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A Comprehensive Look at AC/DC

AC/DC – The Early Years

AC/DC is a powerful Australian rock band that was formed in 1973 by the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Both of the Young brothers played guitar, and when the band started youngest brother Angus was only 18 years old.

During the band’s formidable years they would go through an interesting carousel of players before arriving at their well-known line-up of Angus Young, Malcolm Young, vocalist Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd, and bass player Cliff Williams.

Drummers

In 1974 alone AC/DC went through seven drummers. • Colin Burgess • Ron Carpenter • Russell Coleman • Noel Taylor • Peter Clack • John Proud • Tony Currenti

In 1975, AC/DC began the year with Peter Clack, and then in February of that year they replaced Clack with Phil Rudd. Phil Rudd remained the drummer until a fist fight with Malcolm Young in May 1983 caused him to be removed. Rudd came back to the group in 1994 and has been the drummer ever since.

Bass Players

AC/DC had a bit more luck with bass players in 1974, as they only went through four of them in that year.

• Larry Van Kriedt • Neil Smith • Rob Bailey • George Young o The older brother of Malcolm and Angus. o He was only acting as a stand-in bassist after Rob Bailey left. o He wound up managing the group and producing several of their albums.

In 1975, AC/DC went through three more bass players while also alternating between Larry Van Kriedt, Rob Bailey, and George Young.

• Paul Matters • Bruce Howe • Mark Evans

Mark Evans remained with the group until June of 1977 when Angus removed Evans and replaced him with Cliff Williams. Williams has been with the band ever since.

Singers

The original lead singer of AC/DC was Dave Evans, and Evans sang with the group up until he was replaced by Bon Scott. Scott was the vocalist until he passed away of alcohol poisoning in February of 1980. AC/DC considered stopping for a while, but they eventually hired Brian Johnson from the band Geordie, and Johnson has been in the band ever since.

Other Notable Events in AC/DC’s Early Years

• When the band started Malcolm Young was only 20 years old and younger brother Angus was 18.

• The Young brothers got the name AC/DC from the power stamp on the back of their sister’s sewing machine. It stands for alternating current / direct current, and the Young brothers liked that as a metaphor for their hard rock music. It was pointed out to them later that AC/DC also had a sexual connotation which meant a person who prefers both sexes.

• By 1977, after only being in existence for four years, the band was touring Europe and playing stadiums with legendary bands such as Kiss and Styx.

• The bands first two records, T.N.T and High Voltage, were huge successes in Australia. But it was not until they signed an international distribution deal with Atlantic Records in 1976 that High Voltage was finally released in the United States. The album was a huge success in America; as it went on to sell over 3 million copies.

AC/DC – The Cast of Characters

AC/DC had gone through a large spectrum of players to finally get to the line-up that would bring them international success. In some cases a change was made because someone clashed in some way with one of the Young brothers, or with both of them. Because of various changes and personal issues within the band, the only member of the group that has played every AC/DC show since its inception is Angus Young.

The Young brothers have always been central to the success, and direction, of AC/DC. But they could not have found success without some of the other people that have come in and out of the AC/DC universe throughout its history.

• Angus Young

o Lead guitar and founding member of the group.

o Angus and his brother Malcolm were actually born in Scotland. His family moved to Sydney, Australia in 1963 when Angus was 8.

o Angus is known for his school boy uniform which is now a replica of the actual school uniform he used to wear when he would stop off at a local pub to play guitars with his brother Malcolm and their friends. When AC/DC started, Angus tried to get rid of the school boy costume and attempted to replace it with costumes of heroes such as Spider-Man and Superman. In the end, Angus wound up keeping his school boy uniform as his on stage persona.

o Angus is famous for his rhythmic movements on stage while he is playing. He is also known for going into the crowd on the shoulders of lead singer Brian Johnson, and he also has a reputation for mooning the audience during a performance.

• Malcolm Young

o Rhythm guitarist and co-founding member of the group. Malcolm is also credited with having a very astute business mind and is often considered to be the Young brother that makes a majority of the band’s business decisions.

o In 1988, Malcolm’s bout with alcoholism had reached the point where he needed to remove himself from AC/DC’s tour and check in to rehab. In his absence Stevie Young, the nephew of Malcolm and Angus, played in Malcolm’s place. To the band’s relief, Stevie resembled his uncle Malcolm so much that the audience never realized there was a switch.

• Bon Scott

o Scott’s real first name was Ronald.

o Scott was significantly older than the Young brothers. When Bon Scott joined AC/DC in 1974 he was 28 years old, while Angus and Malcolm were 19 and 21 respectively. o Scott had the same lineage as the Young brothers. He was born in Scotland and then moved with his family to Australia when he was 6 years old.

o Dave Evans was the lead singer in 1974, but the Young brothers wanted a front man that was more rough and edgy. Evans was moving too much towards the glitzy costumes and far-out hair, so the Young brothers replaced Evans with Scott after meeting Scott on a tour stop in 1974. o On February 19, 1980 Bon Scott was sleeping in a friend’s car after a long day and night of drinking. The next morning he was found dead in the car, and it was said that he asphyxiated on vomit due to alcohol poisoning.

o Prior to his death, Scott had played a recording of the band Geordie for the Young brothers and proceeded to tell them a story about a time he had seen Geordie and lead singer Brian Johnson was writhing around on stage singing a Little Richard song. Scott suggested to the Young brothers that Johnson would make a good replacement if anything should ever happen to him. The Young brothers later found out that Johnson was writhing around on stage that night because he was suffering from appendicitis.

• Brian Johnson

o Johnson has never been shy about his place in AC/DC. He has always understood the significance of Bon Scott to the Young brothers, and Johnson was not bothered when Bon Scott’s name was included to the list of AC/DC members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

o Johnson’s pre-AC/DC band Geordie, was a glam band that had a minor hit on the UK charts called “I Can’t Forget You Now.”

o Johnson is British and has always lived in England.

AC/DC – Important Discography

AC/DC has released 16 studio albums with their first coming out in 1975. The most recent album was the 2008 release Black Ice.

In recent interviews both Brian Johnson and the Young brothers have indicated that they will continue to release new albums and tour as long as the public continues to by their albums and concert tickets.

• High Voltage – 1975 o The first AC/DC studio album. It rode to success with a cover of a Joe Williams song called “Baby, Please Don’t Go.” o This version of the album was only released in Australia.

• High Voltage – 1976 o This is the international version that was released by Atlantic Records soon after signing the band to their international distribution deal.

o The track listing on this version of High Voltage was significantly different than the 1975 Australian release. Only two tracks were used from the original release, and they were augmented by three tracks from AC/DC’s second Australian release titled T.N.T.

o Noticeably absent on this international release of High Voltage is the hit from the Australian release “Baby, Please Don’t Go.”

o The album cover for the international release was also different than the original Australian release.

o This version of High Voltage is significant because it sold millions of copies all over the world and opened up many new opportunities for AC/DC, including the ability to tour stadiums with rock legends such as Kiss and Styx.

• Highway to Hell – 1979

o Bon Scott’s final studio album. It was released in July of 1979, and Scott passed away in February of 1980 only a few weeks after the tour for this album had ended.

o The album cover sparked a great deal of controversy when it was released. Angus Young appears on the cover with devil horns and what appears to be a devil’s tail to go along with the theme of Hell. AC/DC has never considered themselves to be a satanic band, and they could not understand all of the controversy. In their home country of Australia, much of Young were covered up by flames and an image of a guitar neck. In Germany the cover was made to much more plain and was void of the controversial image.

o Mass murderer Richard Ramirez left an AC/DC baseball cap at one crime scene, and he appeared in court wearing an AC/DC shirt. He was motivated by the song “Night Prowler” on Highway to Hell, and he referred to himself as the Night Stalker. According to the Young brothers, the song is about a boy trying to sneak into his girlfriend’s bedroom and has nothing to do with murder.

o This album has sold over 7 million copies in the United States alone.

• Back in Black – 1980

o This album was recorded in the Bahamas, and released only 5 months after the death of Bon Scott.

o The album has sold more than 45 million copies all over the world, and in the United States it has sold more than 22 million copies. It is the second best selling album of all-time behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

o The album’s cover was completely black, and the lettering was difficult to see because it was simply raised black lettering in the same colour as the cover. The black was used as a symbol of mourning for the loss of Bon Scott.

o Many fans accused Brian Johnson of singing lyrics that were written by Bon Scott. In reality, Brian Johnson wrote the lyrics for Back in Black with the Young brothers. A majority of the album was written during the recording sessions in the Bahamas.

AC/DC - Awards and Recognitions

AC/DC has been in existence for 36 years, and they have sold over 200 million albums world wide. They have been called one of the most influential bands in all of rock and roll, and they continue to headline stadiums all over the world.

With all of that it would only stand to reason that AC/DC should be honoured with some kind of award. The mainstream music industry that has profited so well from AC/DC’s work has acknowledged AC/DC’s presence, but they have yet to reward them with any specific honour. However, the band has been honoured with many other awards and recognitions throughout their impressive career.

• In 1982, AC/DC was nominated as the favourite rock band of the year in the American Music Awards. They lost to Air Supply.

• AC/DC has a string of Grammy nominations, but no awards to show for their efforts. o In 1989 AC/DC lost the best metal Grammy to Jethro Tull. There is a good chance that AC/DC would have lost this award to Metallica had Jethro Tull not won as Metallica had released their very popular black album that year and were thought to be a lock for the Grammy.

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In 1991 AC/DC lost the best hard rock performance Grammy to Living Colour.

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In 1992 AC/DC lost the best hard rock performance Grammy to Van Halen.

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In 1994 AC/DC lost the best hard rock performance Grammy to Stone Temple Pilots.

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In 2009 AC/DC lost the best performance by a group or duo Grammy to the Kings of Leon.

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In 1991 AC/DC was nominated for best heavy metal video at the MTV Video Music Awards. They lost to Aerosmith.

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AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Along with the five members of the group that makes up the classic AC/DC line-up, Bon Scott was added as an inducted member of AC/DC making the list of AC/DC members in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd, and Cliff Williams.

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That same year, Malcolm Young was awarded the Ted Albert Award for service to Australian music.

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AC/DC has a road named after them in Australia, and they also have a road named after them in Spain.

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Back in Black has been certified in the United States as Double Diamond, which means it has sold 20 million copies. As of 2007, the album has actually sold more than 22 million copies.

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AC/DC is credited with selling almost 70 million albums in the United States alone. This ranks them as the sixth highest selling act in America, putting them past Madonna and Michael Jackson.

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When the music television network VH1 released their list of the top 100 hard rock acts of all time, they ranked AC/DC at number 4.

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In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine released their list of the top 100 greatest musical acts of all time. AC/DC ranked number 72 in this very prestigious list.

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