"The Sun Goes Down" was a single released by Irish hard rock band

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

, 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'', and it has been referred to as a ballad.

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 in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

, which was broadcast simultaneously on television and radio for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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

John Sykes John James Sykes (29 July 1959 – December 2024) was an English guitarist and singer, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. ...

.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 The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

'', along with "

Cold Sweat "Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and rea ...

" and "

The Boys Are Back in Town "The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was released in 1976 as the first single from their album '' Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''Rolling Stone'' to be the band's best song, placing it at No. 272 ...

Single

The song was written by

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

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 Jørn Marumsrud Lande (born 31 May 1968) is a Norwegian hard rock and heavy metal singer. He is known for his work with the bands Ark, Beyond Twilight, Millenium, Vagabond, The Snakes, and most notably with power metal band Masterplan. He ...

(as Jorn) on his album '' Spirit Black'' and by Night Demon in 2022.

Personnel

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

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 the ...

Scott Gorham William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership after ...

– lead and rhythm guitar *

– lead and rhythm guitar * Brian Downey –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Darren Wharton – keyboards

Charts

References

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