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Thunderstruck (song)

"Thunderstruck"
Single by AC/DC
from the album The Razors Edge
B-side"Fire Your Guns"
Released10 September 1990
Genre
Length4:52
LabelATCO
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bruce Fairbairn
AC/DC singles chronology
"That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll"
(1988) 		"Thunderstruck"
(1990) 		"Moneytalks"
(1990)
Music video
"Thunderstruck" on YouTube

"Thunderstruck" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released as the lead single from their twelfth studio album The Razors Edge (1990). It peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, No. 1 in Finland, and No. 5 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. In 2010, "Thunderstruck" topped Triple M Melbourne's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Australia.[3] It is one of the best-selling singles of all time with over 15 million units sold.

Background

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Angus Young stated in the liner notes of the 2003 re-release of The Razors Edge:

It started off from a little trick I had on guitar. I played it to Mal and he said "Oh, I've got a good rhythm idea that will sit well in the back." We built the song up from that. We fiddled about with it for a few months before everything fell into place. Lyrically, it was really just a case of finding a good title ... We came up with this thunder thing, based on our favourite childhood toy ThunderStreak, and it seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That's the basic idea.[4]

The song has sold over a million digital copies since it became available for digital download.[5]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the "most Australian" songs of all time, "Thunderstruck" was ranked No. 8.[6]

Critical reception

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"Thunderstruck" is widely considered one of the band's best songs. In 2020, The Guardian ranked the song number eight on its list of the 40 greatest AC/DC songs,[7] and in 2021, the British rock magazine Kerrang! ranked the song number six on its list of the 20 greatest AC/DC songs.[8] In 2025 the song was voted 13 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.[9]

Music video

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The video which accompanied the single, directed by David Mallet, was filmed at London's Brixton Academy on 17 August 1990. The audience members were given free T-shirts with the words "AC/DC – I was Thunderstruck" on the front and the date on the back, and these T-shirts were worn by the entire audience throughout the filming of the video.[10]

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46] 10× Platinum 700,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[47] Platinum 60,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[48] Diamond 800,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[49] 2× Platinum 180,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[50] 3× Gold 900,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[51] 3× Platinum 300,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[52] 3× Platinum+Gold 210,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[53] 6× Platinum 180,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[54] Platinum 40,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[55] 3× Platinum 180,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] 3× Platinum 1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA)[57] Diamond 10,000,000‡
Ringtones
Canada (Music Canada)[58] Platinum 40,000*
United States (RIAA)[60] Platinum 1,798,000[59]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Legacy

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Cyber attack of the Iranian nuclear program

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The song was reportedly used as part of the payload of a computer virus which attacked the Iranian nuclear program in 2012. In an email sent to Finnish computer security expert, Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure, one of the scientists involved in the nuclear program was quoted as saying:[61]

...There was also some music playing randomly on several of the workstations during the middle of the night with the volume maxed out. I believe it was playing "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.

Wolf deterrent

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In 2025, it was revealed that the US Department of Agriculture in Oregon was using drones playing the song to deter wolves from attacking livestock.[62]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Brown, Jake (16 July 2013). AC/DC in the Studio – The Stories Behind Every Album. John Blake Publishing, Limited. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-78219-677-8.
  2. ^ Smith, Benjamin (2 February 2014). "Celebrate The Super Bowl With Hard Rock's Top 10 Jock Jams!". VH1. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Triple M's Ultimate Rock 500". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.. Triple M. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. ^ Young, Angus (2003). The Razors Edge (booklet). AC/DC. Epic Records.
  5. ^ Grein, Paul (14 January 2015). "Nick Jonas's 'Jealous' Hits a New Peak". Chart Watch. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. ^ Hann, Michael (30 July 2020). "AC/DC – their 40 greatest songs, ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  8. ^ Law, Sam (3 February 2021). "The 20 greatest AC/DC songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Countdown #1 to #100 - Hottest 100 Australian Songs". triple j. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Music video". YouTube. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  11. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  12. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  13. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 53, No. 3 Dec 01, 1990". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  15. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Tracklisten. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 6 October 1990. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  17. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  18. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  19. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  20. ^ "AC DC Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  22. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Thunderstruck". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – AC/DC" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  24. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  25. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  26. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  27. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  28. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  29. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  30. ^ "AC DC Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  31. ^ "AC DC Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  32. ^ "AC/DC – Chart history". Billboard Rock Digital Songs for AC/DC. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  33. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Singles 1990". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  34. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1990". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  35. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990". Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  36. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1991". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  37. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  38. ^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2017". Mahasz. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  39. ^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2018". Mahasz. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  40. ^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2019". Mahasz. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  41. ^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2020". Mahasz. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  42. ^ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  43. ^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2021" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  44. ^ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  45. ^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2022" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  46. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  47. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  48. ^ "Canadian single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  49. ^ "Danish single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  50. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (AC/DC; 'Thunderstruck')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  51. ^ "Italian single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  52. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 10 December 2020. Type AC/DC in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Thunderstruck in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  53. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Radioscope. Retrieved 10 January 2025. Type Thunderstruck in the "Search:" field.
  54. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  55. ^ "Spanish single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  56. ^ "British single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  57. ^ "American single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  58. ^ "Canadian ringtone certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Music Canada. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  59. ^ "Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 09/28/2017" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  60. ^ "American ringtone certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  61. ^ "Emails from Iran". F-Secure Labs. 23 July 2012.
  62. ^ Shoard, Catherine (4 August 2025). "Audio of Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson arguments from Marriage Story used to scare off wolves in the US". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
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