Shoot Out the Lights is the sixth and final album by British husband-and-wife rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson.

In the spring of 1980 they toured as the support act for Gerry Rafferty and in June of that year they recorded some demo tracks at Woodworm Studios in Oxfordshire.

[4] Copies of the tapes of the Rafferty-sponsored album have subsequently become available as a bootleg under the titles Rafferty's Folly and Before Joe Could Pull the Trigger.

Boyd's proposal, which the Thompsons accepted, was that the album be recorded in a matter of days so that money could be put aside for a tour of the US.

The album and the May 1982 tour were crucial in re-launching Richard Thompson's career and in restoring his reputation as a songwriter and guitar player.

Robert Christgau designated it as the "pick hit" of the month in his "Consumer Guide" column, saying "these are powerfully double-edged metaphors for the marriage struggle".

AllMusic praises it as "a meditation on love and loss in which beauty, passion, and heady joy can still be found in defeat".

In 1990 Hannibal released Shoot Out the Lights on CD with the B-side "Living in Luxury" as a bonus track on the first run.