# Thunderstruck (song)

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. The song is used in movies such as Deadpool 2 (2018), Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014), Varsity Blues (1999), The Longest Yard (2005), Battleship (2012), The Fall Guy (2024), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), and Daddy's Home (2015), among others, as well as TV shows such as Cobra Kai (2025). It is one of the best selling singles of all time with over 15 million units sold.

## Background

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.
The song has sold over a million digital copies since it became available for digital download.
In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the "most Australian" songs of all time, "Thunderstruck" was ranked No. 8.
The song is one of the most recognizable in the band's entire catalogue and it is a set list staple having been performed at nearly all shows since its release. With the exception of new material from albums they are touring behind, it is one of only four songs released after Back in Black (1980) that are still performed live by the band.

## Music video

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.

## Critical reception

"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, and in 2021, the British rock magazine Kerrang! ranked the song number six on its list of the 20 greatest AC/DC songs.

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | 10× Platinum | 700,000$^‡$ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) | Platinum | 60,000$^‡$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Diamond | 800,000$^‡$ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | 2× Platinum | 180,000$^‡$ |
| Germany (BVMI) | 3× Gold | 900,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) | 3× Platinum | 300,000$^‡$ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON) | 3× Platinum+Gold | 210,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | 6× Platinum | 180,000$^‡$ |
| Portugal (AFP) | Platinum | 40,000$^‡$ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | 3× Platinum | 180,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 3× Platinum | 1,800,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Diamond | 10,000,000$^‡$ |
| Ringtones |||
| Canada (Music Canada) | Platinum | 40,000$^*$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,798,000 |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Personnel

* Brian Johnson – lead vocals
* Angus Young – lead guitar
* Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Chris Slade – drums, percussion

## Cyber attack of the Iranian nuclear program

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:
   ...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.