AC/DC are a hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. The band is considered a pioneer of hard rock and heavy metal, alongside bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. However, the members have always referred to their music as "rock 'n' roll".

AC/DC went through several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage in 1975. The membership remained stable until Cliff Williams replaced Mark Evans in 1978. In 1979, the band recorded their highly successful album Highway to Hell. Lead singer and co-songwriter, Bon Scott, died on February 19, 1980 after a night of heavy drinking. The band briefly considered breaking up, but decided to continue. They began holding auditions for a new lead singer and eventually recruited ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson as Scott's replacement. Later that year, the band released their biggest-selling album, Back in Black.

The band's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was also highly successful and was the first hard rock album to reach #1 in the U.S. However, the band experienced a decline in popularity soon after the departure of drummer Phil Rudd in 1983. Poor record sales continued through the remainder of the decade. AC/DC regained much of their popularity in the 1990s with their album The Razor's Edge. Phil Rudd returned to the group in 1994 and contributed to the band's 1995 album Ballbreaker. Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000 and was well-received by critics. A new album is expected in 2007.

The band has sold over 150 million albums worldwide, with over 68 million albums sold in the United States alone, making them one of the most successful hard rock bands. Back in Black has sold 42 million units worldwide, including 21 million in the U.S., making it the second highest-selling album of all time and the biggest-selling album by any band. The band are ranked number four on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

NAME

Angus and Malcolm Young claim they first got the idea for the band's name after seeing the acronym "AC/DC" on the back of a sewing machine owned by their sister, Margaret. AC/DC is an abbreviation for "Alternating Current/Direct Current", which indicates that an electrical device can use either type of power source. The Young brothers liked the way this name symbolized the band's raw energy and power-driven performances, and the name stuck.

In some cultures, "AC/DC" is a slang term implying bisexuality, though the band have said they were unaware of this usage until brought to their attention by fans. However, during a 2002 Behind the Music feature, Malcolm Young admitted that a taxidriver warned him about this meaning as far back as 1973.

Some religious figures have suggested the name stood for "Anti-Christ/Devil's Child(ren)", "Anti-Christ/Devil Christ", "After Christ/Devil Comes" or "Anti Christ/Death to Christ" (as well as many other permutations of the same idea), and rumours have persisted among critics attempting to paint the band as Satanists. The band has stated this is not true and has mocked these accusations.

"AC/DC" is pronounced one letter at a time, though the band known as "Acca Dacca" among some Australian fans. The name has inspired a rash of tribute bands, including BC/DC from the Canadian province of British Columbia, AC/DShe, an all-female group from San Francisco, and Hayseed Dixie, an Appalachian band specializing in bluegrass covers.

BEGINNING

Brothers Angus, Malcolm, and George Young were born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Sydney, Australia, with most of their family, in 1963. George was the first brother to learn to play guitar. He became a member of The Easybeats, Australia's most successful band during the 1960s. In 1966, they became the first local rock act to have an international hit, with the song "Friday On My Mind".Malcolm and Angus soon followed in his footsteps. Malcolm first played with a Newcastle, New South Wales, band called The Velvet Underground (not to be confused with the New York based Velvet Underground).

In November 1973, Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DC, and recruited bassist Larry Van Kriedt, vocalist Dave Evans, and ex-The Master's Apprentices drummer Colin Burgess. The band played their first gig at a club named Chequers in Sydney on New Year's Eve, 1973. They were later signed to EMI-distributed Albert Productions for Australia and New Zealand. The early line-ups of the band changed often. Colin Burgess was the first member fired and several different bassists and drummers passed through the band over the next year, with some lasting only a few weeks (see past members of AC/DC).

By this early stage Angus Young had already adopted his characteristic school uniform stage outfit. The original was reputedly a uniform from his secondary school, Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney, the idea having been suggested by his sister Margaret Young. Angus had previously tried other costumes such as Spiderman, Zorro, a gorilla, and a parody of Superman named Super-Ang.

The Young brothers soon decided Evans was not a suitable frontman for the group because they felt he was more of a glam rocker inspired by artists such as Gary Glitter. Occasionally Evans would be replaced on stage by the band's first manager, Dennis Laughlin. Then the band's driver, Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott, who had experience as a singer, expressed an interest in becoming their vocalist and it became apparent that Evans' time with AC/DC was coming to an end. Evans also had personal problems with Laughlin which contributed to the ill-feeling towards him.

BON SCOTT ERA

In September 1974, Dave Evans was replaced by Bon Scott, former lead vocalist with The Spektors (1964-66), The Valentines (1966-70), and Fraternity (1970-73). The band had recorded only one single with Evans, "Can I Sit Next To You"/"Rockin' In The Parlour", and "Can I Sit Next To You" was eventually re-recorded with Bon Scott under the title "Can I Sit Next To You Girl".

By January 1975 the Australian-only album High Voltage had been recorded, in only ten days, based on instrumental songs written by the Young brothers with lyrics added by Scott. Within a few months the band's line-up had stabilized with 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 (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)", which became their perennial rock anthem. It was included on their second album, T.N.T., which was again only released in Australia and New Zealand. That album also featured another classic song, "High Voltage".

Between 1974 and 1977, aided by regular appearances on Molly Meldrum's Countdown, a nationally-broadcast, TV, pop music 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 in over twenty years.

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS 1976-1978

In 1976, the band signed an international deal with Atlantic Records, and toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. During this time they gained invaluable experience of the stadium circuit, playing support to leading hard rock acts such as KISS, Aerosmith, Styx and Blue ?yster Cult; as well as co-headlining with Cheap Trick.

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 went on to sell three million copies worldwide, partly due to its popularity with a British punk audience. The track selection of this album was heavily weighted towards the more recent T.N.T., and included only two songs from their first LP. The band's next album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, was released in the same year, and like its predecessor, was formatted in both Australian-only and international versions. Track listings varied worldwide and the international version of the album also featured "Rocker" from T.N.T. The original Australian version includes their popular song "Jailbreak" (now more readily available on the 1984 compilation EP '74 Jailbreak or as a live version on the Live album from 1992). Dirty Deeds did not get released in the U.S. until 1981, by which time the band were at the peak of their popularity.

Following the 1977 recording Let There Be Rock, Mark Evans was sacked due to personal differences with Angus Young. He was replaced by Cliff Williams, who would also provide backing vocals alongside Malcolm Young. Neither of the Young brothers has since gone into great detail on departure of Evans, though the CEO

of Epic Records, Richard Griffiths, a booking agent for AC/DC in the mid-1970s, later commented that "you knew Mark wasn't going to last, he was just too much of a nice guy."

AMERICAN SUCCESS 1977-1978

AC/DC's first American exposure was with the Michigan radio station AM 600 WTAC in 1977, when the station's manager, Peter C. Cavanaugh, booked the band to play at Flint's Capitol Theater. Support was provided by the MC5, who had briefly reunited and agreed to play at the event. The band opened with their popular song "Live Wire" and closed with "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".

AC/DC came to become identified with the punk rock movement by the British press, though their reputation managed to survive the punk upheavals of the late 1970s, and they maintained a cult following in the UK throughout this time. Their hard rock sound and Scott's image were significant influences on the Sex Pistols's frontman Johnny Rotten, while Angus Young gained notority for mooning the audience during live performances.

The 1978 release of Powerage marked the debut of bassist Cliff Williams, and followed the blueprint set by Let There Be Rock with harder riffs. An appearance at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow during the Powerage tour was recorded and released as If You Want Blood, featuring classic songs such as "Whole Lotta Rosie", "Problem Child", and "Let There Be Rock", as well as lesser know album tracks from "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" and "Riff Raff". This album was the last produced by Harry Vanda and George Young with Bon Scott on vocals (although Vanda and Young later produced Blow Up Your Video with Brian Johnson). The album is claimed to be a neglected masterpiece.

The band's sixth album, Highway To Hell, was produced by Mutt Lange, and released in 1979. It became the first AC/DC LP to break inside the U.S. top 100, eventually reaching #17, and propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts.Highway to Hell put increased emphasis on elements of the band's music such as backing vocals but still features AC/DC's signature sounds: loud, simple, pounding riffs and grooving backbeats. The final track, "Night Prowler", has two breaths in quick succession at the start of the song, intended to create a tone of fear and loathing.

BON SCOTT'S DEATH

Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980. He passed out after a night of routine partying in London, and was left in a car owned by an acquaintance of his named Alistair Kinnear. The next morning, Kinnear found Scott unconscious, and immediately rushed him to King's College hospital, Camberwell. He was pronounced dead upon arrival. Common folklore claims pulmonary aspiration of vomit as the cause of his death, though the official cause was listed as "acute alcohol poisoning" and "death by misadventure". Scott's family buried him in Fremantle, Western Australia, the area to which they emigrated when he was a child.

Inconsistencies in official accounts have been cited in conspiracy theories, which variously suggest that Scott died of a heroin overdose, or was murdered by exhaust fumes redirected into the car, or that Kinnear didn't exist. It should be noted, however, that Scott was asthmatic, and that the temperature was below freezing on the morning of his death.

FINDING A NEW VOICE

Following Scott's death, the band briefly considered quitting, but eventally decided that he would have wanted AC/DC to continue, and various candidates were considered as replacements. Ex-Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser was approached, but he decided not to join an established band; he later went on to a sucessful solo career, which included co-writing the song "Rainbow's Gold", later covered by Iron Maiden in 1984. Buzz Shearman (Ex-Moxy) was unable to join due to vocal problems. Finally, the remaining members decided on ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson.

"I remember Bon playing me 'Little Richard'", Angus Young later recalled, "and then telling me the story of when he saw Brian singing. And he says about that night, 'there's this guy up there screaming at the top of his lungs and then the next thing you know he hits the deck. He's on the floor, rolling around and screaming. I thought it was great, and then to top it off -you couldn't get a better encore - they came in and wheeled the guy off!'" Later that night, Johnson had been diagnosed with appendicitis which was the cause of his writhing around on stage.

For the audition, Johnson sang two songs: "Whole Lotta Rosie", from Let There Be Rock, and Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits". A few days later the band told Johnson he would be their new lead vocalist.

BRIAN JOHNSSON ERA 1980-2000

With Johnson, the band completed the songwriting, begun while Bon Scott was still alive, for Back in Black and started recording, at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, a few months after Scott's death. Back in Black, also produced by Lange, became their biggest-selling album and a hard rock landmark featuring hits such as "Hell's Bells", "You Shook Me All Night Long", and the title track "Back in Black". The album was certified platinum a year after its release and by 2006 it had sold 21 million copies in the U.S. alone. The album reached #1 in the UK and #4 in the U.S., where it spent 131 weeks in the top ten.

The follow-up album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, released in 1981, also sold well and was positively received by critics. The album featured two of the band's biggest hit singles: "Let's Get It Up", which reached #13 in the UK, and the title track, "For Those About to Rock", which reached #15 in the UK. The band split with Lange for their self-produced 1983 album, Flick of the Switch, in an effort to recover the rawness and simplicity of their early albums.

DEPARTURE OF RUDD 1983

Amid rumours of alcoholism and drug-induced paranoia, drummer Phil Rudd's friendship with Malcolm Young deteriorated and, after a long period of unfriendliness, the men's dislike for each other grew so strong that they got into a fight. Rudd was fired from the band two hours later.

Rudd finished most of the drum tracks for the next album but he was replaced by Simon Wright after the band held an anonymous audition. With the new line-up, the band produced and released a less successful album, Flick of the Switch, which was considered underdeveloped and unmemorable.

One critic claimed the band "had made the same album nine times". AC/DC was also voted the eighth biggest disappointment of the year in the 1984 Kerrang! readers' poll, however, Flick of the Switch eventually reached #4 in the UK charts. Fly on the Wall, produced by the Young brothers in 1985, was also regarded as underdeveloped and directionless. A music concept video with the same name, Fly on the Wall, featured the band at a bar, playing five of the album's ten songs, with various additional goings-on including an animated fly.

In 1986 the group returned to the charts with the title track from Who Made Who, the soundtrack to Stephen King's film Maximum Overdrive. Who Made Who is the closest the band has come to releasing a "greatest hits". It included previous hits, such as "Hells Bells" and "Ride On", with newer songs like "Sink the Pink". This album also contained two new instrumentals, "D.T." and "Chase the Ace", and the made-for-radio "Who Made Who".

In February 1988, AC/DC were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

RENEWED POPULARITY 1988 - 2000

The band's 1988 album, Blow up Your Video, recorded at Miraval Studio in Le Val, France, reunited them with their original producers, Harry Vanda and George Young. Nineteen songs were recorded and, although criticized for containing too many "filler tracks",the album was successful. It sold better than the band's two previous works and reached #2 in the UK charts, the highest position since Back In Black. Tracks include "Heatseeker", a UK top twenty single, and popular songs such as "That's The Way I Wanna Rock And Roll". The Blow Up Your Video World Tour started in February 1988 in Perth, Australia. In April, after the shows in Europe, Malcolm Young said he needed a rest from touring, principally to reform his alcoholism, so the band temporarily hired another member of the Young family, Stevie Young.

Following the tour, Wright left the group to work on the next Ronnie James Dio album, Lock up the Wolves, and was replaced by session veteran, Chris Slade. Johnson was unavailable for several months, while he was finalizing his divorce, so the Young brothers wrote all the songs for the next album and they have continued to do the same for subsequent releases. The new album was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, who had previously worked with Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. Released in 1990, The Razors Edge was a big comeback for the band and included the hits "Thunderstruck", which reached #5 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart, and "Moneytalks", which reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went multi-platinum and into the U.S. top ten. Several shows on the Razor's Edge tour were recorded and a live album, titled Live, was released in 1992. The album, produced by Fairbairn, is considered one of the best live albums of the 1990s. A year later the band recorded the song "Big Gun" for the soundtrack of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Last Action Hero.

By 1994, Rudd had returned. Angus and Malcolm invited him to jam with them and eventually hired him to replace Slade whose departure, mainly due to the band's strong desire to work with Rudd, was amicable. In Angus Young's opinion, "Slade was the best musician in AC/DC, but the wish to regroup with Rudd was stronger".

In 1995, with the 1980?83 line-up back together, the group released Ballbreaker, recorded at the Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, California, and produced by Rick Rubin. The first single chosen from the album was "Hard as a Rock" which reached #1 in the U.S. charts. The other singles released from the album were "Hail Caesar" and "Cover You in Oil".

In 1997 a box set containing five albums was released: a remastered version of Back in Black; Volts; a disc with alternate takes, outtakes, and stray live cuts; and two live albums, Live from the Atlantic Studios and Let There Be Rock: The Movie. The first live album was recorded in 1978 at the Atlantic Studios in New York. The second is a double album recorded in 1979 at The Pavillon in Paris, France, and is the soundtrack of a motion picture, AC/DC: Let There Be Rock. The box set also contained a colour booklet, a two sided poster, a sticker, a temporary tattoo, a keychain bottle-opener and a guitar pick.

Five years later, the band released their sixteenth studio album, Stiff Upper Lip, which was produced by George Young. The album was better received by critics than the previous, Ballbreaker, but considered lacking in new ideas. The Australian release included a bonus disc with live performances of the band recorded in Madrid in 1996 and three promotional videos. Stiff Upper Lip sold well, reaching #1 in five countries, including Argentina and Germany; #2 in three countries, Spain, France and Switzerland; #3 in Australia; #5 in Canada and Portugal; and #7 in Norway, the U.S. and Hungary. The first single, "Stiff Upper Lip", stayed at #1 in the U.S. charts for four weeks.