"I have come a very long way in the last two-and-a-bit years"

Back from the brink: the Thunder vocalist who survived major medical trauma returns.

Thunder frontman Danny Bowes has lined up a solo spoken word tour of the UK for next summer. Billed as Maximum Chat, its eight shows mark a long awaited comeback for the much loved singer, who suffered a stroke back in August 2022. Bowes had unknowingly developed a bleed on his brain that caused him to fall down a long flight of stairs while attending a party, landing on his head and fracturing his skull, followed by the stroke. After being rushed to hospital by air ambulance, where his shocked wife learned he might not survive the surgery to correct a bleed in his brain, Bowes has rebuilt his life. This involved learning to walk again via countless hours of physiotherapy.

On February 5, 2023, six months after the accident, Danny resumed his duties at Planet Rock Radio where he presents a regular show. Though Bowes is thrilled by the prospect of returning to the road, he also admits it fills him with dread.

“If you want the truth, Dave, I’m absolutely shitting myself,” admits the normally chirpy voice from down the other end of the phone. “But I have come a very long way in the last two-and-a-bit years.”

Save for the occasional miniscule pause, Bowes speaks with complete confidence, sounding just like the Danny your correspondent has known since the 1980s as a member of Terraplane, though inevitably this conversation about going ‘back to work’ has a deep emotional undercurrent.

‘Maximum Chat’ is something you’ve always excelled at. The tour’s advert says you will be “sharing stories and behindthe-scenes-tales”, followed by an openfloor Q&A session. It’s a chance to “scratch an itch” that has long bothered you.