AC/DC

Malcom and Angus Young were born in Glasgow and emigrated with their family to Australia in 1963.

Their brother George paved their way into the Australian music scene, as he was the first of the Young brothers to achieve musical success with the band The Easybets. George went on to form Albert Productions with Harry Vanda and Ted Albert, co-producing the first AC/DC albums, all the way to Powerage.

Malcom Young played with The Velvet Underground before founding AC/DC in November 1973.

Angus Young, after dropping out of school at 14, played with Kantuckee and Tantrum before joining AC/DC soon after it was formed.

Photo used under Creative Commons from minds-eye

At ages 20 and 18, Malcom and Angus Young formed AC/DC in November 1973. The name AC/DC comes from the initials off a sewing machine, meaning "alternating current/direct current". Angus and Malcom thought AC/DC would be a good symbol for their powerful music, and adopted the name.

Their first gig was at Sydney's Chequers Club, on New Year's Eve.

Along with singer Dave Evans, the band's seventh gig as part of their first Australian tour was at Corrimal (a small town south of Sydney) Community Centre. Rob McKie, the organiser of the event recalls paying the high price of $50 for the unknown band. Worriedly considering whether he made the right choice of band for his "family venue", Rob watched the five youngsters of AC/DC take the stage. Their loud heavy metal/blues songs were a huge success with the crowd. Angus jumped on stage dressed in just a pair of shorts and a satchel on his back, and did not hesitate to mingle with the crowd during the show, playing his guitar in the middle of the enthralled audience.

During this period, AC/DC was rocking with songs like Can I Sit Next to You Girl/Rocking In The Parlour, and Baby Please Don't Go. Their style was a bit more blues-y and each member of the band wore a glam outfit, with the star of the show being Angus and his schoolboy persona: his sister suggested he wear his Ashfield Boys' High uniform, and he went for it. In fact, the band loved it so much, they announced to the press that Angus was born in '59 instead of '55, to promote this schoolboy guitar wizard look that the crowd loved (Angus' height of 1m57 also helped).

Angus was a 'live wire' since day one, duckwalking, jumping, running across the stage, and doing his on-the-ground guitar playing while spinning in circles. He was a sensation in the Australian gigs, and AC/DC started to get publicity and notoriety.

Like the Young brothers, Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was also a Scottish immigrant to Australia, arriving there at age 6, in 1952. Scott was a troublemaker, and dropped out of school at 15, spent nine months in a juvenile institution before starting his singing career.

In 1974, after having been in three bands, and enjoying some success touring in the UK (where he met Brian Johnson), Bon found himself employed at a fertilizer plant, after his last band dispersed. He was recommended by Vince Lovegrove to AC/DC who were searching for a front man after having a dispute with their lead singer, Dave Evans.

Bon attended an AC/DC concert and thought the guys were good, but perhaps too inexperienced. The Young brothers wondered if Bon "could still rock", which resulted in an all-night jam session, after which the new lineup for AC/DC was established.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Tamsin Slater

Soon after recruiting Scott, AC/DC started producing pure gold. They recorded the Australian-only album High Voltage('74) in only 10 days, followed by the Australian album T.N.T.('75).

After signing an international contract with Atlantic Records in '76, AC/DC released the international albums: High Voltage('76), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap('76), Let There Be Rock('77) and Powerage('78). A live appearance in Glasgow for the Powerage tour was recorded as the fantastic If You Want Blood You've Got It. By this time, the band reached the United States too, and had a good list of anthems like It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll), High Voltage, T.N.T., Jailbreak, Let There Be Rock, Bad Boy Boogie, Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be and Whole Lotta Rosie.

AC/DC's association with producer "Mutt" Lange moved AC/DC to the next level, as they released Highway to Hell('79) and finally broke into the US charts as well. Unfortunately, just as AC/DC was set for conquering the world, they were about to lose their charismatic front man, Bon Scott.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Jessica Rabbit's Flickr

In the beginning of the '80s AC/DC began their work on what would become their biggest album. However, on 19 February, Bon Scott and a friend, Alistair Kinnear went out drinking in London, at the Music Machine club. After Alistar drove back to his home, Bon passed out in the car, and was left over the night to sleep in the car. In the morning, Scott was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The official cause of death was "acute alcohol poisoning".

Bon Scott's death nearly ended AC/DC's career, but finally the band thought that Bon would want them to keep living their dream, and began searching for a replacement. They remembered that Bon met Geordie's vocalist, Brian Johnson during Scott's '74 tour in UK. Bon had been impressed with Brian, and praised him when later talking about him to the Young brothers.

In March 1980, Brian was invited to audition for AC/DC, and blew their minds with his rendition of Whole Lotta Rosie. Brian Johnson became the new front man for AC/DC, and the band went back to work on what would become the best selling hard rock album ever.

Photo used under Creative Commons from cogdogblog

Together with Brian Johnson, AC/DC went back to work on their next album, recording in the Bahamas. The resulting Back in Black was the second best-selling album of all time, after Michael Jackson's Thriller. Back in Black was released in a black cover as a sign of mourning for Bon, and the heavy Back in Black and Hell's Bells tracks are also dedicated to AC/DC's former singer. The album is a masterpiece, featuring also the amazing Shoot to Thrill, What Do You Do for Money Honey and You Shook Me All Night Long.

Following their huge success with Back in Black('80), AC/DC released the strong For Those About to Rock We Salute You('81), followed by a string of less remarkable works - Flick of the Switch('83), Fly on the Wall('85), Who Made Who('86) and Blow Up Your Video('88).

AC/DC had a significant comeback with The Razors Edge, a good (though slightly commercial) album featuring their well-known Thunderstruck. After five more years, the band released Ballbreaker('95), a solid album featuring the amazing Hard as a Rock and Boogie Man tracks. The year 2000 saw the release of Stiff Upper Lip(2000), and finally eight years later, the band released the solid Black Ice album, with good songs like Rock 'n' Roll Train and Black Ice.

In 2011 Angus declared that the band is planning another album release in the next years - to the thrill of AC/DC fans worldwide, the story of AC/DC is not at all over.

Photo used under Creative Commons from andy_hudd

While AC/DC albums are great, their live performances are somehow even better. The raw energy of the music comes out better in the middle of a frantic crowd, and the band is at home in the middle of the huge audiences.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Yannick Croissant