Album
Thunder and Lightning
Thunder and Lightning is the twelfth and final studio album by the Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released on 4 March 1983. It followed Renegade from 1981, and it arrived with a new guitarist: John Sykes stepped in for Snowy White and brought a heavier sound and a harder guitar tone than the band had used before.
Most of the songwriting was already done before Sykes joined, though he wrote "Cold Sweat". Keyboard player Darren Wharton also left a stronger mark, co-writing several tracks, among them "Some Day She Is Going to Hit Back" and the last single, "The Sun Goes Down". A farewell tour followed, and it produced the live album Life. Phil Lynott died in 1986, and the band have chosen not to record new material since. That makes this the end of the studio story, and a good place to hear Thin Lizzy at their heaviest.
Thunder and Lightning: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 40:28Tracklist
- 1Thunder and LightningBrian Downey and Phil Lynott4:54
- 2This Is the OnePhil Lynott and Darren Wharton4:03
- 3The Sun Goes DownPhil Lynott and Darren Wharton6:18
- 4The Holy WarPhil Lynott5:11
- 5Cold SweatPhil Lynott and John Sykes3:06
- 6Someday She Is Going to Hit BackDowney, Lynott, Wharton4:05
- 7Baby Please Don’t GoPhil Lynott5:08
- 8Bad HabitsScott Gorham and Phil Lynott4:04
- 9Heart AttackGorham, Lynott, Wharton3:39
- Produced by
- Thin Lizzy, Chris Tsangarides, Thin Lizzy and Chris Tsangarides
- Recorded at
- Lombard Sound, Dublin, Ireland, Power Plant, London, UK, Boathouse Studios, London, UK
- Recorded
- Late 1982
- Engineered by
- Chris Tsangarides, Andrew Warwick
- Labels
- Vertigo, Mercury (Canada), Warner Bros. (US)
- Length
- 40:28
Line-up
- Brian Downey · drums (drum set)
- Scott Gorham · guitar
- Phil Lynott · bass guitar, lead vocals
- John Sykes · guitar
- Darren Wharton · keyboard
Singles
- “Cold Sweat” · 4 February 1983
- “Thunder and Lightning” · 29 April 1983
- “The Sun Goes Down” · 22 July 1983
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1983 | 159 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1983 | 29 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1983 | 42 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
61.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
58k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
7.5k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 4 March
Every year →
More from Thin Lizzy
Full discography →
New Day
1971
Thin Lizzy
1971
Shades of a Blue Orphanage
1972
Vagabonds of the Western World
1973
Nightlife
1974
Fighting
1975
Jailbreak
1976
Remembering, Part 1
1976
Johnny the Fox
1976
Bad Reputation
1977
Live and Dangerous
1978
Black Rose: A Rock Legend
1979
The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans
1979
Chinatown
1980
Renegade
1981
Dedication
1991
Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy
1991
BBC Radio 1: Live in Concert
1992
The Peel Sessions
1994
Wild One: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy
1996
Whisky in the Jar
1996
One Night Only
2000
Vagabonds Kings Warriors Angels
2001
Greatest Hits
2004
The Definitive Collection
2006
UK Tour 75
2008
Still Dangerous: Live at Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977
2009
A Song For While I’m Away
2024
The Acoustic Sessions
2024
Here I Go Again
2024
Whiskey in the Jar
2024
1976
2024
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 4 March 1983 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 March 1983 | |
| Wikidata | 4 March 1983 | |
| US release | 1983 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 4 March 1983 | earliest UK or European date |
16 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | PT | Vertigo | other | |
| 1983 | GB | — | other | |
| 1983 | DE | Vertigo | other | |
| 1983 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1983 | DE | Vertigo | other | |
| 4 March 1983 | GB | Vertigo | original | |
| 5 February 1989 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011314087 | other |
| 22 May 1990 | DE | Vertigo | 042281049026 | other |
| 26 September 1997 | JP | Vertigo | other | |
| 22 January 2002 | US | Wounded Bird Records | 664140383128 | other |
| 2013 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1 October 2013 | XE | Mercury Records | 0602527922232 | deluxe |
| December 2014 | XE | Vertigo | 600753542583 | other |
| 1 October 2023 | — | Vertigo | other | |
| — | — | EMI | 00042281049026 | other |
| — | — | UMC | 00602537492633 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 1882x1866 to 1866x1866
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1882×1866 | cropped: cropped from 1882x1866 to 1866x1866 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |