Thunderstick

Thunderstick - Biography Playing first with Iron Maiden then Samson before launching his own band, Barry Graham Purkis (AKA Thunderstick) has been a legendary part of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) scene since the late 70s. In 2017 Thunderstick returned with a highly acclaimed new album ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’. Following a stint in an early line up of Iron Maiden, Barry changed places (and drum stools) with Clive Burr - with Clive going to Maiden and Barry going to Samson. Feeling that most drummers were overlooked in bands, Barry decided to create the true `faceless` drummer. Thunderstick was born. Playing from inside a cage from which he would eventually break out and terrorize audiences and pouring copious amounts of alcohol over himself during performances, the masked Thunderstick became a defining image for the newly emerging NWOBHM, appearing on the front cover of the music paper ‘Sounds’. On the lookout for a new vocalist he and Paul Samson came across an unknown singer playing a pub gig, and asked if he would be interested in joining the band to record a second album and tour to promote it. The singer? Bruce Dickinson.. With Dickinson, Samson enjoyed chart success with the 1980 album ‘Head On’ reaching No. 34 in the UK charts. The band went on to record a third album with that line-up until Thunderstick quit, in search of a more theatrical presentation. Thunderstick the band was born. Consisting of two guitarists, bass and female vocalist, they recorded the EP 'Feel like Rock 'n' Roll?' in 1983 and a full-length album 'Beauty and the Beasts' in 1984. These have been restored and remastered for a 2011 anthology, called 'Echoes from the Analogue Asylum' which also features previously- unreleased material. The band disbanded in 1986 after recording their yet-to-be-released final album 'Don't Touch, I'll Scream'. A fifth incarnation emerged in 1988 and secured by a high profile management contract, but Thunderstick chose to call it quits again after failing to sign a major deal with a label. Barry has continued writing music as well as working on production for other artists and his drumming has continued to receive critical acclaim. In June 2005 Classic Rock magazine listed Thunderstick in their ‘50 Greatest Drummers in Rock’ feature. In April 2009 he played the ‘Keep It True’ festival in Germany with a reunion of various NWOBHM artists, marking the return of his Thunderstick persona. On the 22 April 2016, former lead vocalist Jodee Valentine died aged 55 after a 5 year battle with early onset Altzheimers. The illness took its hold so much that when she was played tracks of herself singing was unable to recognise her own voice. Following Jodee's passing, Barry decided to bring back Thunderstick the band once more in recognition of Jodee’s memory and to record a brand new album ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ laying down tracks that Jodee had performed live but had never been officially released, coupled with three tracks written for the album. ‘I Close My Eyes’ was written by Barry specifically for Jodee. The album was released in July 2017 to extemely positive reviews. With a new touring lineup Thunderstick returns to the stage in 2018. Press Contact: darrenjohnson@crowfliescommunications.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thunderstickofficial/