AC/DC singles

AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it simply "rock and roll".

AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, 1975's ''High Voltage''. Membership subsequently stabilised around the Young brothers, singer Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd, and bassist Mark Evans. Evans was fired from the band in 1977 and replaced by Cliff Williams, who has appeared on every AC/DC album since 1978's ''Powerage''. In February 1980, about seven months after the release of their breakthrough album ''Highway to Hell'', Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking. AC/DC considered disbanding, but at Scott's family's request, the remaining members opted to continue the band, bringing in longtime Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson as Scott's replacement. Later that year, the band released their first album with Johnson, ''Back in Black'', which was dedicated to Scott's memory. The album launched AC/DC to new heights of success and became one of the best selling albums of all time.

The band's eighth studio album, ''For Those About to Rock We Salute You'' (1981), was their first album to reach number one in the United States. Prior to the release of their next album, '' Flick of the Switch'' (1983), Rudd left the band and was replaced by Simon Wright, being in turn replaced by Chris Slade in 1989. The band experienced a commercial resurgence in the early nineties with the release of their twelfth studio album '' The Razors Edge'' (1990); it was their only album to feature Slade, who was replaced by the returning Rudd in 1994. Rudd has since recorded five more albums with the band, starting with, and including, '' Ballbreaker'' (1995). Their fifteenth studio album ''Black Ice'' was the second-highest-selling album of 2008, and their biggest chart hit since ''For Those About to Rock'', eventually reaching No.1 worldwide.

The band's line-up remained the same for twenty years, until 2014 with Malcolm Young's retirement due to early-onset dementia (he died in 2017) and Rudd's legal troubles. Malcolm was replaced by his nephew Stevie Young, who debuted on AC/DC's 2014 album '' Rock or Bust'', and on its accompanying tour, previous drummer Chris Slade filled in for Rudd. In 2016, Johnson was advised to stop touring due to worsening hearing loss. Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose stepped in as the band's vocalist for the remainder of that year's dates. Long-term bass player and background vocalist Cliff Williams retired from AC/DC at the end of the ''Rock or Bust'' tour in 2016 and the group entered a four-year hiatus. A reunion of the ''Rock or Bust'' line-up was announced in September 2020 and the band's seventeenth studio album ''Power Up'' was released two months later.

AC/DC have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 75 million albums in the United States, making them the ninth-highest-selling artist in the United States and the 16th-best-selling artist worldwide. ''Back in Black'' has sold an estimated 50 million units worldwide, making it the second-highest-selling album by any artist, and the highest-selling album by any band. The album has sold 25 million units in the US, where it is the fourth highest-selling album of all time. AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003. AC/DC ranked fourth on '' VH1'' list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and were named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, AC/DC ranked No. 72 on the ''Rolling Stone'' list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Producer Rick Rubin, who wrote an essay on the band for the ''Rolling Stone'' list, referred to AC/DC as "the greatest rock and roll band of all time". In 2010, ''VH1'' ranked AC/DC number 23 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

History

Formation and name (1973–1974)

In November 1973, Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DC with bassist Larry Van Kriedt, vocalist Dave Evans, and ex- Masters Apprentices drummer Colin Burgess. Gene Pierson booked the band to play at Chequers nightclub on New Year's Eve, 1973. By this time, Angus Young had adopted his characteristic school-uniform stage outfit. The idea was his sister Margaret's. Angus had tried other costumes: Spider-Man, Zorro, a gorilla, and a parody of Superman, named Super-Ang. In its early days, most members of the band dressed in some form of glam or satin outfit. On stage, Evans was occasionally replaced by the band's first manager, Dennis Laughlin, who was the original lead singer with Sherbet. In Paul Stenning's book ''AC/DC: Two Sides To Every Glory'' it was stated that Evans did not get along with Laughlin, which also contributed to the band's bitter feeling toward Evans.

Malcolm and Angus Young developed the idea for the band's name after their sister, Margaret Young, saw the initials "AC/DC" on the AC adapter of a sewing machine. "AC/DC" is an abbreviation meaning "alternating current/direct current" electricity. The brothers felt that this name symbolised the band's raw energy, power-driven performances of their music. "AC/DC" is pronounced one letter at a time, though the band are colloquially known as "Acca Dacca" in Australia. The AC/DC band name is stylised with a high voltage sign separating the "AC" and "DC" and has been used on all studio albums, with the exception of the international version of ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap''.

By the middle of 1974, the band had built up a strong live reputation, which led to a support slot for the visiting Lou Reed. Sometime in 1974, on the recommendation of Michael Chugg, veteran Melbourne promoter Michael Browning booked the band to play at his club, the Hard Rock. He was not pleased with their glam rock image and felt that Evans was the wrong singer for the band, but was impressed by the Young brothers' guitar playing. Shortly afterward, he received a call from the band; Laughlin had quit as manager, and they were stuck in Adelaide with no money. Browning agreed to bail them out and booked them for another gig at the Hard Rock. Following the gig, they agreed to take him on as their new manager, with the co-operation of their older brother George and Harry Vanda. The Young brothers decided to abandon the glam rock image which had already been adopted by Melbourne band Skyhooks and pursue a harder blues-rock sound. To this end, they agreed that Evans was not a suitable frontman for the group. Around this time, they also moved their base to Melbourne, where they frequently played at the Hard Rock.

Bon Scott era (1974–1980)

Beginnings (1974–1976)

In September 1974, Bon Scott, an experienced vocalist from Fraternity and friend of George Young, replaced Dave Evans after friend Vince Lovegrove recommended him to George Young. Scott's appointment coincided with him working as a chauffeur for the band at the time until an audition promoted him to lead singer. Like the Young brothers, Scott was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia in his childhood. The band had recorded only one single with Evans, "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl" / "Rockin' in the Parlour"; the song was re-written and re-recorded with Bon Scott.

By October 1974, AC/DC had recorded their first studio album, ''High Voltage''. It was released exclusively in Australia on 17 February 1975, along with a single "Baby, Please Don't Go" / "Love Song". The album took only ten days and was based on instrumental songs written by the Young brothers, with lyrics added by Scott. Within a few months, the band's line-up had stabilised, featuring Scott, the Young brothers, bassist Mark Evans, and drummer Phil Rudd. Later that year they released the single " It's a Long Way to the Top", for which a well-known promotional video was made for the program ''Countdown'', featuring the band miming the song on the back of a flatbed truck. AC/DC released their second studio album, ''T.N.T.'', on 1 December 1975, which was also released only in Australia and New Zealand.

AC/DC were scheduled to play at the 1975 Sunbury music festival; however, they went home without performing following an altercation with the management and crew of headlining act Deep Purple.

Between 1974 and 1977, aided by regular appearances on Molly Meldrum's ''Countdown'', the ABC's nationally broadcast pop-music television show, AC/DC became one of the most popular and successful acts in Australia. Their performance on 3 April 1977 was their last live TV appearance for more than 20 years.

Initial success, record deal (1976–1977)

Browning sent promo material to contacts in London, which came to the attention of Phil Carson of Atlantic Records. In 1976, the band signed an international deal with Atlantic Records. On arrival in London, their scheduled tour with Back Street Crawler was cancelled following the death of Paul Kossoff. As a result, they went back to playing smaller venues to build a local following until their label organised the "Lock Up Your Daughters" tour sponsored by ''Sounds'' magazine, the only major music magazine which was still relatively receptive to traditional rock music. At the time, punk rock was breaking and came to dominate the pages of the major British music weeklies, ''NME'' and '' Melody Maker''. AC/DC were sometimes identified with the punk rock movement by the British press, but the band hated punk rock, believing it to be a passing fad—manager Michael Browning wrote that "it wasn't possible to even hold a conversation with AC/DC about punk without them getting totally pissed off". Their reputation managed to survive the punk upheavals and they maintained a cult following in the UK throughout this time. Angus Young gained notoriety for mooning the audience during live performances.

The first AC/DC album to gain worldwide distribution was a 1976 compilation of tracks taken from the ''High Voltage'' and ''T.N.T.'' LPs. Also titled ''High Voltage'', and released on the Atlantic Records label, the album has to date sold three million copies worldwide. The track selection was heavily weighted toward the more recent ''T.N.T.'', including only two songs from their first LP. The band's third studio album, ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'', was released in the same year in both Australian and international versions, like its predecessor. Track listings varied worldwide, and the international version of the album also featured the ''T.N.T.'' track "Rocker", which had previously not been released internationally. The original Australian version included " Jailbreak" (now more readily available on the 1984 compilation EP '''74 Jailbreak'' or as a live version on the 1992 '' Live'' album). ''Dirty Deeds'' was not released in the US until 1981, by which time the band were at the peak of their popularity.

After a brief tour of Sweden, they returned to London where they set new attendance records during their residency at the Marquee. However, their appearance at the 1976 Reading Festival failed to get a response from the crowd. They toured extensively throughout Europe, then returned to tour Australia in late 1976 to rebuild their finances and record their fourth studio album, ''Let There Be Rock''.

In early 1977, they returned to Britain and began a European tour with Black Sabbath. While Bon Scott and Ozzy Osbourne quickly became friends, relations were less than cordial between the other members of the respective bands. In one incident, Geezer Butler pulled a "knife" on Malcolm Young, though it was a "silly" flick-knife comb. Later in the year they toured with Rainbow.

Cliff Williams joins, death of Bon Scott (1977–1980)

Towards the end of 1977, bassist Mark Evans was dismissed. Evans described disagreement with Angus and Malcolm as a contributing factor. He was replaced by Cliff Williams, an experienced bass player who had played with several UK bands since the late 60s. Neither of the Young brothers has elaborated on the departure of Evans, though Richard Griffiths, the CEO of Epic Records and a booking agent for AC/DC in the mid-1970s, later commented, "You knew Mark wasn't going to last, he was just too much of a nice guy." Mark Evans' autobiography, ''Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC'', released in 2011, predominantly dealt with his time in AC/DC, including being fired.

AC/DC's first American radio exposure was through Bill Bartlett at Jacksonville station WPDQ/WAIV in 1975, two years before they played their first US concert as support band for Canadian group Moxy in Austin, Texas, on 27 July 1977. Under the guidance of booking agent Doug Thaler of American Talent International and later the management of Leber-Krebs, they gained invaluable experience of the US stadium circuit, supporting leading rock acts such as Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Kiss, Styx, UFO, and Blue Öyster Cult, and co-headlined with bands such as Cheap Trick.

AC/DC released their fifth studio album, ''Powerage'', on 5 May 1978, and with its harder riffs, followed the blueprint set by ''Let There Be Rock''. Only one single was released from ''Powerage'', "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation/Sin City". An appearance at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow during the ''Powerage'' tour was recorded and released as ''If You Want Blood You've Got It''.

The major breakthrough in the band's career came in their collaboration with producer "Mutt" Lange on the band's sixth studio album ''Highway to Hell'', released in 1979. Eddie Van Halen notes this to be his favourite AC/DC record, along with ''Powerage''. It became the first AC/DC LP to break into the US top 100, eventually reaching No. 17, and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts. ''Highway to Hell'' had lyrics that shifted away from flippant and comical toward more central rock themes, putting increased emphasis on backing vocals but still featured AC/DC's signature sound: loud, simple, pounding riffs and grooving backbeats.

In 1980, the band began to work on their seventh studio album ''Back in Black'' before tragedy struck. On 19 February 1980, Scott purportedly passed out in the car on the way back to the apartment of an acquaintance called Alistair Kinnear after a night of drinking and alleged drug-taking at The Music Machine in Camden, London. According to Kinnear, upon arrival at his home, he was unable to move Scott from the car into his home for the night, so he left him in the car overnight to sleep off the effects of the alcohol. Unable to wake Scott early on the evening of 20 February 1980, Kinnear rushed him to King's College Hospital in Camberwell, where Scott was pronounced dead on arrival. Pulmonary aspiration of vomit was cited as the cause of Scott's death, and the official cause was listed as " acute alcohol poisoning". Scott's family buried him in Fremantle, Western Australia, the area they emigrated to when he was a boy.

Brian Johnson era (1980–present)

Rebirth (1980–1983)

Following Scott's death, the band briefly considered quitting, but encouraged by the insistence from Scott's parents that he would have wanted them to carry on, they decided to continue, and went about finding a new vocalist. Allan Fryer of Fat Lip, ex- Rick Wakeman vocalist Gary Pickford-Hopkins, and the Easybeats' singer Stevie Wright were touted by the press as possible replacements. Various other candidates were also considered, including ex-Moxy member Buzz Shearman, who was not able to join because of voice issues, Slade vocalist Noddy Holder, and ex- Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser.

At the advice of Lange, the group brought in ex- Geordie singer Brian Johnson, who impressed the group. For the audition, Johnson sang "Whole Lotta Rosie" from ''Let There Be Rock'' and Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits". After the band begrudgingly worked through the rest of the list of applicants in the following days, Johnson returned for a second rehearsal.

Angus Young later recalled, "I remember the first time I had ever heard Brian's (Johnson) name was from Bon. Bon had mentioned that he had been in England once touring with a band and he had mentioned that Brian had been in a band called Geordie and Bon had said 'Brian Johnson, he was a great rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard.' And that was Bon's big idol, Little Richard. I think when he saw Brian at that time, to Bon it was 'Well he's a guy that knows what rock and roll is all about.' He mentioned that to us in Australia. I suppose when we decided to continue, Brian was the first name that Malcolm and myself came up with, so we said we should see if we can find him."

On 29 March, Malcolm Young called the singer to offer him a place in the band, much to Johnson's surprise. Out of respect for Bon Scott, the band wanted a vocalist who would not be a mere imitator of him. In addition to his distinctive voice, demeanor and love of classic soul and blues music, the group was impressed by Johnson's engaging personality. Johnson was officially announced as the new lead singer of AC/DC on 1 April 1980.

With Johnson as the new vocalist, the band completed the songwriting that they had begun with Scott for the album ''Back in Black''. Recording took place at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas a few months after Scott's death. ''Back in Black'', produced by Mutt Lange and recorded by Tony Platt, became their biggest-selling album and a hard-rock landmark; hits include " Hells Bells", "You Shook Me All Night Long", " Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" and the title track. The album reached No.1 in the UK and No.4 in the US, where it spent 131 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart.

The band's eighth studio album, ''For Those About to Rock We Salute You'', was released in 1981, also sold well and was positively received by critics. The album featured two of the band's most popular singles: "Let's Get It Up" and the title track, " For Those About to Rock", which reached No.13 and No.15 in the UK, respectively.

Lineup changes and commercial decline (1983–1989)

The band parted ways with producer Mutt Lange for their ninth studio album, '' Flick of the Switch'', released in 1983, in an effort to recover the rawness and simplicity of their early albums, but it was considered underdeveloped and unmemorable; one critic stated that the band "had made the same album nine times". AC/DC were voted the eighth-biggest disappointment of the year in the 1984 ''Kerrang!'' readers' poll. However, ''Flick of the Switch'' eventually reached No. 4 on the UK charts, and AC/DC had minor success with the singles " Nervous Shakedown" and " Flick of the Switch".

After having problems with drugs and alcohol, drummer Phil Rudd's friendship with Malcolm Young deteriorated and eventually escalated to a physical confrontation after which Rudd was fired halfway through the ''Flick of the Switch'' sessions. Former Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson was drafted in to help complete the recordings, but his drum parts were eventually not used, as Rudd had already completed the drum parts. Rudd was replaced by Simon Wright in the summer of 1983 after the band held over 700 auditions in the US and UK. Simon Kirke of Free and Bad Company fame, and Paul Thompson of Roxy Music were two of the drummers auditioned.

The band's tenth studio album, ''Fly on the Wall'', produced by the Young brothers in 1985, was also regarded as uninspired and directionless. A music concept video of the same name featured the band at a bar, playing five of the album's ten songs.

In 1986, the group returned to the charts with the made-for-radio "Who Made Who". The album ''Who Made Who'' was the soundtrack to Stephen King's film ''Maximum Overdrive''; it brought together older hits, such as "You Shook Me All Night Long", with newer songs such as title track and two new instrumentals, "D.T." and "Chase the Ace".

In February 1988, AC/DC were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association's Hall of Fame. AC/DC's eleventh studio album, ''Blow Up Your Video'', released in 1988, was recorded at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France, and reunited the band with their original producers, Harry Vanda and George Young. The group recorded nineteen songs, choosing ten for the final release; though the album was later criticised for containing excessive " filler", it was a commercial success. ''Blow Up Your Video'' sold more copies than the previous two studio releases combined, reaching No. 2 on the UK charts—AC/DC's highest position since "Back in Black" in 1980. The album featured the UK top-twenty single "Heatseeker" and popular songs such as " That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll". The ''Blow Up Your Video'' World Tour began in February 1988, in Perth, Australia. That April, following live appearances across Europe, Malcolm Young announced that he was taking time off from touring, principally to begin recovery from his alcoholism. Another member of the Young family, Stevie Young, temporarily took Malcolm's place.

In 1989, Wright left the group to work on the upcoming Dio album '' Lock Up the Wolves'', and was replaced by session veteran Chris Slade. Johnson was unavailable for several months while finalising his divorce, so the Young brothers wrote all the songs for the next album, a practice they continued for all subsequent releases through '' Rock or Bust'' in 2014.

Popularity regained (1990–1998)

The band's twelfth studio album, '' The Razors Edge'', was recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was mixed and engineered by Mike Fraser and produced by Bruce Fairbairn, who had previously worked with Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. Released in 1990, it was a major success for the band, and included the hits " Thunderstruck" and " Are You Ready", which reached No. 5 and No. 16 respectively on ''Billboard's'' Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart, and "Moneytalks", which peaked at No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album went multi-platinum and reached the US top ten. In September 1991, 1.6 million people attended the Monsters of Rock festival in Moscow to enjoy the first open-air rock concert to be held in the former Soviet Union. The show, also featuring Pantera, The Black Crowes and Metallica, had one of the largest attendances ever for a musical event.

Several shows on the Razors Edge tour were recorded for the 1992 live album, titled '' Live''. ''Live'' was produced by Fairbairn, and has been called one of the best live albums of the 1990s. AC/DC headlined the Monsters of Rock show during this tour, which was released on DVD as '' Live at Donington''. During ''The Razors Edge'' tour, three fans were killed at a concert at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah in January 1991: when the concert began fans rushed the stage crushing the three and injuring others. It took 20 minutes before venue security and the group understood the severity of the situation and halted the concert. AC/DC settled with the victims' families out of court. As a result of this incident, the Salt Palace eliminated festival seating from future events.

In 1993, AC/DC recorded "Big Gun" for the soundtrack of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie ''Last Action Hero''. Released as a single, the song reached No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart—the band's first No. 1 single on that chart.

In 1994, Pacific Gameworks created a proposal for a beat 'em up video game project intended for the Atari Jaguar CD titled ''AC/DC: Defenders of Metal'', which would have prominently featured the AC/DC crew, however production of the game never started and it was left unreleased.

In 1994, Angus and Malcolm invited Rudd to several jam sessions. He was eventually rehired to replace Slade, whose departure arose in part because of the band's strong desire to again work with Rudd. Recorded at the Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles by the reunited 1980–83 line-up and produced by Rick Rubin, the band's thirteenth studio album, '' Ballbreaker'' was released in 1995. The first single from the album was "Hard as a Rock". Two more singles were released from the album: " Hail Caesar" and " Cover You in Oil".

In 1997, a box set named '' Bonfire'' was released. It contained four albums; a remastered version of ''Back in Black''; ''Volts'' (a disc with alternative takes, outtakes, and stray live cuts) and two live albums, '' Live from the Atlantic Studios'' and '' Let There Be Rock: The Movie''. ''Live from the Atlantic Studios'' was recorded on 7 December 1977 at the Atlantic Studios in New York. ''Let There Be Rock: The Movie'' was a double album recorded in 1979 at the Pavillon de Paris and was the soundtrack of a motion picture, '' AC/DC: Let There Be Rock''. The US version of the box set included a colour booklet, a two-sided poster, a sticker, a temporary tattoo, a keychain bottle opener, and a guitar pick.

Popularity confirmed (1999–2013)

In 1999, AC/DC recorded their fourteenth studio album, ''Stiff Upper Lip