"Joker & the Thief" is a song by Australian rock band Wolfmother. The song serves as the sixth track and sixth single from the band's eponymous debut studio album. It was released in Australia on 28 October 2006 and in the United Kingdom on 20 November 2006. The music video for the song was nominated for the "Best Rock Video" and "Video of the Year" awards at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards. The titular "joker" and "thief" are a reference to the lyrics of Bob Dylan's 1967 song "All Along the Watchtower". In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Joker & the Thief" was ranked number 59.

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Singer Andrew Stockdale told an interviewer, "I was in a shop one morning walking into where we jam. I saw this AC/DC 'Thunderstruck.' And I was like, I want to write a stadium rock song. I went into the studio and said, 'Doo-duh-lee, doo-duh-lee.' What's the best thing to do after that? Just do something cleaner. 'Doo, doo, doo..' Because, you know, you've got to have a big intro and then you have to have a balls-to-the-wall riff to knock it on the head in the next stage. But yeah, that's it."

In popular culture

"Joker & the Thief" has been featured in several films, video games and TV shows including The Blacklist, The Hangover, Shoot 'Em Up, NHL 14, Rock Revolution, Jackass Number Two, Impractical Jokers: The Movie, The Out-Laws, Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2, Here Comes the Boom, MLB 07: The Show, Need for Speed: Carbon, Shrek the Third, Lego DC Super-Villains, Preacher, The Man from Toronto, Ted Lasso, and The Artful Dodger. It is also available as downloadable content for the music video game series Rock Band. The song appeared in the Green Bay Packers' video package at Super Bowl XLV. At the Chicago Bears' home games, before kickoff, "Joker & the Thief" would play loudly with a bear and blue lightning graphics coming out of its eyes. The Kansas State Wildcats also regularly play "Joker & the Thief" for introductions for both their football and men’s basketball team, and the song is now a known hit within their fanbase. The Boston Bruins play the song before the first puck drop of every game, including playoffs. The Tennessee Volunteers and the Oregon Ducks play the song before every kickoff. The Louisville Cardinals use the song as a hype song leading into the fourth quarter of football games and ninth inning of baseball. Michigan Technological University also frequently plays this song during hockey games before going onto a power play. This song is also played before the centre bounce at Brisbane Lions home games. It also appeared in the intro of the fourth season programmes of spanish radio show La Vida Moderna.

Track listings

All songs are credited to Wolfmother. Australian CD single UK CD single UK DVD single UK 7-inch vinyl

Personnel

Charts

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