1990 single by AC/DC
"Thunderstruck " is a song by Australian hard rock bandAC/DC , released as thelead single from their twelfth studio albumThe Razors Edge No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart , No. 1 in Finland, and No. 5 on the USBillboard Album Rock Tracks chart. In 2010, "Thunderstruck" toppedTriple M Melbourne 's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Australia.[ 3] best-selling singles of all time with over 15 million units sold.
Angus Young stated in the liner notes of the 2003 re-release ofThe 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 toyThunderStreak , 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 ofTriple M 's "Ozzest 100", the "most Australian" songs of all time, "Thunderstruck" was ranked No. 8.[ 6]
"Thunderstruck" is widely considered one of the band's best songs. In 2020,The Guardian [ 7] Kerrang! [ 8] Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs .[ 9]
The video which accompanied the single, directed byDavid Mallet , was filmed atLondon 'sBrixton Academy on17 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]
Single-CD: ATCO Records / 7567-96427-2 XS Europe Music By, Lyrics By – Angus Young, Malcolm Young
"Thunderstruck" – 4:55 "Fire Your Guns" – 2:55 "D.T." – 2:54 "Chase The Ace" – 3:01[1] Chart (1990) Position Australia (ARIA)[ 33] 43 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[ 34] 45 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[ 35] 47
Chart (1991) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[ 36] 85 Germany (Media Control)[ 37] 49
Chart (2017) Position Hungary (Single Top 40)[ 38] 87
Chart (2018) Position Hungary (Single Top 40)[ 39] 98
Chart (2019) Position Hungary (Single Top 40)[ 40] 55
Chart (2020) Position Hungary (Single Top 40)[ 41] 51
Chart (2022) Position Global 200 (Billboard )[ 44] 148 Hungary (Single Top 40)[ 45] 45
Region Certification Certified units /salesAustralia (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] 2× Diamond+Gold 630,000‡ New Zealand (RMNZ )[ 53] 7× Platinum 210,000‡ 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.
Cyber attack of the Iranian nuclear program [ edit ] The song was reportedly used as part of the payload of acomputer virus which attacked theIranian nuclear program in 2012. In an email sent to Finnish computer security expert,Mikko Hypponen ofF-Secure , one of the scientists involved in the nuclear program was quoted as saying:[ 64]
...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.
In 2025, it was revealed that theUS Department of Agriculture in Oregon was using drones playing the song to deter wolves from attacking livestock.[ 65]
^ Brown, Jake (16 July 2013).AC/DC in the Studio – The Stories Behind Every Album ISBN 978-1-78219-677-8 ^ 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. Retrieved5 January 2022 . ^ "Triple M's Ultimate Rock 500" . Archived fromthe original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved29 February 2012 .Triple M . Retrieved 12 April 2015.^ Young, Angus (2003).The Razors Edge AC/DC .Epic Records . ^ Grein, Paul (14 January 2015)."Nick Jonas's 'Jealous' Hits a New Peak" .Chart Watch . Yahoo! Music. Retrieved14 January 2015 . ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100' .Musicfeeds . 27 January 2018. Retrieved4 January 2020 .^ Hann, Michael (30 July 2020)."AC/DC – their 40 greatest songs, ranked!" .The Guardian . Retrieved2 March 2022 . ^ Law, Sam (3 February 2021)."The 20 greatest AC/DC songs – ranked" .Kerrang . Retrieved2 March 2022 . ^ "Countdown #1 to #100 - Hottest 100 Australian Songs" .triple j . Retrieved26 July 2025 .^ "Music video" .YouTube . 7 November 2012. Retrieved27 July 2020 .^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .ARIA Top 50 Singles . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in German).Ö3 Austria Top 40 . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Dutch).Ultratop 50 . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 53, No. 3 Dec 01, 1990" .RPM . Retrieved8 January 2016 .^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Tracklisten . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF) .Music & Media . Retrieved20 June 2021 .^ Nyman, Jake (2005).Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi.ISBN 951-31-2503-3 ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in French).Le classement de singles . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in German).GfK Entertainment charts . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC DC Chart History (Global 200)" .Billboard ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian).Single (track) Top 40 lista . Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 1 April 2021. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Thunderstruck" .Irish Singles Chart . Retrieved 8 January 2016. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – AC/DC" (in Dutch).Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 22 December 2015. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Dutch).Single Top 100 . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Top 40 Singles . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" Canciones Top 50 . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Singles Top 100 . Retrieved 21 December 2015. ^ "AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Swiss Singles Chart . Retrieved 25 December 2014. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100" .Official Charts Company . Retrieved 25 December 2014.^ "AC DC Chart History (Digital Song Sales)" .Billboard ^ "AC DC Chart History (Mainstream Rock)" .Billboard ^ "AC/DC – Chart history" .Billboard Rock Digital Songs for AC/DC. Retrieved25 June 2015 .^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Singles 1990" .Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved21 December 2015 .^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1990" .Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved21 December 2015 .^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990" .Single Top 100 . Retrieved21 December 2015 .^ "Jaaroverzichten 1991" .Ultratop . Retrieved21 December 2015 .^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German).GfK Entertainment . Retrieved21 December 2015 .^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2017" .Mahasz . Retrieved17 February 2018 .^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2018" .Mahasz . Retrieved31 March 2020 .^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2019" .Mahasz . Retrieved31 March 2020 .^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2020" .Mahasz . Retrieved26 February 2021 .^ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2021" .Billboard . Retrieved4 December 2021 .^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2021" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved1 February 2022 .^ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2022" .Billboard . Retrieved2 December 2022 .^ "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2022" (in Hungarian). Mahasz.Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved3 February 2023 .^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF) .Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved4 April 2022 .^ "Brazilian single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Portuguese).Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved28 May 2024 .^ "Canadian single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Music Canada . Retrieved26 December 2024 .^ "Danish single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .IFPI Danmark . Retrieved23 May 2023 .^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (AC/DC; ' Thunderstruck' )" (in German).Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved7 October 2024 .^ "Italian single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (in Italian).Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved18 March 2024 .^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish).Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas . Retrieved30 October 2025 .Type AC/DC in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Thunderstruck in the box under the TÍTULO column heading .^ "New Zealand single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" . Radioscope. Retrieved3 October 2025 .Type Thunderstruck in the "Search:" field and press Enter. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" (PDF) (in Portuguese).Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa . Retrieved24 May 2022 .^ "Spanish single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .El portal de Música .Productores de Música de España . Retrieved19 August 2024 .^ "British single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved9 August 2024 .^ "American single certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved8 July 2024 .^ "Canadian ringtone certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Music Canada . Retrieved24 February 2016 .^ "Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 09/28/2017" (PDF) .Nielsen SoundScan . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 2 October 2017. Retrieved3 October 2017 .^ "American ringtone certifications – AC/DC – Thunderstruck" .Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved31 December 2015 .^ "New Release Summary: Singles".The ARIA Report ^ "New Release Summary: Singles".The ARIA Report . No. 38. 30 September 2025. p. 19. ^ "AC/DC | サンダーストラック" [AC/DC | Thunderstruck] (in Japanese).Oricon . Retrieved14 September 2025 .^ "Emails from Iran" . F-Secure Labs. 23 July 2012.^ 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 . Retrieved13 August 2025 .
Studio albums Compilations Live albums EPs Soundtracks Singles Video albums Tours Related articles
