Founded in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young from Scotland, Australian rock band AC / DC are the true pioneers of hard rock, although the musicians themselves say that they play rock and roll. In this post we will not understand the musical style of this popular band, but will only introduce you to a few interesting facts related to the activities of musicians and not only.
The popularity of the AC / DC group is so great that some parents name their children after this rock group.
Musical compositions from the classic albums of the ensemble can be heard in a huge number of films and TV series, for example, in "Iron Man", "Supernatural".
AC / DC was originally based in Australia. The group was created by the Young brothers who were originally from Scotland.
The name of the group, especially at first in America, was mistaken for a call for homosexual contact, however, of course, AC / DC means alternating current.
The group's logo contains the Scandinavian rune "SOULU"
The first vocalist of the group Bon Scott died of choking on his own vomit. This event was due to an overdose of drugs and alcohol.
AC / DC's most successful album is Back in Black.
The group has sold approximately 200 million copies of their albums.
There are some funny names among the bands that play AC / DC cover versions. For example, AB / CD, BC / DC, AM / FM, AS / DS, and there is also a cover band with female vocals "AC / DC She".
In Australia, you can buy the band's signature wines.
There is a street in Melbourne called AC / DC lane.
In 2003. AC / DC inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
And for the first time in Russia, a rock group performed in 1991.
Angus Young once appeared at a concert dressed as Zorro.
Any self-respecting group made a cover of this vocal-instrumental ensemble. For example, the song "Back in Black" was performed by Carlos Santana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Shakira, Muse and others.
AC / DC Group history
The history of the group begins in the large family of William and Margaret Young. In 1963, they all
family moved to Australia. The first in the family interested in music was
George Young, he and his friends created a group " Easybeats". Next to rock
music hit Malcolm, inspired by his old brother, he pretty quickly
mastered the acoustic guitar and began to successfully study the electric guitar. Angus Young
having seen enough of his brothers, he also decided to take up the guitar, progress in his
the learning curve was amazing.
Malcolm came up with the idea of starting a group, Angus supported
his proposal. Colin Burgess sat on drums, Larry was called in for bass
Van Knedt and Dave Evans on vocals.
The name of the group was chosen spontaneously. Angus once saw on
vacuum cleaner inscription AC / DC(High voltage), he told about this find
group, the group supported.
For a long time, the group could not choose their image, until
Young's sister, Margaret, did not offer school uniforms as costumes. So
Angus has earned himself status on the stage as a perpetual schoolboy with a guitar.
For the first time, AC / DC performed in a small bar called "Checkers",
under New Year December 31, 1973, and that's when they began to have
fans.
By 1974, the group was constantly changing members. In June
of the same year, the group released several first singles - "Can I Sit Next To You
Girl "and" Rockin 'In The Parlor ". In the region where they lived, these songs became such
hit. The band then embarked on their first club tour.
Australia. Performing at the "Hard Rock Cafe"
that in the city of Melbourne, the group met Michael Browning. He stated that he sees
the group has great prospects and offered them his services as a manager. Several
years, he helped the group very significantly, but perhaps his greatest help was
was that he hired the equipment driver Bona Scott.
There was another gig in September 1974, but Dave Evans
refused to go on stage, an urgent replacement was required. Here Bon also suggested
their services as a vocalist. He had previous experience in the music field as well as in
criminal. After this concert, Bon Scott became the main vocalist of the group.
George Young also took the place of the bass guitar.
His first album “ High Voltage»The group writes to
February 1975. The album was a good success in Australia, and took quite good
places in hit-prarad.
After such a good debut, the group still revisited
Phil Ruud and Mark Evans took over as drummer and bass player.
In late 1975, AC / DC recorded a new album under
the title " T.N.T". The album was an incredible success in Australia, was sold
over 100,000 copies of the album. To enter the world stage, the group signed
contract with the label "Atlantic Records".
In 1976, the guys recorded the album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt
Cheap ". The album was a good success. After that, the group decided to move to live
to the UK.
Settled in new land, AC / DC release British
album "High Voltage", which included compositions from previous albums. And immediately after that we went on a tour of the country. The UK tour was an incredible success.
After a while, the group was invited to perform in the very
cool club in Britain "Marquee Club". After their performance, it became clear that
on this moment AC / DC is the best band in London. After another success
the group was made an offer that they could not refuse. Ritchie Blackmore("Rainbow") suggested to them
joint tour of Europe. Although in essence the tour did not go very smoothly. But
after all, they are now lit up all over Europe.
In 1976 a new album was released " Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap»,
the album is specially released for Europe. The band then embarked on a tour of Australia.
In 1977 in Australia the band recorded the album " Let there be rock". The boys then return to the UK for a new tour of the country with Black Sabbath. But friction arises between the groups and AC / DC are excluded from the tour. In June of the same year, Mark Evan deigned to leave the group. His place is taken by Cliff Williams. The new line-up of AC / DC is sent to conquer the United States.
In April 1978 the new album "Powerage" was released. After
The band embarks on a world tour of Europe, Australia and the United States. During
on this tour, a live album was recorded titled “ If You Want Blood You`ve Got
It". The album as well as the tours were at the best level.
The record company Atlantic Records advised
group to change their producer. The new producer is Robert John Lange. Same way
the group manager changed, Peter Mensch became the new one.
Plans have begun to record a new album. But before the group
changed the recording studio to Roundhouse Studios, which was based in London. V
the recording process, the new producer was extremely scrupulous, he demanded from the group
better sounding. It took 6 months to record and in June 1979 the album “ Highway
To Hell"Was released. The album turned out to be very colorful. The fans cheered.
After the release of the album, AC / DC embarked on an American tour.
On February 20, 1980, a terrible event occurred due to
the soloist Bon Scott died of alcohol poisoning. The group was terribly worried about this
loss. Everyone was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In the end, the guys accepted
the decision to continue living and working together. Taking all their strength into a fist, the group
finds a new soloist, Brian Johnson.
With the new line-up, the group began painstaking rehearsals of the old
material, and also began work on new material for the release of a new
album. Album " Back in black", Came out at the end of 1980, and had another
success. The fans accepted the new soloist no worse than the late Bon Scott. Further
followed by a lengthy tour of Europe, USA, Australia, and also in Japan, where
for the first time the group performed not just as a concert program, but as a rock show.
A bell was specially brought with an engraved AC / DC inscription for the song "Hell Bells".
The group released a new album in November 1981. It was called
« For Those About To Rock», The album immediately hit
to all charts. This was followed by a full-scale tour of America and
Great Britain. The novelty of the tour was that the guys were playing in stadiums.
After a short rest, the band starts recording a new
album " Flick Of The Switch". During the recording process, producer Phil Ruud was kicked out.
Perhaps due to the lack of a producer, the album did not have a large commercial
success.
After such a failure, it was decided to take on a new producer, Simon.
Wright. Which immediately provided the group with a successful tour of Canada and the states of America.
In 1985, in Switzerland, the band recorded their next
album "Flick Of The Switch".
In May 1986 they recorded the album Who Made Who. Album
turned out great and became one of the best in the group. After recording I went
standard tour of America and Europe.
After returning from the tour, the band began their search for a new studio for
album recording. The search stopped at the Miraval studio in France.
In January 1988, the album " Blow up your video". After
bringing AC / DC on a tour of Australia, where they haven’t been since 1981. In
during the tour, compositions recorded by Bon Scott dominated.
After this tour, the band returns to the UK and gives
there are only 2 concerts, goes on tour in America. Malcolm Young is not on this tour
explaining that he was very tired of last years, and during his absence he
wanted to get rid of alcohol addiction. His place was taken by his nephew Steve
Young USA tour with stadiums full
which showed the group is still listed in the country.
In 1989, Malcolm returns to the group, and they begin
work on a new album. Brian Johnson, meanwhile, was in the United States, and decided
personal legal issues. He did not write the lyrics for The Razors Edge.
participated. Meanwhile, Simon (drummer) split from the band and joined Ronnie.
James Dio. His place was taken by Chris Slade. It was also decided to change the producer to
Bruce Fairbairn. Recording began in Ireland at Windmill
Road Studios ". The album was finished in Vancouver at Little Mountain Studios, and
under the label "Atco". 2
video collection "Who Made Who" and "Clipped".
After the release of the album AC / DC
went on a world tour. The most notable were the performances at the festival
"Monsters of Rock" in Europe, and a performance in Moscow.
The first live album with Brian Johnson was released in October 1992
year. Produced by Bruce Fairbairn, the album was simply called "Live".
During 1993, the group rested, but still recorded
soundtrack to the film "The Last Action Hero" with the participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The song was named “ Big gun", The producer was an old acquaintance Rick Rubin.
In England in 1994, the group begins rehearsals and preparations for
recording a new album. In May of that year, the group asked Phil Rad to return.
After the success of the song "Big Gun" Rubin decided to leave the production of the new album.
The studio for recording was chosen in
Los Angeles, Ocean Way Studios. The album was named “ Ballbreaker", He went out to
1995 year. This was followed by a US tour consisting of 49 concerts. It was
another success of the group. In particular, people were attracted by the song "Hard As A Rock". This was followed by tours in Mexico, Canada,
Europe, having also visited several concerts in South America. World tour
ended as it should be in Australia where there was a special, warm welcome for them.
In July 1996 in London, on the VH-1 channel. Performed
some old songs recorded with Bon Scott. After this work, the group
takes off for a scheduled concert in Madrid. The hype was so strong
that after 5 hours of the announcement of the upcoming AC / DC concert, all tickets were sold out. Without thinking twice, the group
decided to give 2 more concerts in this city, the third concert was decided to be filmed on
video "Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas".
After extensive tours of the Ballbreaker album, the band
returns to the United States and begins work on the score for the film Private Roles. In it
time, rumors spread around the world that AC / DC were preparing
a special album featuring previously unreleased songs including Bon Scott.
As it turned out, the rumors were not unfounded, in March 1997
the group starts planning a new project.
It was originally planned to publish a collection of hits by AC / DC, on 4 CDs. But the fans asked for a collection of unreleased songs with Bon Scott to be released. The group was also fired up with this idea, but the problem was that they had nothing but how many demos with Bon. It was decided to organize a search company. The Angus brothers, Malcolm and George Young, spent a lot of time listening to the band's old material from the 70s.
In September 1997, a collection of five CDs, entitled "Bonfire", was released. After it ended
advertising campaign for this collection, the group decided to take a break. Everybody left
home.
By 1998, the group begins to compose songs for the new
album. The group decided not to rush to release the album, so
Thus, the album "Stiff Upper Lip" was released only in 2000.
In March 2003, the group entered the New York Hall of Fame.
rock and roll. Album "Back in Black" received the status of "double diamond", was
the album sold over 20 million copies.
In 2004, in Melbourne, Corporation Lane was renamed ACDC Lane, in honor of the group
In March 2005, the collection "Family Jewels" was released, consisting of 2 DVDs. The first disc was
dedicated to the years with Bon Scott, the second disc corresponding to the years with Brian
Johnson. The collection includes clips and live recordings of the group.
In October 2008, a new AC / DC album was released titled " Black ice". Album sales in the first week exceeded 5 million copies.
ended by 2010.
"AC / DC"- one of the most famous groups (vocal and instrumental ensembles) in the history of rock music. It begins back in 1973 in Australia, later relocated to England, then to the USA, so it is no longer clear what nationality this group is. Almost all the musicians, except drummer Phil Rudd, were born in the UK, so in principle this band can be considered an English-Scottish band.
The group continues to exist today, however, in a very strongly changed composition, at least the musicians still give concerts, where you can see American Axl Rose from " Guns N "Roses"former drummer" Manfred Mann "s Earth Band"Chris Slade, who worked with" AC / DC "in the early 90s, and on rhythm guitar - the nephew of the Young brothers - Stevie Young. However, many fans believe that the group still has no future, as it is supposedly completely has exhausted her creative potential.
In conclusion of the foreword, it should be said that for almost half a century of its existence, "AC / DC" only officially sold more than 200 million copies of their albums and received many awards for their musical achievements. Streets were named and monuments were erected in honor of the band and some of its musicians.
Those who have not yet decided on the true style of the group - this is the usual rhythm and blues, only utterly toughened by the iron sound of paired guitars, drum thunderbolt and gnashing vocals of its two famous vocalists - Bon Scott and Brian Johnson.
Biography of the group "AC / DC"
Australian group AC / DC was collected by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. The first vocalist of the team - Dave Evans - quickly gave way to the future world star - Bon Scott. In 1975, a permanent line-up was formed AC / DC which included Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd. The young team regularly appeared on television, which ensured a rapid rise to popularity at home. The first major success AC / DC became a song "It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock" n "Roll)"... The group managed to attract the attention of many record companies, and soon AC / DC signed an international deal with Atlantic Records. A tour of the UK and Europe followed. At that time AC / DC had the honor to share the stage with Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Kiss, The Who and many other famous musicians.
Extravagant behavior on and off the stage, bold and rude lyrics and, finally, bright and strong concert performances became the components of success. AC / DC from rock lovers in Britain. The image of the musicians, acting on the verge of a foul, however, was not to everyone's liking, so in some places they were forbidden to perform. AC / DC reached the peak of world fame with the release of the album "Highway To Hell" in 1979. The material of this disc entered the golden fund of rock music of all times and peoples. But the group nearly ceased to exist after Bon Scott's death in an accident in 1980. After much deliberation, the rest of the band members decided to continue their musical activities. The name of the new vocalist Brian Johnson, the former frontman of the rock-band that has not long thundered across Europe " Geordie", one of their loyal fans prompted them. After a short audition, Brian was accepted into the group. The first album that AC / DC recorded with a new singer, was the gorgeous "Back in Black" released in 1980. It turned out to be the best-selling in the group's discography. The best song from this disc is considered by many to be a song dedicated to the memory of Bon Scott, "You Shook Me All Night Long", one of the greatest works of hard rock.
In the wake of this success AC / DC continued to record successful albums - "For Those About to Rock We Salute You"(1981) and Flick of the Switch (1983). After that, Phil Rudd left the group. He was replaced by Simon Wright. In 1985 AC / DC released the disc "Fly on the Wall", which was noticeably inferior to its predecessors. However, a year later, the team began to regain their lost positions. First, the band released a compilation album "Who Made Who", which included old hits and the song of the same name, which is the soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. In February 1986 AC / DC were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame. In 1988, "Blow Up Your Video" was born, a powerful album featuring the Top 20 song "Heatseeker" in the UK. This was followed by another successful release, "The Razor" s Edge "(1990).
In 1994, Phil Rudd returned to the group. With him were recorded the albums "Ballbreaker" (1995) and "Stiff Upper Lip" (2000). In March 2003 the group AC / DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York. After a long hiatus, in 2008, AC / DC pleased their fans with a new studio work called "Black Ice", and in 2009 a collector's edition "Backtracks" was released, which presents both the best songs of the group and rare records. Many compositions are presented on the disc for the first time. This collective influenced creativity huge amount bands playing in various directions of rock music. One of the streets in Melbourne is named after AC / DC undoubtedly the best band in Australia and one of the giants of world rock. In 2010, the release of a powerful disc called "Iron Man 2" took place. It presents some of the most exciting compositions of the legendary band: "Shoot To Thrill", "Back In Black" and many others. The appearance of this disc, of course, is associated with the release of the film of the same name, and it should be noted that they complement each other perfectly.
Uncomplicated, but extremely powerful rock and roll, professed by this team, took it from Australian bars to the world's largest venues and made it a true legend of hard rock. AC / DC's history began in Sydney in November 1973, when brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed a band featuring vocalist Dave Evans, bassist Larry Van Kreidt and ex-Masters Apprentices drummer Colin Bojess. In this configuration, the ensemble played only a few concerts, after which endless changes of drummers and bassists began. Be that as it may, the band continued to rehearse and perform, and in February 1974 they recorded their first single "Can I Sit Next To You Girl". At first, the team appeared in public in traditional jeans and T-shirts, but in the spring Angus, on the advice of his sister Margaret (by the way, she also came up with the name of the group), donned a school uniform, and over time it became a trademark of "AC / DC".
In the summer the band got a contract from "Albert Productions" and went on tour as opening act for Lou Reed, who had stopped in Australia. During these tours, it finally became clear that Evans was not attracted to the frontman, and he was shown the door. Bon Scott immediately took the place at the microphone, but the leapfrog with the rhythm section stopped only a year later, when Mark Evans (bass) and Phil Rudd (drums) joined the ranks of "AC / DC". With the help of the first two albums (which still had some glam influences "High Voltage" and already performed in the corporate tough style of "TNT"), which easily took platinum at home, the band laid the Australian continent at their feet and attracted the attention of the rock community of other countries. ...
At the end of the sessions of the third disc, "AC / DC" set off to conquer Europe, choosing the glorious city of London as their main residence. In 1976, the band struck a deal with Atlantic Records, which released the High Voltage CD in May, which was essentially a compilation of Australian releases. The record sold over three million copies worldwide, followed by two more multi-platinum LPs that spawned hits such as "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Let There Be Rock" and "Whole Lotta Rosie". In the summer of 1977, "AC / DC" first visited America, and shortly before the start of the tour, Mark, who had quarreled with Angus, was replaced by Cliff Williams. By the time the Powerage studio album and If You Want Blood You "ve Got It" were released, Australian musicians had become real superstars, and tickets to their performances were sold out like hot cakes. In 1979, the band teamed up with producer Matt Lang and produced a true masterpiece "Highway To Hell".
Unfortunately, this work, with which "AC / DC" first hacked the top hundred on "Billboard", was Scott's last. On February 19, 1980, Bon passed away after a night of heavy drinking, leaving the vocalist vacant. When the shock of the unexpected loss passed a little, his colleagues decided to continue the group's activities, and Brian Johnson stood up to the microphone. This ex-member of "Geordie" came in handy, since he not only had a vocals similar to Scott, but was also an excellent showman. Released in the summer of 1980, "Back In Black", which was once again directed by Lang, became the group's most commercially successful work. In addition to the title track, the concert favorites were replenished with "Hells Bells", "Shoot To Thrill", "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Rock And Roll Ain" t Noise Pollution ", while the disc took first places in many countries of the world, and its total circulation crossed the platinum mark a whopping 22 times.
Against the background of his next two works, they looked much more modest, although many teams could envy the sales of Lang's "For Those About To Rock" and the self-produced "Flick Of The Switch". Meanwhile, the internal situation in the team again heated up, and this time Phil, who had a fight with Malcolm, flew out the door. After replacing drummer with Simon Wright, the band released the album "Fly On The Wall" in 1985. The Yangi brothers were again in charge of producing it, who tried to further simplify the sound and thereby caused critical disapproval. However, in the future, the team's affairs slowly started to improve, and the records "Who Made Who" (the soundtrack to Stephen King's film "Maximum Overdrive", where only three new songs were presented) and "Blow Up Your Video" supported its chart success. In 1990, Chris Slade (ex-Manfred Mann "s Earth Band) on drums and Bruce Fairbairn (Aerosmith, Bon Jovi) recorded The Razor Edge CD, which brought the band hits" Thunderstruck "and" Are You Ready ", five times platinum and a spot in the Billboard Top 10. After its release, studio activity stalled for a five-year period, but in 1995 AC / DC returned with Rudd's forgiveness and the album" Ballbreaker ". which Rick Rubin conjured up. Although this multi-platinum work has also been in the Top 10 of many countries, fans again had to wait five years for the next feature (however, to relieve their anguish in 1997, the "Bonfire" box set was released). how "Stiff Upper Lip" hit the shelves and the touring in support of it was noisy, the band gave up work on fresh material for a long time and began to remaster and re-release the back catalog. Many already predicted the demise of "AC / DC" when in the fall of 2008 the legendary band announced about his return growing with the "Black Ice" program. The comeback exceeded all expectations and the album proved to be the undisputed leader in 29 countries. People flocked to the concerts resumed after a long break, but some of the dates had to be canceled due to Brian's peptic ulcer.
In 2009, a box-set of rarities "Backtracks" was released, and the following year, many of the band's hits were featured in the film "Iron Man 2". Unfortunately, his age soon began to make itself felt, and on the eve of the recording of the next album, Malcolm was forced to leave for health reasons. The elder Young's guitar passed to his nephew Stevie, but before one personnel problem was resolved, another one arose - Rudd ran into trouble with the law and was accused of threatening murder and possession of marijuana and methamphetamines. And if the first item was soon removed from the agenda, then the drummer had to pay for drugs with house arrest. One way or another, Phil could no longer participate in the recording of the disc, and therefore Chris Slade returned for the drum kit. Despite all the twists and turns, the album "Rock Or Bust" turned out to be, albeit short, but powerful, which was confirmed by the leading positions in the ratings and platinum sales. Unfortunately, the commercial success was overshadowed by the next troubles - during the accompanying tour, Johnson began to lose his hearing, and in order to avoid final deafness, doctors ordered him to quit touring.
Last update 03.24.16234 rebounds, 2 of them this month
Biography
AC / DC(abbreviated from the English alternating current / direct current - alternating / direct current) is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney (Australia) in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young.With bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple AC / DC are often regarded as the pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal. The musicians themselves classified their music as rock and roll, since it is based on rhythm and blues with a highly distorted sound of rhythmic and solo guitars.
The band went through several lineup changes before the band's first album, High Voltage, was released in 1975. The line-up remained unchanged until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977. On February 19, 1980, vocalist and songwriter of the band Bon Scott (born Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott) died, choking on his own vomit as a result of extremely strong alcoholic intoxication. The group had all the chances to disband, but soon a replacement for Scott was found in the person of former Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson. A year later, the band released their best-selling album, Back in Black.
The band has sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 68 million albums in the United States. The most successful album, Back in Black, has sold over 22 million in the US and over 42 million worldwide. Generally, AC / DC is the most successful and well-known rock band from Australia. AC / DC ranked fourth on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and seventh on MTV's "Greatest Heavy Metal Band Of All Time" list.
Name
Malcolm and Angus Youngi came up with the name for their band after seeing the acronym "AC / DC" on the back of their sister Margaret's sewing machine. "AC / DC" is an abbreviation for "alternating current / direct current", which indicates that the device can use the specified types of energy. The brothers felt that the name symbolized the band's raw energy and the vibe of live performances, thus the name stuck.
In some cultures, "AC / DC" is a slang term for bisexuals; the musicians claimed that they were not aware of the existence of this meaning until this fact was noticed at the beginning of their career by one taxi driver. Some religious leaders claim that the name of the group should be understood as "Anti-Christ / Devil" s Child, "Anti-Christ / Death to Christ" ) or "After Christ / Devil Comes".
AC / DC is spelled, but the group is also known as Acca Dacca in Australia. The name led to the emergence of tribute bands using consonant names: BC / DC from the province British columbia(Canada); AC / DSHE, a girl group based in San Francisco; Swedish AB / CD and some others.
It is known that the group performed several times for the Freeride Entertainment team in the films about Mountain Bike, from the Disorder series (in 4 and 5 parts, at the moment there are 9 of them)
History
Brothers Angus (born March 31, 1955; at the request of Atlantic Records, Angus's birth year was officially indicated as 1959), Malcolm (born January 6, 1953) and George Young were born in Glasgow, Scotland and were also children with their family left for Sydney. George was the first to play guitar and became a member of Australia's most successful 60s band, The Easybeats. It was the first local rock band to release the international hit "Friday on My Mind" in 1966. Malcolm soon followed in his brother's footsteps, becoming the guitarist for Newcastle's The Velvet Underground (not to be confused with New York's The Velvet Underground)
Early years
After their first musical experience, Malcolm and Angus organized AC / DC by hiring vocalist Dave Evans, bass player Larry van Kniedt and drummer Colin Burgess. The band debuted on December 31, 1973 at the Checkers Bar in Sydney.
The original line-up changed frequently - the group changed several drummers and bassists during 1974. In September 1974, AC / DC replaced Dave Evans with the charismatic Ronald "Bon" Scott (born July 9, 1946 in Kirrimer, Scotland), lead singer of The Spectors in 1966. From this event the real success of the group began. With Evans, AC / DC recorded a three-song single: "Rockin" in the Parlor "," Show Business "and" Can I Sit Next to You Girl. "The latter two were also recorded with Scott.
Angus Young's sister encouraged him to wear the school uniform he wore at the Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney. He later wore this uniform at all concerts of the group.
Through their continued participation in the popular music television show Countdown throughout Australia, the band became one of the most famous and popular in the country between 1974 and 1978. AC / DC during these years they have released a number of successful albums and singles, including the ageless rock and roll anthem "It’sa Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock" n "Roll)" -roll]).
World famous
The band signed an international contract with Atlantic Records and began to actively tour the UK and Europe, gaining prominence and gaining experience playing in the wings of famous rock bands of the time, such as Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, KISS, Cheap Trick, Nazareth, Foreigner, Thin Lizzy and The Who. In 1976, AC / DC's third Australian album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, was released.
The invasion and wave of popularity of punk rock in the years 76-78. The band survived well thanks to their rude and provocative lyrics and partly due to the fact that it was classified as a punk band in the British music press of the time. They achieved success in the British rock scene thanks to their powerful and scandalous concert shows, and Angus Young quickly became famous for his provocative behavior on stage, which, among other things, led to the fact that the group was banned from performing at several UK concert venues. ...
Produced by Mutt Lange, 1979's Highway to Hell took the band to the top of the world's rock charts of all time. The album undoubtedly became the most popular of the group's discography at the time of its release. Many of the songs on this album can still be heard frequently on the radio today, and the title track has become one of the most famous songs in the history of rock music.
The death of Bon Scott
Bon Scott died on February 19, 1980. He left another party and stayed overnight in the car of his friend Allistair Kinnear. He found Bon the next day dead. The cause of death was officially hypothermia, although the most common version to this day is that Bon Scott choked on his own vomit. These rumors are supported by many controversies in the official story of his death, which also gives rise to many theories of conspiracy, murder of the musician and heroin overdose.
The band members originally planned to end their musical activities as part of AC / DC, but later decided that Bon Scott would like the group to continue. The musicians tried several candidates for the vocal position, in the end there were two candidates: Terry Slesser and Brian Johnson. Johnson during this period tried to restore his group Geordie, but public performance of two songs AC / DC and Tina Turner ("Whole Lotta Rosie" (Let There Be Rock) and "Nutbush City Limits", respectively) impressed the members AC / DC and a few days later they informed Johnson that he was the new vocalist for the band.
"Back in Black"
Together with Brian Johnson, the band completed the unfinished songs due to Bon's death, and recorded the album Back in Black, also produced by Lang. Back in Black, released in 1980, became the band's best-selling album and one of the most significant in hard rock history. Among all the hits of the album, the song of the same name, written in memory of Bon Scott, and "You Shook Me All Night Long", are considered by many to be the quintessence of music. AC / DC and even hard rock in general.
The next album, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), released in 1981, also sold very well and was well received by critics. The composition of the same name to the album, ending under the thunder of scorching cannons, became the culminating and concluding number of most subsequent concerts AC / DC.
The 1983 album Flick of the Switch was produced by the group without Lang. Drummer Phil Rudd left the group due to personal disagreements with the rest of the group, caused, according to some sources, by alcohol problems. After an anonymous audition, he was replaced by Simon Wright, a former member of the Tytan group. In 1985, with the new line-up, the band recorded the less successful Fly on the Wall, produced by the Young brothers. Along with this album, the band released a series of music videos for the band performing five of the album's ten songs in a bar using various special effects, including an animated fly.
In 1986, AC / DC returned to the charts with the title track of Who Made Who, which is the soundtrack to Stephen King's film Maximum Overdrive. The album also contained two new instrumental compositions and hits from previous albums. In February 1986, the group was inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association Hall of Fame. The 1988 album Blow Up Your Video was released by the group along with the original lineup of producers Harry Vanda and George Young. This album sold better than the previous one and hit the UK Top 20 Singles Chart with "Heatseeker".
Following the release of Blow Up Your Video, Wright left the band and was replaced by session musician Chris Slade. Johnson could not participate in the work of the group for several months, so the Youngi brothers wrote songs for the next album on their own, as well as for all subsequent ones. The Razor's Edge album was released in 1990. It became very successful for the group and contained the hits "Thunderstruck" and "Money Talks." Great Britain.
In 1994, Phil Rudd returned to the group. The departure of Chris Slade, in this regard, was amicable and was mainly due to the strong desire of the members of the group to bring Rudd back. According to Angus Young, Slade was the best musician in AC / DC but the desire to see Phil in the group was stronger. As part of 1980-1983, the band recorded the 1995 album Ballbreaker with hip-hop and heavy metal producer Rick Rubin and Stiff Upper Lip in 2000.
Following the release of these albums, the band signed a long-term multi-album deal with Sony BMG, which were released under Epic Records.
Recent years and recognition of merit
In March 2003, AC / DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York and performed their hits "Highway to Hell" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" with Steve Tyler of Aerosmith. In May 2003, Malcolm Young was awarded the Ted Albert Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music." That same year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) updated the band's album sales estimates from 46.5 million to 63 million, making AC / DC the fifth group in US history to sell the most albums after The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Eagles. In addition, the album was certified Double Diamond (20,000,000 copies sold) as Back in Black, making it the sixth best-selling album in US history. In 2005, the number of copies sold of the album reached 21 million, which brought it to the fifth position.
In July 2003, the band held a joint gig with The Rolling Stones at Sarsfest, a concert dedicated to the fight against the SARS epidemic in Toronto, Canada.
On October 1, 2004, Corporation Lane Street in Melbourne was officially renamed ACDC Lane in honor of the group (street names in Melbourne cannot contain the “/” character). The street is adjacent to Swanston Street, where, in the back of a truck, the band recorded their video for the 1975 hit "It’s a Long Way to the Top". There is also another street in the world, named after the AC / DC group, in Spain, in the city of Legan (LeganГ © s), near Madrid - "Calle de AC / DC", not far from the streets named after the rock bands Iron Maiden and Rosendo (Spanish rock band).
In March 2005, a set of two DVDs, "Family Jewels", was released containing music videos and live music videos. The first disc dates back to the Bon Scott era (with live videos filmed ten days before Scott's death), the second contained videos from the Brian Johnson era.
The single "Rock'n'Roll Train" was released on August 28, 2008. On October 20, 2008, AC / DC released their new album Black Ice, which topped the charts in 29 countries a week after its release. In the first week, the band sold 5 million copies of the album worldwide. Australia's Top 50 hit 6 albums in early November AC / DC... Among those who enthusiastically commented on the new album was Australian poet and writer John Kinsella, who noted the album's "clever, sharp, in its own way brilliant" lyrics.
In late October, the band went on a North American tour with The Answer supporting them.
Influence on rock music
AC / DC is mentioned by many contemporaries and later emerging musicians and groups of rock and metal as influencing their work. Among them: Anthrax, Bon Jovi, The Darkness, Def Leppard, Dio, Dokken, Dream Theater, Faster Pussycat, Iron Maiden, Great White, Guns N "Roses, Hanoi Rocks, Journey, Megadeth, Metallica, Nirvana, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, Ratt, Rhino Bucket, Saxon, Scorpions, Skid Row, Supagroup, Tool, Twisted Sister, UFO, Van Halen, Whitesnake, Wolfmother, Y&T.
Many artists and bands of punk rock, hardcore punk, grunge, garage rock and alternative rock have also noted AC / DC as influencing them. Although the band was initially criticized by British punk rockers of the late 70s, many of the movement's musicians paid tribute to AC / DC for the high energy of music, solid and anti-commercial (although many may argue with this) approach to rock music.
Influence AC / DC Australian music can hardly be overestimated. Relatively speaking, every Australian rock group that emerged in the mid-70s and later was influenced by AC / DC... To Australian groups that mentioned influence on them AC / DC include, for example, Airbourne, Blood Duster, Frenzal Rhomb, INXS, Jet, The Living End, Midnight Oil, Powderfinger, Silverchair, You Am I.