AC/DC
For those about to rock, we salute you! Australian hard rock band AC/DC will be touring Europe starting either at the end of 2017 or in any case in 2018! Just to give you an idea of what this band is about I’ll give a brief overview of their history. ACDC was formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young in 1973. They were born in Glasgow, Scotland and relocated to Australia in 1963 when they were still quite young. They both played guitar and started experimenting with various singers until they met with Bon Scott who seemed born to sing for AC/DC. Their first album, ‘High Voltage’, included “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)”, which is still regarded as their anthem, and, of course, the all-out rocker “High Voltage”. The album did rather well for a debut album. Then ‘Dirty Deeds Done Cheap’ was released, which also fared well in the charts. In 1977 ‘Let There Be Rock’ was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public. This LP featured the classic songs “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place To Be” which are still considered true AC/DC classics. AC/DC began to have a considerable influence on the so-called ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ which produced bands like Saxon and Iron Maiden. It seemed they were unstoppable.
Misfortune struck in 1980 when the band were in London, UK, touring their latest album ‘Highway to Hell’. Bon Scott and his entourage went out on the town in Camden for a night of heavy drinking. Towards the end of the night Bon Scott passed out and was laid to rest in a car by an acquaintance. This wasn’t an unusual procedure: it had happened before. When it was discovered the following morning Scott had died choking on his vomit, everybody was terribly shocked. His ashes were sent to Freemantle, Australia, where he was cremated.
The band soon agreed they were to continue as Bon Scott would have wanted them to. They started seeking a replacement and soon settled on ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson, as this singer was also liked by Bon Scott. The band struck back stronger than ever with the 1980 album ‘Back in Black’. The album featured the well-known songs “Hell’s Bells”, “Back and Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long”.
Black Ice: AC/DC Tour 2017-2018
The eighties were a period characterised by a distinct lack of commercial and artistic success as well as feuds amongst the band members themselves. I don’t really want to go into all of that. They did make a few successful albums, though. A few examples are ‘For Those About to Rock We Salute You’ (1981), ‘The Razor’s Edge’ (1990), ‘Ballbreaker’ (1995) and ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ (2000). 2008 sees the release of ‘Black Ice’ and a return to touring after an eight-year hiatus. I have never seen AC/DC live before and I really would want to go to an AC/DC gig. It seems to me Angus and Malcolm Young are larger than life characters and seeing them playing their music at full blast would be mind-blowing! Tickets for the AC/DC tour Europe 2009 are hard-to-get I’ve heard. I’ve however discovered a few sites that offer the opportunity to be kept up-to-date with the latest news about AC/DC tickets. concertics.com has a page where you can sign up for an email alert: as soon as ACDC tickets for the European tour are on sale, they’ll let you know! I’ve already signed up for an alert and I’ll buy my AC/DC tickets as soon as I’m notified. I just can’t wait! Another site you could try is Concertics. Good luck!
AC/DC and YOU
If you have any AC/DC material you would like to share with us, like authentic AC/DC tickets from previous tours, photographs or stories and such like, feel free to upload it here. Hope to meet you at an AC/DC gig somewhere in Europe!