Thundermug (band)  Thundermug was a Canadian band that was active from 1970 to 1976 and from 1991 to 2001. They released two top 40 Canadian singles and five albums. Thundermug was formed in London, Ontario, Canada, and existed from 1970 to 1976. They regrouped in 1991 and officially disbanded in 2001. As a result of a signing facilitated by their manager, Wyn Anderson, their principal recordings were released by Axe Records, an independent Canadian label that was distributed by London Records in Canada and various labels in the US and elsewhere. Their music was initially distributed in the United States by the Big Tree and the Epic labels. In 1975, "Ta-Daa!!" was distributed in the United States by Mercury Records. The band was initially composed of Joe de Angelis (guitar and vocals), Bill Durst (keyboards and guitar), James Corbett (bass) and Ed Pranskus (drums). Their first album, "Thundermug Strikes", recorded at Toronto Sound studios in the spring of 1972, was produced by Greg Hambleton, owner of Axe Records, and engineered by Terry Brown. The album resulted in a Canadian Top 30 hit, "Africa", based on radio interest in what was originally a non-single album song. The first single from the album had been a version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". The album is described by reviewer Richie Unterberger as "...above average, early '70s hard rock... It's a minor entry in the style, but a decent minor entry, moving along with real guts and convincing riffs, but not at the expense of fair melodies, well-done vocal harmonies, and unusual progressions." In 1973, the band recorded its second album, "Orbit", at Toronto's Manta Sound. The was a Top 40 Canadian single. The album is described by reviewer Richie Unterberger as "probably the best reflection of their straight-ahead, respectable-but-not-brilliant brand of early-'70s hard rock, muscular but reasonably melodic, with inventive interplay between lead and background vocals, ending with a rather impressive facsimile of Jimi Hendrix's noisiest guitar wiggles." Selections from the first two albums were released in 1973 in the United States by Epic Records, using the title from the first album, "Thundermug Strikes". Review Richie Unterberger regarded the release as "confusing...(but) it did a reasonable job of representing the sound of this Canadian hard rock band, including some of its better-known tracks with 'Africa', 'Orbit', 'Garden Green', 'Jane J James', and a cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me."