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Australian hard-rock/heavy-metal band AC/DC features
knickers-clad guitarist Angus Young, who became as famous for mooning audiences
regularly as for his gritty blues-based lead guitar and songs about sex,
drinking and damnation. AC/DC's raucous image, constant touring and raw,
juvenile, yet amusing lyrics in songs like "Big Balls" and "The Jack" helped
make them one of the top hard-rock bands in history. The group has remained a
major concert draw, and its albums consistently go platinum despite never having
had a Top 20 single in the U.S.
The Young brothers moved with their family from Scotland to Sydney in
1963. In 1973 they formed the first version of AC/DC, adding vocalist Bon Scott
in early 1974, followed by drummer Philip Rudd and bassist Mark Evans later that
year. Their first four albums were produced by ex-Easybeats Harry Vanda and
George Young, Angus' older brother. The group had gained a solid reputation in
their homeland early on, but it wasn't until 1979 with the platinum Highway
to Hell that they became a presence on the American charts.
Within months of AC/DC's American success, vocalist Scott died from
choking on his own vomit after an all-night drinking binge. Two months later he
was replaced by ex-Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson, and less than four months
after that, Back in Black began a yearlong run on the U.S. chart, peaking
at Number Four (1980), selling more than 21 million copies to date and featuring
the double-entendre-ridden "You Shook Me All Night Long." Dirty Deeds Done
Dirt Cheap, a 1981 reissue of a 1976 Australian LP, went to Number Three in
the U.S., followed by For Those About to Rock, We Salute You, the group's
first U.S. Number One LP, in late 1981. The less spectacular showings of the
gold albums Flick of the Switch (Number 15, 1983) and Fly on the Wall
(Number 32, 1985) gave way to the multiplatinum Who Made Who (the
soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive) and The Razors Edge (Number Two,
1990). The latter contains the group's closest thing to a hit chart single, "Moneytalks"
(Number 23, 1991).
AC/DC laid low until 1995, when the Rick Rubin-produced Ballbreaker
(which also marked the return of drummer Phil Rudd) entered the charts
at Number Four. The bulk of the five-CD box set Bonfire, released in
1997, was made up of live tracks recorded in 1977 and 1979, as well as of a
remastered version of Back in Black. It marked the first time AC/DC had
released material featuring Bon Scott since the singer's death. With older
brother George Young (who had worked on such early AC/DC albums as Let There
Be Rock and Powerage) back on board as producer, Stiff Upper Lip
(Number Seven, 2000) confirmed AC/DC's status as one of the most enduringly
popular hard-rock bands on the planet.
Wisely sticking to its time-tested formula of no-frills riffing, the
band followed the record's release with extensive touring, during which Angus
Young wore, as always, a schoolboy uniform. (That outfit has become such a part
of rock legend that it was included in Rock Style, an exhibit at New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art, which opened in 1999.) Always a reliable live act,
AC/DC once more bought out the big guns — literally, since the band's stage act
included cannons that went off during "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)."
The band released its fifteenth studio album in October 2008, and was the
group's second album to reach number one.
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Favorite Songs
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Favorite Albums
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Highway to Hell
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Back in Black
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For Those About to Rock
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Let There Be Rock
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Powerage
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