Australian hard-rock/heavy-metal band AC/DC features knickers-clad guitarist Angus Young, who became as famous for mooning audiences regularly as for his gritty blues-based lead guitar and songs about sex, drinking and damnation. AC/DC's raucous image, constant touring and raw, juvenile, yet amusing lyrics in songs like "Big Balls" and "The Jack" helped make them one of the top hard-rock bands in history. The group has remained a major concert draw, and its albums consistently go platinum despite never having had a Top 20 single in the U.S.
The Young brothers moved with their family from Scotland to Sydney in 1963. In 1973 they formed the first version of AC/DC, adding vocalist Bon Scott in early 1974, followed by drummer Philip Rudd and bassist Mark Evans later that year. Their first four albums were produced by ex-Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young, Angus' older brother. The group had gained a solid reputation in their homeland early on, but it wasn't until 1979 with the platinum Highway to Hell (Number 17, 1979) that they became a presence on the American charts.
Within months of AC/DC's American success, vocalist Scott died from choking on his own vomit after an all-night drinking binge. Two months later he was replaced by ex-Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson, and less than four months after that, Back in Black began a yearlong run on the U.S. chart, peaking at Number Four (1980), selling more than 21 million copies to date and featuring the double-entendre-ridden "You Shook Me All Night Long." Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, a 1981 reissue of a 1976 Australian LP, went to Number Three in the U.S., followed by For Those About to Rock, We Salute You, the group's first and, to date, only U.S. Number One LP, in late 1981. The less spectacular showings of the gold albums Flick of the Switch (Number 15, 1983) and Fly on the Wall (Number 32, 1985) gave way to the multiplatinum Who Made Who (the soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive) and The Razors Edge (Number Two, 1990). The latter contains the group's closest thing to a hit chart single, "Moneytalks" (Number 23, 1991). (The ubiquity of many AC/DC songs, notably those from Back in Black, is merely history catching up.)
In January 1991, three fans were crushed to death at an AC/DC show in Salt Lake City, Utah. In late 1992, the group paid the families of the three deceased teenagers an undisclosed sum, following an out-of-court settlement. Other parties to the settlement included the convention center, the concert's promoter and the company in charge of security.
AC/DC laid low until 1995, when the Rick Rubin-produced Ballbreaker (which also marked the return of drummer Phil Rudd) entered the charts at Number Four. The bulk of the five-CD box set Bonfire, released in 1997, was made up of live tracks recorded in 1977 and 1979, as well as of a remastered version of Back in Black. It marked the first time AC/DC had released material featuring Bon Scott since the singer's death. With older brother George Young (who had worked on such early AC/DC albums as Let There Be Rock and Powerage) back on board as producer, Stiff Upper Lip (Number Seven, 2000) confirmed AC/DC's status as one of the most enduringly popular hard-rock bands on the planet.
Wisely sticking to its time-tested formula of no-frills riffing, the band followed the record's release with extensive touring, during which Angus Young wore, as always, a schoolboy uniform. (That outfit has become such a part of rock legend that it was included in Rock Style, an exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, which opened in 1999.) Always a reliable live act, AC/DC once more bought out the big guns — literally, since the band's stage act included cannons that went off during "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)." The band is set to release its fifteenth studio album, Black Ice, in October 2008, followed by a world tour.
History
Born in Scotland, the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young moved with their family to Australia as children. Malcolm began playing guitar first, soon followed by Angus. Malcolm first played with a Newcastle, NSW band called The Velvet Underground (not the Lou Reed group).
Their older brother George Young had been a member of Australia's most successful Sixties band The Easybeats, who were the first local pop act to score an overseas hit ('Friday On My Mind') in 1967. After Young and his Easybeats partner Harry Vanda returned to Australia in late 1973, they became the house producers for the newly-formed Albert Productions record label whose owner, Ted Albert (a scion of the venerable Albert & Sons music publishing family), had been the Easybeats' producer between 1965 and 1967.
Young asked the boys to do some session work for a project he was doing. Angus then formed a band called Tantrum. After The Velvet Underground, Malcolm decided to form a more pure rock and roll band, and enlisted Angus and they were soon signed to the new Albert label, and Vanda & Young produced their first seven LPs.
The early lineups changed often, but the 1974 enlistment of charismatic singer Ronald 'Bon' Scott as their driving frontman signified the beginning of real success. Another vital innovation was Angus Young's adoption of his now-famous school uniform as a regular stage outfit; the original was reputedly Angus' real uniform from his secondary school, Ashfield Boys' High, in Sydney.
Between 1974 and 1978, aided by regular appearances on the nationally-broadcast TV pop show Countdown, AC/DC became one of the most popular and successful acts in Australia, scoring a string of hits albums and singles including their perennial 1975 rock anthem 'It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)'.
Relocating to London in the late 1970s, they worked all over the UK and Europe to establish themselves, touring almost constantly and gaining invaluable experience on the stadium circuit supporting the top hard-rock acts of the day including Alice Cooper, Rush, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Boston, Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, Heart, The Scorpions, Molly Hatchet, Ronnie Montrose, Nazareth, UFO, Journey, Foreigner, Van Halen, Styx, Blue Öyster Cult, Alvin Lee, Rainbow, Savoy Brown, REO Speedwagon, The Doobie Brothers, Thin Lizzy and The Who.
Rhythm Guitarist Malcolm Young once recalled in AC/DC's VH1 Behind the Music Series an incident from an England tour with Black Sabbath. Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath's Bassist), in a drunken rage, pulled a knife on Malcolm. The incident was quickly resolved without conflict, and the conjoined tour promptly ended. Ozzy and Bon stayed in contact however.
They survived the punk rock upheavals of 1976-78, partly because they were (erroneously) tagged as a punk band by the British music press. They gained a solid cult following in the UK with their powerful performances and outrageous stage antics; Angus Young quickly became notorious for mooning (i.e. showing his buttocks) to the audience and the group was banned from several British venues because of this. Their meaty hard-rock sound and Bon Scott's provocative, leering stage persona are also reputed to have been significant influences on Johnny Rotten and The Sex Pistols. The band were also a pivotal influence to the then emerging New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, with artists such as Def Leppard and Saxon clearly displaying simililarities to the trademark sound of AC/DC.
In 1980, Angus and Malcolm had begun working on the music and guitar riffs for their forthcoming new album when after a night of hard drinking, Bon Scott was found in the back seat of his friend's car. He died from both choking on his own vomit and hypothermia (Ozzy Osbourne would later write and record a song about Scott's death, the widely misinterpreted 'Suicide Solution'). Shortly after, the band brought in a new lead singer—Brian Johnson, formerly of the band Geordie—completed the song-writing and began recording Back_in_Black. This became their biggest-selling album to date, a hard-rock landmark that would ultimately be named in tribute to Bon.
Over the next eight years, the Young brothers and Johnson wrote nearly all of their songs, but in 1990, with Brian Johnson committed elsewhere, it was left to the Young brothers to carry on the creation of the group's music, while Johnson assumed all the vocals, lead and background, a feat unable to be duplicated in the band's live concerts (in the same manner Freddie Mercury's overdubbed vocal style could never have been duplicated when he and his band Queen toured live).
In 2002, Q magazine named AC/DC as one of the '50 Bands To See Before You Die'.
In 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America upgraded the group's U.S. sales figures, increasing their cumulative sales from 46.5 million to 63 million, making AC/DC the fifth-best-selling band in U.S. music history, behind The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Eagles.
In March 2003 the walls at New York's historic Waldorf Astoria hotel shook as AC/DC performed Highway To Hell during part of their induction to the American Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame. Along side Malcolm, Angus, Phil, Cliff and Brian were two of Bon Scott's nephews and in a brief acceptance the band again thanked the fans for their support.
On July 30, 2003, the band performed an amazing performance at Sarsfest in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with The Rolling Stones before an audience of 500,000 to help the city overcome the effects of the 2003 SARS epidemic.
2003 also saw the Recording Industry Association of America certify the classic Back_in_Black album as Double Diamond (20,000,000) sales in the US.
Name
The name 'AC/DC' (alternating current/direct current) was suggested by their sister Margaret after she read it on a sewing machine label. The term has a bisexual connotation that they were supposedly unaware of at the time, and they often had to deny they were a gay band, a perception that was exacerbated by their 'glam rock' image at the time.
Some have suggested that the name stood for 'Anti-Christ/ Devil Children'; though this is certainly not the case, the rumour has long persisted both among conservatives who, already disliking the band's image, use it to paint the band as Satanists, and among some fans who, especially in the 1980s, enjoyed the counter-cultural offense such a meaning would cause.
On 1 October 2004 Melbourne's Corporation Lane was officially renamed ACDC Lane in honour of the band (street names in the City of Melbourne cannot contain the '/' character). It is near Swanston Street, the location where the band recorded their 1975 video 'It's a Long Way to the Top'.
The name AC/DC is pronounced one letter at a time, although the band is also known to its Australian fans as 'Acca Dacca'.
One country music band has named themselves Hayseed Dixie, as a parody of the AC/DC name.
Member History
Current Members
* Angus Young (Lead Guitar) 1973-
* Malcolm Young (Rhythm Guitar) 1973-
* Brian Johnson (Vocals) 1980-
* Phil Rudd (Drums) 1973-1983, 1994-
* Cliff Williams (Bass Guitar) 1978-
Former Members
* Bon Scott (Vocals) 1974-1980
* Mark Evans (Bass Guitar) 1973-1977
* Simon Wright (Drums) 1984-1989
* Chris Slade (Drums) 1989-1994
Discography
* 1974 - High Voltage (Australia)
* 1975 - T.N.T. (Australia)
* 1976 - High Voltage
* 1976 - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (re-released in the U.S., 1981)
* 1976 - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Australia)
* 1977 - Let There Be Rock
* 1978 - Powerage
* 1978 - If You Want Blood (Live)
* 1979 - Highway to Hell
* 1980 - Back in Black
* 1981 - For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
* 1983 - Flick of the Switch
* 1984 - '74 Jailbreak (EP of old cuts)
* 1985 - Fly on the Wall
* 1986 - Who Made Who (soundtrack to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive)
* 1988 - Blow Up Your Video
* 1990 - The Razor's Edge
* 1992 - Live (released as both a double and a single album)
* 1995 - Ballbreaker
* 1997 - Bonfire (tribute to the late Bon Scott including several discs of old cuts)
* 2000 - Stiff Upper Lip
* 2005 - Strap It On (due in 2005)