Vocalist Danny Bowes and lead guitarist Luke Morley first played together when they were 15-year-old classmates in London. The two later formed the band Terraplane, which released two albums but broke up in 1988. Bowes, Morley, and drummer Gary "Harry" James then formed Thunder, recruiting bassist Mark "Snake" Luckhurst and rhythm guitarist Ben Matthews. The group's first two singles both hit the U.K. Top 40 and earned Thunder a support slot for Aerosmith and a gig at the 1990 Monsters of Rock festival. Backstreet Symphony, released just a year and a half after the group's live debut, reached the U.K.'s Top 20 and was certified gold. The follow-up, Laughing on Judgement Day, appeared in 1992, followed three years later by Behind Closed Doors. 1996 saw the release of their fourth full-length album, the radio-ready Thrill of it All. A series of live recordings and compilations peppered the next five to seven years, followed by the arrival of 2003's Shooting at the Sun. 2005 saw the release of Magnificent Seven, followed by Robert Johnson's Tombstone in 2006, all three of which were put out on the Frontiers label.