Simon RushworthLuke Morley’s Walking On Water UK tour’s only just wrapped but there’s already talk of 2026 dates. Rushonrock checked in on the god of Thunder as a reborn solo career gathers pace.
Needs must for Morley
For as long as Thunder remain on hiatus — and frontman Danny Bowes continues his recovery — there’s a huge blues-rock-shaped gap in Luke Morley’s life. Rather than sitting at home, twiddling his thumbs and feeling sorry for himself, one of the UK’s foremost songwriters has created an opportunity out of a perceived crisis. New album Walking On Water followed hot on the heels of 2023’s Rushonrock-approved Songs From The Blue Room and the former is, in truth, an unexpected upgrade. It seems Morley’s put all of that ‘spare capacity’ — and remember he’s a full-time member of The Quireboys/full-time carer to Spike these days — to good use by dropping one of his best records yet. Even better, he found a couple of weeks to take the new tunes on the road.
Walking On Water and riding the crest of a wave
Reassuringly, nobody has more faith in Walking On Water than the architect of a simply stunning body of work. Its myriad highlights were the cornerstone of Morley’s latest tour and half the set was devoted to a deep dive into what’s a frankly phenomenal body of work. The title track’s a terrific rock song but Bullets, Gun To Your Head and Always A Saturday Night (if only) are vying for the title of standout tune and all four represent a bullish new direction for their chameleon-like creator. Morley might well have scratched an itch with his latest record but let’s hope there’s still a nagging tickle to address: Walking On Water’s the surefire direction of travel in the short-term at least. More of the same please…
Just a rumble of Thunder was just enough
Perhaps there were a few people rocking up to the Walk On Water tour expecting to hear more than a couple of Morley classics from the day job. More fool them. This was always billed as a chance to put the Thunder songbook on the back burner and explore another side of the main man. In that context it worked a treat. Of course, Morley was never ignore his biggest hits entirely and fans were treated to a couple of choice covers across a focused run of UK dates. River Of Pain was a canny pick and perfectly captured the mood of 2025-era Morley: it’s lyrical heft only bolstered by what’s been a difficult few years for the Thunder family.
Support network made all the difference
Before a nasty bout of Covid cut short Bobbie Dazzle’s brief run of dates with Morley, this was a triple header for the ages. Opening act Willie Dowling is a do-it-all entertainer with an old-style music hall approach to playing gigs: piano-led bangers complement sharp wit and some piercing social commentary to guarantee a compelling live package. Founder member of The Grip and Morley’s band mate in the restyled Quireboys, Dowling proved to be a smart addition to a fashionably diverse line-up. Bobbie Dazzle and her band have played anywhere and everywhere this year and no other band has featured as heavily on Rushonrock’s live radar throughout 2025. We’ve seen the Dazzle Band at festivals, in tiny clubs and opening up for Alice Cooper and Lita Ford — the most exciting rock and roll combo of the year are addictively moreish.