Terraplane - Black And White (1985)

Formed by schoolmates Luke Morley and Danny Bowes (with Mac McKenzie and Chris Hussey) in South London, by 1983 the two friends had switched to bassist Nick Linden and drummer Gary "Harry" James (added to Morley's guitar and Bowes' voice) and changed their name from Nuthin' Fancy to Terraplane. Soon after, they independently released "I Survive," a single whose popularity earned them a record deal from Epic. The label pushed Terraplane to find a poppier, more radio-friendly sound akin to Bon Jovi or Survivor, and the band consented, releasing their debut, Black & White (which was originally titled Talking to God on the Great White Telephone, then Talking to You on the Great White Telephone), in 1985. The group then added guitarist Rudy Riviere, whose harder style gave more edge to their live sound, for their tour, but before recording had begun for their follow-up, Riviere had left to pursue other ventures. Terraplane's sophomore album, Moving Target, came out in 1987, but it did poorly, and in 1988, Terraplane broke up. However, Bowes, Morley, and James regrouped with guitarist/keyboardist Ben Matthews and bassist Mark "Snake" Luckhurst and became Thunder, whose style was a more aggressive version of Terraplane's, and ended up giving them more success. © Marisa Brown