Nightlife is the fourth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released on 8 November 1974 by Vertigo Records. It was produced by Ron Nevison and bandleader Phil Lynott, and was the first album to feature the band as a quartet with newcomers Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson on guitars.
Some reissue CDs, and occasionally other sources, spell the album title as Night Life, the same as the song title. However the original album title is Nightlife.
Reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Nightlife as an "underrated gem of a record", but a "complete anomaly within their catalog"... "a subdued, soulful record, smooth in ways that Thin Lizzy never were before and rarely were afterwards". He singles out "She Knows" as "gently propulsive, [and] utterly addictive", but adds that there are "still moments of tough, primal rock 'n' roll", such as "It's Only Money" and "Sha-La-La".
- Concrete Blonde covered "It's Only Money" on their 1989 album Free.
- "It's Only Money" was re-recorded 35 years later by Robertson on his 2011 solo album Diamonds and Dirt.
- The Obsessed covered "It's Only Money" on their 2017 album Sacred.
- John Norum covered "It's Only Money" on his 2010 album Play Yard Blues.
- Sade covered “Still In Love with You” as a new track on her 2011 collection The Ultimate Collection.
Track listings
The song "Night Life" borrows the title and chorus of Willie Nelson's 1960 song "Night Life", but Nelson is not credited on the album.
On the cassette version, the positions of "She Knows" and "Showdown" were reversed.
Remastered edition
A remastered 2-CD set deluxe edition of Nightlife was released on 12 March 2012.
Singles
- Philomena/Sha-La-La – 7" (1974)
- It's Only Money/Night Life – 7" (1974)
- Showdown/Night Life – 7" (1974)
Personnel
;Thin Lizzy
- Phil Lynott – bass guitar, lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Scott Gorham – guitars, backing vocals
- Brian Robertson – guitars
- Brian Downey – drums, percussion
;Additional musicians
- Frankie Miller – co-lead vocals on "Still in Love with You"
- Gary Moore – lead guitar on "Still in Love with You" & tracks 7–9 on disc 2
- Jean Alain Roussel – Hammond B3, piano on tracks 1, 4, 5 and 10
- Jimmy Horowitz – orchestral arrangements on tracks 1, 5 and 10
;Production
- Ron Nevison – producer, engineer, mixing
- Ted Sharp – engineer
- Arnie Acosta – mastering at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles
Charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2012)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2025)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|-
! scope="row"| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 5
|-
|}