A geometrically non-linear theory is developed for shells of generic shape allowing for third-order thickness and shear deformation and rotary inertia by using eight parameters; geometric imperfections are also taken into account. The geometrically non-linear strain-displacement relationships are derived retaining full non-linear terms in all the 8 parameters, i.e. in-plane and transverse displacements, rotations of the normal and thickness deformation parameters; these relationships are presented in curvilinear coordinates, ready to be implemented in computer codes. Higher order terms in the transverse coordinate are retained in the derivation so that the theory is suitable also for thick laminated shells. Three-dimensional constitutive equations are used for linear elasticity. The theory is applied to circular cylindrical shells complete around the circumference and simply supported at both ends to study initially static finite deformation. Both radially distributed forces and displacement-dependent pressure are used as load and results for different shell theories are compared. Results show that a 6 parameter non-linear shell theory is quite accurate for isotropic shells. Finally, large-amplitude forced vibrations under harmonic excitation are investigated by using the new theory and results are compared to other available theories. The new theory with non-linearity in all the 8 parameters is the only one to predict correctly the thickness deformation; it works accurately for both static and dynamics loads.