Danny Bowes interview: the long road to recovery
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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 behind-the-scenes-tales”, followed by an openfloor Q&A session. It’s a chance to “scratch an itch” that has long bothered you.
I’m thrilled to get out there and do my thing again, albeit in a different manner, but it’s also quite terrifying.
As most people know, I’m never lost for words. But up there all alone to fill an evening without singing, which I can’t do at the moment, or playing guitar – if I tried to do that the audience would demand its money back – well, it brings a pressure I’ve never known before.
A spoken word tour seems like the next logical stepping stone towards the resumption of singing again with Thunder.
Getting back on stage one day with my four bandmates is something I’m busting to achieve. I’m working on it and I’m very hopeful that one day the situation will change, but right now it’s not possible.
18 months ago, your Thunder bandmate, guitarist Luke Morley told Classic Rock, “Danny’s motivation levels have always been very, very high. It’s just going to take some time.”
That’s a good synopsis. When the doctors told me that brain injuries take time to heal, my belief was: ‘Don’t worry about that. It’s about mind over matter’. That’s how I’ve always been. If there’s a problem I will find a solution. But I soon discovered that the doctors were right and I was absolutely wrong.
The physio has paid off, you sound great.
Thanks a lot, that’s really good to hear. It helps that I’m sitting down. I still walk a bit like the drunk bloke you’d cross the street to avoid, but I’m getting there. It’s a long journey and progress is painfully slow; slower that I’d like as I’m not known for my patience.
In less than 48 hours, Thunder’s fans smashed a target of £30,000 towards a neuro-rehabilitation centre. But what also impressed was the folks who donated a fiver or a tenner – whatever they could spare.
At the beginning I was against it [the JustGiving page]. It didn’t feel right but my wife and the band nagged, saying: ‘If the fans knew what was wrong with you, they’d want to help’. I’m glad I gave in because [the money] improved the kind of physio that I received, and I was able to make a big donation to the air ambulance.
Back in July, Thunder visited the Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance Centre at Redhill, the service that undoubtedly saved your life.
Them and the NHS guys, yeah they did. The guy that runs the place in Redhill showed us around and I’ll tell you what, how they do what they do is very humbling.
How does it feel to see Luke touring and recording with the Quireboys – is it a bit like seeing your wife go on holiday with another bloke?
No, not at all. We as a band have worked very hard for a reputation that allows us to earn decent money. I don’t want to be the guy who makes those opportunities disappear for the others. I even told them [Thunder] that if they wanted to try to try to find a replacement for me, I was fine with that.
The point was, does it feel strange? Having depped for the Quireboys, another Thunder-ite, Harry James, now takes over the drum stool for their November dates.
Sorry, I misunderstood the question. But look, they’re professionals, they know what they’re doing. It’s a bit odd that they’re out there with Spike, mind you, he’s not the most reliable geezer in the world. I would imagine it’s absolute chaos. If they’re earning any money from that then they deserve it! [He guffaws].
What has the whole experience of your accident and ongoing recovery taught you?
It’s that we never really know how lucky we are. Only when something like this happens, something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, does the importance of family, friends and bandmates become obvious. Be grateful for what you’ve got and enjoy what’s happening today as nobody knows what tomorrow has in store.
Maximum Chat begins in Cambridge on June 1, 2025. Tickets are on sale now.
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