Album
Afterburner
Afterburner is ZZ Top's ninth studio album, released on 28 October 1985 on Lone Wolf Productions. It followed Eliminator from 1983, and critics were lukewarm about it. Listeners were far more enthusiastic: it went platinum five times in the United States and reached Gold in the UK in 1985, then Platinum there in 1990.
The singles did the talking. "Sleeping Bag" topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, matching the peak of "Legs", the band's previous single. Three more made the US Top 40: "Stages" at 21, "Rough Boy" at 22 and "Velcro Fly" at 35. "Can't Stop Rockin'" later opened the 1993 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. For anyone who wants to hear how the band's hard rock and southern rock roots carried on after their biggest commercial moment, this is the place to start.
Afterburner: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 37:35Tracklist
- 1Sleeping BagBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:06
- 2StagesBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:35
- 3Woke Up With WoodBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:50
- 4Rough BoyBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:52
- 5Can’t Stop Rockin’Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:04
- 6Planet of WomenBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:07
- 7I Got the MessageBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:30
- 8Velcro FlyBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:33
- 9Dipping Low (in the Lap of Luxury)Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:15
- 10DeliriousBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:42
- Produced by
- Bill Ham
- Recorded at
- Ardent Studios
- Recorded
- March–July 1985
- Engineered by
- Joe Hardy, Bob Ludwig
- Labels
- Lone Wolf Productions, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 37:35
Line-up
- Frank Beard · percussion, drums (drum set)
- Billy Gibbons · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Dusty Hill · electric bass guitar, vocals, lead vocals
Singles
- “Sleeping Bag” · October 1985
- “Stages” · December 1985
- “Rough Boy” · March 1986
- “Velcro Fly” · July 1986
- “Planet of Women” · January 1987
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1985–1987 | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1985–1987 | 4 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1985–1987 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1985–1987 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1985–1987 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 1985–1987 | 2 |
| German Albums · 1985–1987 | 3 |
| Swedish Albums · 1985–1987 | 3 |
| European Albums (Eurotipsheet) · 1985–1987 | 5 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1985–1987 | 6 |
All 13 charts
| Norwegian Albums · 1985–1987 | 8 |
| Austrian Albums · 1985–1987 | 18 |
| Dutch Albums · 1985–1987 | 23 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1996 | 2× Platinum |
| Canada · 1985 | 3× Platinum |
| Finland · 1990 | Platinum |
| France · 1986 | Gold |
| Germany · 2006 | 3× Gold |
| Japan · 1986 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Norway · 1985 | Silver |
| Sweden · 1986 | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1995 | Platinum |
| United States · 1999 | 5× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
63.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
86k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
965
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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More from ZZ Top
Full discography →
ZZ Top’s First Album
1971
Rio Grande Mud
1972
Tres hombres
1973
La Grange
1974
Fandango!
1975
Tejas
1976
The Best of ZZ Top
1977
Degüello
1979
El loco
1981
Eliminator
1983
The ZZ Top Summer Holiday E.P.
1985
The ZZ Top Sixpack
1987
ZZ Top Club 1987
Club
1987
Recycler
1990
Greatest Hits
1992
Antenna
1994
One Foot in the Blues
1994
Rhythmeen
1996
XXX
1999
Mescalero
2003
Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
2003
Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top
2004
Hi‐Five: ZZ Top
2005
Live From Texas
2008
Texicali
2012
La futura
2012
Live! Greatest Hits From Around the World
2016
The best of 1985
All of 1985 →
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Fleetwood Mac · 1985
Fly on the Wall
AC/DC · 1985
Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!
Megadeth · 1985
Fables of the Reconstruction
R.E.M. · 1985
Live After Death
Iron Maiden · 1985
Hell Awaits
Slayer · 1985
Spreading the Disease
Anthrax · 1985
Theatre of Pain
Mötley Crüe · 1985
7800° Fahrenheit
Bon Jovi · 1985
The ZZ Top Summer Holiday E.P.
ZZ Top · 1985
Bonded by Blood
Exodus · 1985
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 28 October 1985 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 28 October 1985 | |
| Wikidata | 28 October 1985 | |
| US release | 28 October 1985 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 28 October 1985 | earliest UK or European date |
22 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992534222 | other |
| — | DE | Lone Wolf Productions | 07599253422 | other |
| — | CA | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | DE | Lone Wolf Productions | 07599253422 | other |
| 1985 | US | Lone Wolf Productions | 07599253422 | other |
| 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992534222 | other |
| 1985 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1985 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1985 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992534222 | other |
| 28 October 1985 | GB | Warner Bros. Records | 07599253421 | original |
| 28 October 1985 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992534215 | original |
| 28 October 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992534215 | original |
| 28 October 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992534222 | original |
| 21 December 1985 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1998 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 07599253422 | other |
| 7 June 2013 | XW | Rhino | 603497921393 | other |
| 12 June 2013 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 603497968343 | other |
| 18 June 2013 | XW | Rhino | 603497921515 | other |
| 28 August 2013 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674147663 | other |
| 2024 | XW | BMG | 0603497968343 | other |
| 2024 | XW | BMG | 0603497921393 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 599×594 | upscaled |