AC/DC

AC/DC, Australian heavy metal band whose theatrical high-energy shows placed them among the most popular stadium performers of the 1980s. The principal members were Angus Young (b. March 31, 1955, Glasgow, Scotland), Malcolm Young (b. January 6, 1953, Glasgow—d. November 18, 2017, Sydney, Australia), Bon Scott (original name Ronald Belford Scott; b. July 9, 1946, Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland—d. February 21, 1980, London, England), Brian Johnson (b. October 5, 1947, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England), Phil Rudd (original name Phillip Rudzevecuis; b. May 19, 1954, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), and Cliff Williams (b. December 14, 1949, Romford, Essex, England).

The Young brothers formed AC/DC in Sydney, Australia, in 1973 with Angus (famous for his schoolboy short-trousers outfit) on lead guitar and Malcolm on rhythm guitar. The rest of the band’s lineup changed when the Youngs moved to Melbourne, and AC/DC’s blues-based records and live appearances made them favourites in Australia by the mid-1970s. The band relocated to London in 1976 and found success in Britain with Let There Be Rock (1977). After solidifying their lineup (with Scott as vocalist, Rudd on drums, Williams on bass, and the Youngs), the band recorded Highway to Hell (1979), which brought them international fame. AC/DC’s rise was hampered by Scott’s alcohol-related death in February 1980, but replacement Johnson’s falsetto fit in well with the group’s tight, clean metal punch and their raucous bad-boy image. The band’s next album, Back in Black (1980), sold more than 10 million copies in the United States alone, and For Those About to Rock (1981) was also a million-seller. The early to mid-1980s was the band’s peak period as a live group; a number of personnel changes occurred after that time.

By the 1990s AC/DC found itself comfortably ensconced among the elder statesmen of heavy metal. The Razor’s Edge (1990) featured the hit singles “Thunderstruck” and “Moneytalks,” the latter of which reached number 23 on the Billboard chart, making it the group’s sole Top 40 single. The band settled into a pattern of roughly two studio releases per decade, following The Razor’s Edge with Ballbreaker (1995), produced by Rick Rubin, and Stiff Upper Lip (2000), an album that attempted to capture the stadium-filling sound of the Back in Black era. After more than 30 years of producing some of the roughest and loudest head-banging anthems in heavy metal history, AC/DC scored its first Billboard number one album with Black Ice (2008). The band reached another milestone in 2010 when it collected its first Grammy Award (in the category of best hard rock performance) for the single “War Machine.”

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Age began taking its toll on the band in subsequent years, leading to a series of lineup changes. In 2014 AC/DC announced that founding member Malcolm Young had been diagnosed with dementia and had retired. He was replaced by his nephew Stevie Young, whose first album with the band was Rock or Bust (2014), which achieved commercial success. After Rudd’s 2014 arrest on drug and other charges, Chris Slade, who had earlier played with the band, took over as drummer. Two years later Johnson was forced to stop touring because of hearing loss, and he was succeeded as vocalist by Guns N’ Roses front man Axl Rose. In 2016, after the Rock or Bust tour was completed, Williams announced his retirement. AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.