The Highway to Hell Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band AC/DC in support of the group's seventh studio album, ''

Highway to Hell ''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who would die early the following year on 19 February 1980. Background By 1978 ...

'', which was released on 27 July 1979. The tour had 3 legs around Europe and North America lasting 5 months starting on 17 August 1979 at Haffmans Park in Bilzen,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and concluded on 27 January 1980 at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. This was the last tour with

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotlan ...

, who died four weeks after the tour's completion.

Background

During the band's tour in the United States, the band attracted capacity crowds, with one venue having to turn away over two thousand fans after being sold out minutes after the box office opened. The band were set to tour in Japan and Australia in early 1980, but the legs were cancelled following the death of vocalist Bon Scott as a result of alcohol poisoning.

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

was the opening act for part of the European leg after they were approached by

Peter Mensch Peter Mensch (born March 28, 1953) is an American music manager. He started his career in music management at the age of 26, managing AC/DC. In 1982, Mensch formed the management company Q Prime with Cliff Burnstein. Their first client was Def ...

of Leber-Krebs management, who had booked them on a tour of the UK supporting the band. During the shows in Texas in the United States, Riot and

Molly Hatchet Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released ...

were the opening acts for the band on their North American leg.

Setlist

Europe (warm–up leg)

#"Live Wire" #"Problem Child" #"Walk All Over You" #"Shot Down in Flames" #"Bad Boy Boogie" #"The Jack" #"

" #"

Whole Lotta Rosie "Whole Lotta Rosie" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the eighth and final track on the band's fourth Australian album, ''Let There Be Rock'', released in Australia in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young ...

" #"Rocker" Encore #

Let There Be Rock ''Let There Be Rock'' is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band, AC/DC. It was originally released on 21 March 1977 in Australia on the Albert Productions label. A modified international edition was released on 25 July 1977 on Atla ...

North America

#"Live Wire" #"Shot Down in Flames" #"Walk All Over You" #"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" #"Sin City" #"Problem Child" #"Bad Boy Boogie" #"The Jack" #"Highway to Hell" #"

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...

" #"Whole Lotta Rosie" #"Rocker" Encore #

"If You Want Blood You've Got It" #"Let There Be Rock"

Europe

#"Live Wire" #"Shot Down in Flames" #"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" #"Sin City" #"Walk All Over You" #"Bad Boy Boogie" #"The Jack" #"Highway to Hell" #"High Voltage" #" Girls Got Rhythm" #"Whole Lotta Rosie" #"Rocker" Encore #

T.N.T. Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

" or "If You Want Blood (You Got It)" #"Let There Be Rock"

Tour dates

Cancelled dates

Box office score data

Personnel

– lead vocals *

Angus Young Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, schoolbo ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

* Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Cliff Williams Clifford Williams (born 14 December 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He started his professional music career in 1967 and had previously been in the English ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals *

Phil Rudd Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd (born Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecius, 19 May 1954) is an Australian drummer, best known as the drummer of AC/DC across three stints. On the 1977 departure of bass guitarist Mark Evans from AC/DC, Rudd became ...

Background

Setlist

Europe (warm–up leg)

North America

Europe

Tour dates

Cancelled dates

Box office score data

Personnel

Notes

References

Citations

Sources