Laughing on Judgement Day is the second studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded between February and June 1992 at Outside Studios in Checkendon, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and Andy Taylor (who had produced the band's debut Backstreet Symphony), then mixed by David Bascombe at AIR Studios in London. The album was released on 24 August 1992 by EMI Records in Europe and Japan, and by Geffen Records in the United States.
The material on Laughing on Judgement Day was written primarily by Morley, although three tracks were co-written by drummer Gary "Harry" James (two of which were also credited to vocalist Danny Bowes and guitarist Ben Matthews), while Taylor also co-wrote two songs. The album received positive reviews from a number of critics and peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, receiving a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 units.
Laughing on Judgement Day was promoted on the Laughing All Over the World Tour beginning in October 1992, which included shows supporting Extreme and headline dates in the UK, Japan, Canada and Europe. Four singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart – "Low Life in High Places" peaked at number 22, "Everybody Wants Her" peaked at number 36, "A Better Man" peaked at number 18 and "Like a Satellite" peaked at number 28.
Recording and production
Recording for Thunder's second album started on 3 February 1992 at Outside Studios (now Hookend Recording Studios) in Checkendon, South Oxfordshire. Andy Taylor was asked to return as producer following his work on the band's 1990 debut Backstreet Symphony, but due to other commitments he only produced part of the album, with the rest produced by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley. According to drummer Gary "Harry" James, Taylor "had a lot of other things on his mind at the time: he spent a lot of time on the phone to his other business interests, and we felt that his mind wasn't quite on the job". Taylor recalls that the album was produced "in a different way" to its predecessor due to the "more refined" nature of the songs, as well describing engineer Mike Fraser's lack of involvement as "difficult because we'd been such a team on the first album". Mixing of Laughing on Judgement Day began on 4 June at AIR Studios in London, and by 24 June the album was complete.
Unlike Backstreet Symphony, which featured only the band members and a single guitar part from Taylor, Laughing on Judgement Day includes performances by a number of guest musicians – Jody Linscott performed percussion on "Empty City", "The Moment of Truth" and "Like a Satellite"; the International Singing Criminals performed backing vocals on "Everybody Wants Her" and "Flawed to Perfection"; the Big Bad Horns (Grant Kirkhope, Frank Mizen and Snake Davis) performed brass on "Everybody Wants Her"; and Brother Lucius and Friar Don Jose performed backing vocals on "Empty City". The album also featured more songwriting credits than its predecessor, with band members Danny Bowes, Ben Matthews and Gary "Harry" James, as well as producer Taylor, all joining Morley on a number of songs. "The Moment of Truth" is the only Thunder song written without Morley, who jokingly recalls that "Obviously, the trauma of writing together was enough to stop them doing it again!"
Promotion and release
"Low Life in High Places" was released as the first single from Laughing on Judgement Day on 3 August 1992, accompanied by a music video filmed in June "on the roof of a disused factory in London". The single debuted at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and peaked the following week at number 22. "Low Life in High Places" was also the first Thunder single to chart in the Netherlands and New Zealand, where it reached number 47 and number 44, respectively. "Everybody Wants Her" was issued as the album's second single on 10 October, peaking at number 36 in its second week on the UK Singles Chart. "A Better Man" was released on 1 February 1993, becoming the first (and to date, only) Thunder single to reach the top 20 in the UK when it debuted at number 18. Fourth and final single "Like a Satellite" reached number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. "Does It Feel Like Love?" was also issued as a single in 1992, but was released in the United States only and did not chart.