influences, and everything you’ve digested over the years is going to come out. I think also where I am in life has an effect on it. I was 65 a few weeks ago. So that’s obviously a part of where the songs are coming from. I can give you a big long list of who my influences are, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. So, it all comes together, it goes through my pea-like brain and comes out like it does. I don’t really know.
MGM: The album is called ‘Walking on Water’. That’s also the title of your first single. The song is about the arrogance of celebrity and questions what Jesus would think if he came back, and also what people might make of him. Can you explain that a bit further?
Luke: Yeah, it’s a mixture of those two things, really. It’s worth mentioning that this song was the last song to be written because I had all the other tunes, and then I sat down with Jason Joyce, who helps with the visuals, and we were talking about what we could do. He said, I’ve got a brilliant idea for a photograph. And he explained the concept, which is an outdoor photographic studio in Spain with a water platform that’s five millimetres deep, with a reflection of the sky and the mountains. I said, that’s brilliant, can we get it to make it look like I’m walking on water? And he said, Yeah, we can do that. So, I thought, maybe I’ll go away and see if I can write a song called ‘Walking on Water’, because obviously, visually, that would all make sense. So, the visual idea came before the song. But it’s really about, if Jesus came back today, what would he be like? He might not be this benevolent, beautiful, gentle soul. He might be a complete arrogant twit. He could be like Donald Trump or like Liam Gallagher. He might be completely different. He might have adapted his persona to suit the modern world, where notoriety is everything. So, I started thinking about that and how that would manifest itself. And that’s where the song came from.
MGM: It’s good to see Jason Joyce has been back working on your artwork again this time around. The artwork for your last album was also done in Spain, wasn’t it?
Luke: All three of them have been in Spain, so we’ve got a tradition now. It’s a good excuse to get away for a weekend and go and play a bit of golf as well. They’ve all been in Spain. They didn’t start out that way, but they’ve all been different locations over there.
MGM: Another one of your songs that has an interesting theme is ‘Breathe’. That felt quite personal, especially with the lyric “I can’t breathe without you there”. Who was that song based on?
Luke: Nobody, really. To be honest, it’s more of a generic theme about the effect that a disintegrating relationship can have on people. Sometimes it can be quite physical. The usual cliché is, oh, I’ve got a broken heart, or I’m having a nervous breakdown. And I just thought, how else could you articulate that feeling of desperation? I’m not quite sure why or where it comes from, but I was humming the tune, and the phrase just came out. I thought, that’s quite interesting, because that fits the narrative of the song, and this feeling of suffocation and isolation. I guess it’s in that pocket. Obviously, my with history with Thunder, there’s quite a lot of ballads or love songs, like “Love Walked In” or “Better Man”. This is a continuation of that in a way, but obviously it’s written with my voice in mind, not Danny’s.
MGM: When you’re previously talked about writing songs for your own vocal tones and your ranges, you’ve mentioned that your voice is lower. But on ‘Natural high’ you’re definitely experimenting with some highs.
Luke: I think it’s to do with the context of the key. They sound high because they were top of my range. For Danny, they wouldn’t be particularly high. For anybody who’s a high rock tenor in that area, they wouldn’t be particularly high. They’re quite high when you’re a baritone like me.
MGM: What’s a Snakeskin parachute?
Luke: So, this is a mixed metaphor. Basically, Snakeskin refers to all things heavy rock; bullet belts, and the traditional rock n roll attire or accessory. Parachute refers to a way of getting out of a dodgy situation. Basically, the thought behind it was, if this solo thing all goes horribly wrong and it’s a terrible disaster, then I can always parachute back into snakeskin world, which is heavy rock. Going back to my comfort zone, I suppose, is what it’s alluding to.
MGM: You have that wonderful line that you repeat several times in that song; “I don’t feel rejection. I’m a loser anyway”. Obviously, you had your Thunder song, “Loser”, about being a loser in a band. Is this an underlying worry of yours?
Luke: Probably. It’s interesting, because when I was writing “Snakeskin parachute”, that came up and I thought, that’s quite cool because it refers back to the Thunder song. But, I think it’s better to have an opinion of yourself personally as being somebody who isn’t perfect, and I’m very far from perfect. I think you need to incentivise yourself and to stretch yourself. I think I’d rather be erring on the side of thinking of myself as a loser than thinking of somebody who’s a winner, to be honest, because it makes it easier for me to function and be a good human being. I wouldn’t want to walk around being a cock just because I was in a band that was successful or whatever.
MGM: In some ways, that’s a bit of a contrast to the arrogance of celebrity that you write about in the song “Walking on water”, isn’t it?
Luke: Yes, it is. I think we live in an era where I see a lot of self-importance all around me. I see a lot of entitlement and people expecting things or wanting things, or thinking they deserve things when maybe they don’t. The modern world is very much about everything being at your fingertips. I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing for human beings. I think we become better human beings by striving for things. And of course, there’s two or three generations now of young people who’ve grown up where everything is at their fingertips. But I wonder if it makes them happier. I don’t know. That’s part of a much, much longer discussion.
MGM: One of the most fascinating things about the music industry is that a lot of the most successful artists are very humble and very affable people. The arrogance of celebrity often sits at the lower levels of music among people who’ve not yet been as successful.
Luke: I’ve met a couple who are very successful who are complete dicks. I’m not going to name them, but I think that by and large, it’s probably because they’re a bit insecure about whether their position is beyond where they should be in a weird way. But anybody who I’ve met who’s really, really famous has been absolutely lovely.
MGM: It’s good to see that you’re back out touring across the UK again between 10th – 19th September. Your last solo tour was in January 2024. You’ve chosen some really interesting venues for this one. You’ve steered away from the conventional clubs and moved more towards some quite unique buildings. What promoted that?
Luke: Well-spotted. On the last tour there was a mixture of two things. I felt that maybe musically, it didn’t feel quite right being in a stand-in-a-room rock club. I’m not quite sure why. It didn’t feel quite right. Strangely, I was talking to various people in the audience, and a few of them said, it was great, but it’d be really nice to come and see you somewhere where we could sit down. I thought about it some more, and I thought about the demographic. Some of them want a seat, and I do get that. They want to be more comfortable, and I completely understand. So I thought, well, it’ll probably suit my show better anyway to do that. So why don’t we do it? There’s something about it; being in a nicer building is a wonderful thing. There are some lovely theatres on this tour. I think it will be a bit more enjoyable for band and audience alike.
MGM: Have you been to any of these venues before, either as a musician, or as a punter, or will this be a complete new experience for you?
Luke: I don’t think I’ve been in any of them ever. But I took each one on a recommendation, and most of the people I spoke to were local. The London show at Bloomsbury Theatre; my wife’s been there a couple of times, and she says it’s always fabulous. Actually, I have been in the Brighton venue before. I went there to see my mate, Nick Helm, who’s a comedian. Beyond that, I did my research. When the promoter suggested a venue, I just thought this is going to work. They’re all 100% seated.
MGM: The shows kick off in Birmingham on the 10th September. Who’s performing with you? You’ve already mentioned that you’re going to have Rhys Morgan drumming for you, but will Dean Howard and Chris Childs be back with you too?
Luke: It will be the same as the last tour, apart from Rhys playing drums. It made sense to have him because he played on the album. Everything else is the same as it was.
MGM: During the last tour that you did, you were promoting ‘Songs from the Blue Room’. You also played a couple of songs from your debut album, and you also incorporated a number of covers. What’s your plan for this time around?
Luke: I’m still working it out, to be fair. Obviously, I’ll be featuring the new album. I’ll look at some of the songs we did last time, and see how it all weighs up. But I think with the new album ‘Walking on Water’; a lot of that is going to work really well live. With ‘El Gringo’, some of that was never intended to be played live. So, a lot of that probably would be a bit awkward or messy to play live without a 10-piece band. The emphasis will be on the last two albums, definitely. As far as covers go, it’s always good to throw in something familiar.
MGM: You’ve described yourself in the past as being a bit of a reluctant frontman. You must feel more at ease going into this particular tour?
Luke: Well, having done it last time and enjoyed it, it’s great. It’s like everything else; you have to find your own way of presenting it. Playing guitar and singing, there’s lots of stuff to worry about, so it’s very difficult to do that and be David Lee Roth. You’ve got to be really realistic about how you can communicate with the audience. But I do think it’s important to do it because I’ve seen bands in the past where there’s been absolutely no interaction, and you can’t have that. You have to interact with the audience. It makes them feel better. It makes the band feel better. It makes the evening go more swimmingly. I just do it the way that I feel it, really. A bit more low-key than a Thunder gig, maybe, but it’ll be the way that feels right for me and the way that feels right for the music.
MGM: Watching your path the last couple of years has been fascinating, because you’ve been doing the solo work while Thunder is on pause, but you’ve also embedded yourself into the Quireboys, with your good friend Spike. You described yourself earlier as a bit of a control freak. How does that marry for you with being a member of the Quireboys? Their performances are a lot more fluid than a Thunder show.
Luke: That’s absolutely right. The great joy about playing in the Quireboys for me, is that it’s precisely that. It’s a very different thing because every band is a reflection of the people in it. Obviously, in Thunder, you have myself and Danny; you have two very determined people who see eye to eye on nearly everything. So, it’s going to be this way or the highway. This is how it is. With the Quireboys, obviously, it’s chaotic. I think that’s a good word for the Quireboys. Willie Dowling, my good friend who’s playing piano at the moment, rang me up before we did some shows last year, and he said, I’ve be wondering about the arrangements, and how are we going to do that? And I said, Willie? I don’t fucking know. You’ve just got to embrace the chaos, mate. And that’s basically what you do with the Quireboys. Although it’s quite interesting because I’ve known Spike for 40 years, so he can’t surprise me anymore. He’s just himself. And I think he likes having me there because I am like I am. It means he can be completely himself. For him to rein himself in, he’s not particularly good at that. Willie and myself are quite sensible people, so he has a framework that he can hang his Spike-ness on, if you know what I mean. And that’s exactly how he should be. He shouldn’t be controlled. He should be spontaneous. He should be exactly who he is. And we’re there just really making up the numbers. Spike and Nigel, and Guy Bailey, when he was alive, were the Quireboys. The rest of us are just there to give them a solid platform to work on, really. The way I have to play guitar when I play with him is obviously different to how I would normally play, but it’s a really good discipline to put my Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Ron Wood hat on and play in that style because I love all that music, and so it’s a very pleasurable gig for me. I don’t have any major responsibility, although I did end up producing the album, which I never set out to do. I really enjoy it. In all the bands that are fun to play in, there’s a lot of laughter and a lot of banter and a lot of storytelling; as there was in Thunder. The Quireboys feels a bit like an old pair of shoes.
MGM: The Quireboys have also got some dates in November / December, although you’re not playing a London date this time.
Luke: It always seems that everybody goes, we’ve got to play in London. But these days, I don’t think it really matters. I think every part of the country is as important as every other part. I think it’s a question of where venue availability meets band availability, and somewhere in the middle is the truth. That’s how it breaks down sometimes.
MGM: What are your plans beyond this run of shows in September? Do you hope to be doing more solo shows?
Luke: Not this year. Maybe next year. I’ve not done any festivals solo, so it might be fun to try some of that next year. The situation with Danny and Thunder is still in a holding pattern, so I don’t really want to commit myself to anything too far in the future, because hopefully we’ll be able to get back to doing some Thunder work at some point, not too far away. Everything is fluid at the moment. I’m just enjoying not making too many long term plans. The other thing I always enjoy doing is working with other artists. I’ve just produced a band called Muddibrooke. That album comes out early next year, and I’m delighted with the way that’s come out. I’ll be looking for another production gig at some point next year as well because it’s something that I really like to do. Whenever you produce young artists, you always learn. Muddibrooke are unusual. They’ve got a lot of things about them that are very contemporary and because there’s two girls in the band, the vocal blends are really interesting. Sometimes it’s a bit folky here and there, and sometimes it’s a bit Alannis Morisette; it’s an interesting mixture of things.
MGM: It’s good to hear you speak with such optimism that Thunder might be back at some point. It was also really pleasing to see Danny do his speaking tour earlier this year. That will I am sure have given him enormous confidence being back out on a stage. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for that, too.
Luke: Undoubtedy. I think he’s getting better every time I see him. I think that the whole experience of going out on tour was extremely important for him. If it turns out that he can’t come back or he doesn’t want to, then so be it, because your health is the most important issue. But he’s not given up hope, and I certainly haven’t. So, where there’s a will, there’s usually a way. Fingers crossed everything will be ok at some point.
‘Walking in Water’ is out now
Luke Morley will be touring the UK throughout September:
11th September – Manchester RNCM Concert Hall
12th September – Glasgow St Luke’s
14th September – Sunderland Fire Station
15th September – Leeds City Varieties
16th September – Bristol St George’s
17th September – Brighton Old Market
19th September – London Bloomsbury Theatre
For more information and tickets:
https://www.facebook.com/LukeMorleyMusic
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