"Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" is a song by the rock band

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

. It is the tenth and final track of their album released in 1980, ''

Back in Black ''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature Brian Johnson as lead singer, following the death of the ...

''. It is the fourth and final single released from the album. The song reached number 15 on the UK singles charts, the highest placing of any song on the album.

Background

Initially only nine tracks were written for ''Back in Black'' but

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, as well as the band's management recommended that they should write one more song. Angus and Malcolm wrote the song in about 15 minutes. Lead singer Brian Johnson recalled "I'll never forget the start of it. I went into the recording booth, the intro starts and I hear: 'Brian, it's Mutt. Could you say something over that?" He starts to repeat the lyrics loudly, head tilted slightly back: "All you middle men throw away your fancy clothes. For some reason middle men were in the news at the time, the top guys weren't getting the blame and the workforce weren't getting it either, it was the middle men who were this grey area. I must have picked up on it and it just went from there." Malcolm explained the origin of the song:

Release

The song also appears in videos like '' No Bull'' (1996), '' Family Jewels'' (2005) and ''

Plug Me In ''Plug Me In'' is a DVD box set released on 16 October 2007 by Australian hard rock group AC/DC. It includes rare performances of the band. The standard two-disc set contains one disc of performances from the Bon Scott era and one from the Bria ...

'' (2007), also appears on the boxset ''

Bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

'' (1997). The song appears on the 2003 tribute album by various artists to the band, '' Back in Baroque: The String Tribute to AC / DC'', it was also covered in 2004 by

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band Six Feet Under in the album '' Graveyard Classics 2''. Alex Gibson also covered the song in 2008 from the album '' Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of AC/DC''. The song was featured in a commercial for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

in 2006, as well as one for

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, ...

in 2016.

Track listing

#"Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" – 4:12 #"Hells Bells" – 5:10

Chart positions

Weekly Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980 at the age of 32, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. Johnson was one of the founding members of th ...

– 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 the only continuous member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, schoolboy-u ...

– lead guitar *

Malcolm Young Malcolm Mitchell Young (6 January 1953 – 18 November 2017) was an Australian musician who was the rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and a founding member of the hard rock band AC/DC. Except for a brief absence in 1988, he was a member of AC ...

– rhythm guitar, background vocals *

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 g ...

– bass guitar, background vocals *

Phil Rudd Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd (born Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis, 19 May 1954) is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of AC/DC across three stints (1975–1983, 1994–2015, 2018–present). On the 1977 departure of bass g ...

– drums

Notes

External links

Back in Black review

Rock N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution in Songfacts
* Rock N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution in Allmusic {{Authority control AC/DC songs 1980 songs 1980 singles Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Songs about rock music Songs written by Brian Johnson Songs written by Angus Young Songs written by Malcolm Young Protest songs Blues rock songs Atlantic Records singles