In celebration of their 30th anniversary, British rockers THUNDER revisit and reinterpret their finest songs in a way you've not heard before. Released in North America on Friday, January 18 via BMG, "Please Remain Seated" is the sound of a band taking a strange journey into their own music, but also distilling thirty years of playing together in order to create something truly compelling, taking in flavors of rock, blues, jazz and soul along the way. "She's So Fine" was the album's first single, and today the band are releasing the second single/video from "Please Remain Seated", for the song "Miracle Man". This version of the track has been given a completely new slant and fully underlines the fresh, innovative and daring approach taken by the band during the "Please Remain Seated" sessions. The video can be viewed below. "Please Remain Seated" will be available in various formats: standard 1CD, deluxe 2CD (bonus tracks), 180-gram standard black, gatefold double vinyl, limited-edition transparent orange double vinyl (indie store exclusive, limited to 500), Digital - HD, MFiT and standard. The album has been mastered at half speed on vinyl for dynamic range. Danny Bowes said: "We've never been the kind of band that wanted to make the same album over and over, and we've never been scared to try new things. In fact, making THUNDER music over the past 30 years has taught us that the more we challenge ourselves, the better we get. Having re-imagined and re-recorded 'Love Walked In' in 2017, we were very stimulated by the process, and wanted to try it on other songs. We made it as live as possible, jamming ideas until we found an arrangement that felt good. We set ourselves three rules: work fast, don't aim for perfection, and make it different to the original. Some songs fell together spontaneously, and some took a series of strange left turns before ending up in a place none of us predicted. "By shaking up old tunes in this way, we forced ourselves to rethink how we felt about them. We think it'll probably be the same for fans when they hear them. It's not supposed to be a 'Best Of', and it's not a change of direction, it's just another brief stop along the journey to where we're heading (wherever that is). We really like it, and we hope others will too." "Please Remain Seated" track listing: 01. Bigger Than Both Of Us 02. Future Train 03. Girl's Going Out Of Her Head 04. I'm Dreaming Again 05. Fly On The Wall 06. Just Another Suicide 07. Empty City 08. Miracle Man 09. Blown Away 10. Loser 11. She's So Fine 12. Low Life In High Places Since forming in 1989, THUNDER has notched up twenty Top 50 singles, two gold albums, and cultivated a reputation as consummate live performers. Their last album — 2017's "Rip It Up" — hit No. 3 in the U.K. album charts, giving the band their highest chart placing in 22 years. "Please Remain Seated" is the result of all those miles on the clock and represents the sound of a band having fun. The smiles on their faces are almost audible, and the occasional bit of inter-band banter that made the final cut just underlines the d'esprit de corps that has always been there with THUNDER. Half of the tracks feature additional musicians who've performed at the famed Christmas shows and there's even a choir on one track! "Please Remain Seated" may be a quieter album — the delicate sound of THUNDER if you will — but this collection underlines the strength of the songwriting and musicianship, and it also proves that great [even unexpected] things can happen when a band is prepared to step out of its comfort zone and challenge itself, even after 30 years. Photo credit: Jason Joyce
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