History

The Young family, due to economic problems, he moved towards the end of the 50s in Australia, a land that promised luck and prosperity. Seven children, including Malcolm (born in 1953) and the small Angus (1955). The two have a certain allergy to the school, who quit immediately after the compulsory years. Angus will be the designer for a magazine while Malcolm will earn a salary in a factory bras. Malcolm had already set up his own group, the Velvet Underground, while Angus for a few years he devoted himself to his favorite instrument, the guitar, and sometimes played in the group of his brother. After playing in several complexes, a few years later the two took music more seriously and surprisingly decided to "collaborate". The moniker AC / DC was born from an idea of ​​her older sister Margaret (the same is said that suggested his younger brother Angus to never leave the stage divided by the typical schoolboy) who read the letters by chance on a sewing machine: the 'only problem was that in Australia in slang typical of the country those four letters stood for "bisexual," and this caused many problems from the point of view dell'immagineper the group! In addition to the two brothers Young, were also part of the original singer Dave Evans , bassist Larry Van Kriedt and drummer Colin Burgess . After just a year and a handful of concerts, the Young brothers became disenchanted with the deficient supply of voice Evans and his attitudes far too glam and began looking for a new singer, who at the same time could also forge the title of "frontman "group.

The poor Evans had time to participate in the exit of the single "Can I Sit Next To You" (1974), but soon the road would be made ​​of the engagement hypothesis dell'istrionico blues-screamer Bon Scott .. Originally from Scotland as the Young behind him had numerous experiences in the emerging Australian rock scene (groups including the Fraternity and the Valentines, already in contact with the famous Easybeats, band George Young brother and first manufacturer of AC / DC) and at the same time real dangerous "life experiences": failed marriages, furious quarrels, fights, alcohol abuse, prison and a dramatic motorcycle accident from which he emerged alive by a miracle. Trust, mutual respect, enthusiasm and limitless talent helped to strengthen the relationship between Bon and Young: after an interminable Australian tour, the band decided to record their debut album.

The ambitions of the band were about to take place before but there were other important (and crucial) changes in the line-up. Bassist Rob Bailey and drummer Pete Clack were replaced on a permanent basis by Mark Evans and Phil Rudd . We are in 1975, you enter in the studios of Albert and recorded his first album High Voltage intended for Australian business, as the following TNT . In 1976, for the European market of new High Voltage is published but contains only the songs of the two previous albums Australians. AC / DC are immediately appreciated in their country, but to conquer the Americans will take a few more years. They are then published Dirty deeds done dirt cheap (1976, America will be released only in 1981), Let there be rock (1977) who show evidence of the robust composition of the group: the boys already churning out small-classics and are able to aggiundicarsi passport for States, for the AC / DC there are no breaks and in 1978 released the album Powerage , album in which it appears the new bassist Cliff Williams in place of defezionario Mark Evans (en route with Young). The band's sound has already been completed: the classic rock style sessantiano Chuck Berry is revisited in blues and intensified with the use of dynamic and furious electric guitar. At this point the band really seems unstoppable, as their growing success. The live If you want blood (you've got the t) , also in 1978, is a real fury that bears witness, at last, we know what the guys do on stage.

And 'the golden era of AC / DC, which reached its peak with Highway to Hell (1979, produced by the "gurus" John "Mutt" Lange ") and the title track will be one of their most famous war horses. Finally consecrated in hard-rock star world, led by the charismatic figure of frontman Bon Scott, inexhaustible singer who plays each song always with that magical touch of autobiography (as we often see the "spicy" lyrics) and the frenzied schoolboy Angus, ax -man from solo guitar playing and catching wild and never dull, AC / DC are about to enter the Olympus of great world music. Unfortunately, just when they had conquered Europe, America and Australia with their long tour that followed each album, yet another abuse of alcohol kills the charismatic singer Bon Scott, on the night of February 19, 1980, the lifeless body will be found lying on the seats of a friend's car, it is said that the cause of death was choking on her own vomit provocatogli. At first Angus and Malcolm want to throw everything but can not find the strength to go looking for a new singer. The choice falls on Brian Johnson , former singer of Geordie. It is published just five months after the death of Bon album Back in black , which has a completely black cover, the opener track Hells bells attacks with the sad bells dead, and is paid along with the entire album to the previous vocalist. This work will become one of the best-selling albums in the world, with 19 million copies sold only in America for 20 years now, 5th best-selling album in the history of the U.S. behind The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen and Eagles. The voice is completely different from the previous one and new songs such as Back in Black, You shook me all night long will be placed on top of the charts all over the mondo.Anche the concerts will consist of a ladder which contains many passages of this masterpiece.

The following album For Those about to rock (1981) also sells well and is a great confirmation of the status of the form of the band and will be best remembered for the song of the same name that will be close to all the concerts that followed, crowned by gunfire exciting that mark their end. Subsequent work Flick of the Switch (1983) sees the departure of drummer Phil Rudd (due to quarrels with Malcolm Young) who will return only in 1994, after working as a helicopter pilot (!) in New Zealand. Will take its place, the young Simon Wright , who will remain in the band until the end of the decade. With the EP 74 'Jailbreak (1984) are repeated some songs dating back to Bon Scott, already published in his time in the Australian versions of the first 2 albums. In 1985 he has a slight decline of the band, already begun with the previous work in the studio, little appreciated by the critics: Fly on the wall enclosing the riffs that fail to fully capture the listener, also because of deficient production entrusted to the second time the two brothers Young. A risky choice that did not get the desired results. AC / DC later (1986) wrote totally the soundtrack of a film of Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive , which is enclosed in the album Who Made Who , along with three new songs, which are enough to revive a slight entusisasmo to the band : The disc is completed by other classics, but other instrumental song used in the film will never be published. 1988 out Blow up your video : good deeds, on the whole a good job, made ​​with the help of the proven pair of producers Vanda & Young. The album sold quite well, recovering the band preceded the slight decline in five years. Malcolm Young is replaced in the U.S. tour by his nephew Stevie for his problems with alcohol.

In 1990 he joined the band's new drummer, fireworks Chris Slade , while Wright goes to play with Ronnie James Dio is released the album The razor's edge , which revives a second golden era of the band, thanks the monstrous live performances and the strong impact that AC / DC continue to give to the public. The proof is in the album 1992 Live , published together with the famous video Live at Donington . 1993 AC / DC part in the soundtrack of the movie Last Action Hero with the song Big Gun , in which video is a hilarious Arnold Schwarzenegger as an Angus Young.

1995: it has the publication of Ballbreaker and the return of Phil Rudd behind the skins. The world tour (in the middle of which the band participates in a cameo for the Howard Stern movie Private Parts ) gives the result as another live video of the band taken in Madrid, in the Plaza de Toros: No Bull . In 1997, the band comes up with a box containing rare and unreleased material dating back to the years of Bon Scott: Bonfire is a fantastic treat for fans of the band.

Further confirmation of the status achieved by AC / DC is as follows Stiff upper lip (2000) which is quite similar to its predecessor and sees his brother George Young still as producer, after unconvincing experience with Rick Rubin. The world tour was a great success, is also released a stunning video from the concert in Monaco (80,000 persons) entitled Stiff Upper Lip Live , which captures AC / DC for the first time in nearly 30 career back on stage after the deadly For Those about to rock to play Shot down in flames. It will happen a second time in Paris, only to be executed Ride On (never felt with Brian Johnson, and dedicated wholeheartedly to the late Bon Scott) in front of nearly 90,000 people.

The band gives almost two years off while Brian, towards the end of 2001 keeps busy with the symbolic reunion of his old band Geordie, performing in a handful of UK dates. After the recording contract with Elektra, Angus & Co decide to switch to Sony, who promptly re-publish all albums in a remastered version of the band and the video Live at Donington in 2003, through a massive advertising campaign. After being elected into the Hall of Fame Rock'nRoll, AC / DC decide to go back on stage for some club dates in Germany (nation deeply devoted to the group) and some shows in tandem with the Rolling Stones , including a festival in mastodico Toronto in July, which will be made ​​into a video . The two Young brothers had already attended a surprise to one of their concerts in Sydney in February of the same year, just before an exclusive concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, during which they were dusted off some goodies standing in the setlist. A record-breaking concert at HMV Apollo in London in October (4000 tickets sold out in 4 minutes), marks the end of a rather unusual year in the career of the group. Legal issues between the new and the old record company seem to delay work on a new album. We'll hear news from the band only with the release of Family Jewels in 2005, a collection of promotional videos that will replace the now obsolete VHS.
Two years after leaving Plug Me In , a box containing some unreleased video material and, in the version for collectors, also delicious memorabilia. Of a new album, however, even the shadow. It was not until the beginning of 2008 to see the band enter the studio again. Black Ice will be released in October, a few days before the start of a major tour of 22 months, which will see the great return of AC / DC on a stage after 4 years. The crazy public of Buenos Aires convince the band to film the show for a new live video, entitled Live at River Plate , available from May 2011.