"The Sun Goes Down" was a single released by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, the last single to be released before they split in 1983. It is featured on the group's album from that year, '' Thunder and Lightning''.

Television performances

On 26 January 1983, the song was performed live for the first time during a concert in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

, which was broadcast simultaneously on television and radio for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's "Sight and Sound in Concert". This show also marked the debut of guitarist

John Sykes John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. Following a stint in ...

.Alan Byrne, "Thin Lizzy: Soldiers of Fortune", Firefly, 2004 Two days later, the band performed the song on the British TV music show '' The Tube'', along with " Cold Sweat" and " The Boys Are Back in Town".

Single

The song was written by

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

and Darren Wharton, and Lynott said at the time, "I think that one is a nice note to go out on. I can see it being played on the radio and fully believe it has great chart potential." The single entered the UK charts on 6 August 1983, reaching No. 52. There was no official promotional video with the single as the record company had decided it was too expensive. The band began work on editing video clips of live performances to accompany the song but this was abandoned when it was clear that the single's chart performance did not merit the effort.

Cover versions

German heavy metal band Sinner covered "The Sun Goes Down" on their 1998 album ''The Nature of Evil''. They later covered the b-side to the single as well, "Baby Please Don't Go", on their ''Mask of Sanity'' album in 2007. The song was also covered in 2009 by Jørn Lande (as Jorn) on his album ''

Spirit Black ''Spirit Black'' is the sixth studio album by Jørn Lande's solo project Jorn. Lande describes the album as ''"a crossover between The Duke and Lonely Are the Brave"''. He says that ''"The musical style and direction is now more defined and le ...

'' and by Night Demon in 2022.

Personnel

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Scott Gorham –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

– lead guitar * Brian Downey –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Darren Wharton –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

References

Thin Lizzy songs 1983 singles Songs written by Phil Lynott Vertigo Records singles 1983 songs {{1980s-rock-song-stub