Giving the Game Away

Thunder recorded their fifth studio album in April 1998.[1] Bassist Chris Childs, who was recording with the band for the first time, described the sessions as "pretty much a party with a recording session breaking out every now and then",[2] in a similar fashion to the way in which guitarist and keyboardist Ben Matthews recalled the sessions for the band's debut album Backstreet Symphony ten years earlier.[3] On 15 June 1998, the band released the first single from the upcoming album, a cover version of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music",[4] which gave charted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] and at number 35 on the Scottish Singles Chart.[6]

After a short tour of Japan, a number of festival appearances and some dates supporting Status Quo, the band released "Just Another Suicide" as the second single from the album on 8 March 1999.[1] The single was renamed "You Wanna Know" upon its release in the UK, because the band's label Eagle Records warned the group that the song would receive less radio airplay if it had the word 'suicide' in the title.[7] The track registered on the UK Singles Chart at number 49,[5] and on the Scottish Singles Chart at number 45.[8] Giving the Game Away was released following an "album preview night" at Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton two days earlier.[1] The Japanese version of the album featured two additional bonus tracks – "Wonderland" and "The Only One" – while some European editions included a bonus CD which featured the radio edit of "You Wanna Know" and live versions of "With a Little Help from My Friends" (originally by The Beatles) and the band's debut single "She's So Fine".[9]

Giving the Game Away spent only one week on the UK Albums Chart at number 49, the lowest position achieved by the band up to that point.[5] The album also debuted at number 2 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, behind Neon Ballroom by Silverchair.[10] In promotion of the record, the band played two shows in Japan on 1 and 2 May, followed by a short ten-date tour in the UK between 25 May and 6 June.[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia described Giving the Game Away as "an unexpectedly mellow affair, trading in most of the hard rock bombast that characterised the British band's prior releases for slower tempos, unusual restraint, and lots of acoustic guitars".[12] Rivadavia praised the tracks "Time to Get Enough", "Rolling the Dice" and "Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)", but complained of a lack of memorable moments elsewhere.[12] He concluded by noting that "amid this wholesale change of musical tact, however, one can still hear Thunder's natural songwriting instincts and versatile musicianship shining through".[12]

• Danny Bowes – vocals
• Luke Morley – guitar, production
• Ben Matthews – guitar, keyboards
• Chris Childs – bass
• Gary "Harry" James – drums, percussion
• Andy Taylor – acoustic guitar (track 11)

• McIver, Joel (11 November 2016), Giving the Game Away: The Thunder Story, London, England: Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-1785581373

• Giving the Game Away on Thunder's official website
• Giving the Game Away at Discogs (list of releases)