AC/DC has been making some of the best headbanging music since the 1970s. The untold truth of AC/DC,
however, is that the band had to overcome a changing lineup, the deaths of key musicians,
and harsh criticism in their early days. Here's what you may not have known.
In 1973, brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DC
in Sydney, Australia. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone,
Angus credited his brother with the whole reason for the band's beginning, saying:
"He's the founder of this whole thing, AC/DC.
At the very beginning [of the band] I said to him, 'What are we going to do?'
He said, 'I know what we're going to do. We're going to do some rough, raw rock & roll.'"
"If it's got a beat and it swings, basically it's rock and roll best."
"That's right."
According to the New Yorker, Malcolm and Angus' older brother, George Young,
also had a big influence on how the band's sound developed. George had been playing in a rock
band called the Easybeats which gained moderate success but eventually left the band to work with
his brothers. George mentored Malcolm and Angus and would become a producer on AC/DC's albums.
The band would go through a series of lineup changes in the 70s. After moving to Melbourne,
both drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans would join. Bon Scott,
who had been working as the band's chauffeur, would become the new singer, replacing Dave Evans,
who refused to go on stage. AC/DC would release a series of albums during this time,
from their debut LP High Voltage in 1976, to Let There Be Rock in 1977, among others.
Bassist Cliff Williams would replace Mark Evans as the band secured their lineup.
AC/DC would release their debut LP, High Voltage, in 1976, and an alternative,
international version a year later of the same name which would receive
mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone's review would trash the album, and later appear
in an article released decades later called "10 Classic Albums Rolling Stone Originally Panned."
AC/DC would keep putting out albums that would receive more favorable reviews, such as
Let There Be Rock and eventually Highway to Hell, which would go seven times platinum. The band
would also expand its fan base on an international level and tour extensively while putting together
its final lineup of Bon Scott, Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd.
AC/DC's lead singer Bon Scott would unfortunately pass away at the age of 33
on February 19, 1980. After a night of drinking with friends, Scott was found dead the next day
in his car after choking on his vomit. There has been a debate as to what Scott's condition
was the night before his passing. In Murray Engleheart's band bio, AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll,
the band's original drummer, Colin Burgess, felt something was up. As Burgess recalled,
"[Scott was] leaving and he was alright — like he wasn't drunk at all. And we went home,
and the next day he's dead! To me, it's just a really, really strange thing."
In the book, Bon: The Last Highway, author Jesse Fink spoke with Roy Allen,
one of Scott's friends, who said that Scott was planning on leaving
the band and quitting drinking back in 1979. Allen would recall Scott allegedly saying:
"Roy, I want to come to Texas. I'm coming into a good bit of money soon. I've had it:
the living on the road, the shows, the drinking. I'm ready to leave the
band. I've got to get out. It's all killin' me and I know it."
After Bon Scott passed away, AC/DC was faced with a hard decision: Should they continue or end the
band? Months later, AC/DC would push forward, and after a strange set of circumstances, Brian
Johnson would end up becoming their new singer. According to an interview with the New York Post,
Johnson said Bon Scott first saw him perform while suffering from appendicitis. Johnson recalled:
"I went down on my side, kicking and going, 'Ooh! But I kept on singing. Apparently, [Bon later]
told the boys, 'I saw this guy Brian Johnson sing, and he was great. He was on the floor,
kicking and screaming — what an act!' Of course, it wasn't an act. I was really ill."
Angus and Malcolm remembered the story Scott told them and added Johnson to a
list of possible singers. After a great audition,
Johnson would get the gig and the band would continue working on their album, Back in Black.
"I remember that specifically because it was a big moment in me life."
Once hired, Johnson would be asked to write lyrics to a riff the band was working on, saying:
"They had a very basic riff, and said, 'We were thinking of calling it,
Shook Me All Night Long.' I sat down that night with this blank
piece of paper and within about 15 minutes, I had this song written."
Back in Black would become the band's best-selling album and the second best-selling album ever,
right behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. Finally,
AC/DC would tribute the album to their fallen friend and bandmate, Bon Scott.
AC/DC's career would keep going uphill as they would release more top-selling albums
and tour larger venues. In 1991, while promoting their album, The Razor's Edge,
the band would be selected to play at a concert with one of the biggest crowds on record. Just
before the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia held a heavy metal concert featuring AC/DC,
Pantera, and Metallica. The concert would eventually draw over 1.5 million people
and would help bring more Western music to the country.
The band would also lend their music to film soundtracks and even recorded a song
specifically for the film, The Last Action Hero, called "Big Gun." After the release of 1990's The
Razor's Edge, AC/DC would release Ballbreaker in 1995, and Stiff Upper Lip in 2000. In 2003
the band was inducted by Steven Tyler into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2014, Malcolm Young announced that he'd been diagnosed with dementia and would be leaving the
band for good to take care of himself. Filling in for Malcolm would be none other than his nephew,
Stevie Young. Stevie subbed in for Malcolm in 1988 while on tour and he fit seamlessly into
the band in 2014. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Angus had this to say:
"Stevie has done a great job because he grew up playing
that style of the music, the same as [Malcolm]."
Only three years later, however, Malcolm Young would pass away. His death came just three weeks
after the death of Youngs' older brother, producer, and mentor, George Young. In an
interview with Rolling Stone, Angus spoke lovingly about his two brothers, telling the magazine:
"My brother George was a very big part of AC/DC, especially in our early years [...] George and
Malcolm were always the two guys I relied on. It didn't matter if we
were in a studio or wherever, I always asked for their advice on whatever I was doing."
In 2015, things took another dark turn for the band. According to the New York Daily News,
AC/DC's drummer Phil Rudd was arrested and sentenced to 8 months of home detention for
trying to have his former personal assistant killed as well as for possession of drugs.
Rudd had just released a solo album, called Head Job, which didn't do well in sales and felt like
it was everyone's fault but his own. Rudd was so mad that he fired almost all of his staff
and wanted his former personal assistant, quote, "taken out," as per Rolling Stone.
The dirty deed would not be done cheap. Rudd phoned an unnamed Australian associate and offered
them $200,000, a car, a motorbike or a house, in exchange for the hit. The day after the call,
Rudd called his former assistant and said, quote, "I'm going to come over and kill you."
The victim then phoned authorities and said he was fearful of his safety,
which led to the police showing up at Rudd's house. Police also found
91 grams of marijuana stashed throughout Rudd's house, as well as methamphetamine.
Drummer Chris Slade would fill in while Rudd would deal with his legal battles.
Between 2015 and 2016, Brian Johnson began noticing
issues with his hearing. The singer told Rolling Stone,
"I couldn't hear the tone of the guitars at all [...] It was a horrible kind of deafness.
I was literally getting by on muscle memory and mouth shapes. I was starting to really feel bad
about the performances in front of the boys, in front of the audience. It was crippling."
AC/DC tried to continue with Johnson who did the best he could, but eventually,
his doctors warned that he could go deaf. Johnson would be forced to leave and the
band would again find itself in search of a new singer. In 2019, in an interview with Dan Rather,
Johnson would explain what it was like having to leave the band, saying,
"It's like being shot on the battlefield; it's just your turn. I'll be quite honest with you,
I went in my office and buried my head in a bottle of whiskey, good whiskey."
AC/DC started looking for a new singer with a strong enough voice and stage
presence to fill in for Brian Johnson. Thankfully, they had a friend from
another band who was ready to help out. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Angus said,
"There was a list of people that might fill in. Out of the blue,
Axl Rose contacted and said he could help out, which was very good."
With Rose filling in for Johnson, the band was able to finish out the rest of their
2016 Rock or Bust tour. While Axl Rose was chosen as the band's new lead,
there was another popular musician who almost ended up as AC/DC's new singer. In an interview
with Classic Rock magazine, Irish singer of Blackwater Conspiracy, Phil Conalane, said he'd
auditioned for the band just before the role was offered to Rose. Conalane said in the interview:
"Long story short, he tells me that Brian has had to 'step away' from AC/DC for medical reasons,
and that [guitarist] Angus Young would like me to come over to the U.S.
for a bit of a jam [...] Would I be interested?"
After all was said and done, the band went with Rose.
"I want to do right by the band and the fans."
However, with a little luck and help from some doctors, Brian Johnson would return,
along with drummer Phil Rudd, and bassist Cliff Williams who took a break from the band.
Doctors were able to create a device that would help Johnson with hearing so he could sing.
Following the good news, AC/DC would plan to tour again and work on a new album.
AC/DC would go on to record Power Up between 2018 and 2019. The recording process was
very close to all the members of AC/DC, especially Angus, who told Rolling Stone:
"This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother.
It's a tribute for him like Back in Black was a tribute to Bon Scott."
Power Up would be the first album the band would work on without Malcolm.
During the recording process, however, the iconic guitarist's presence would
be felt by all members. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Brian Johnson had this to say:
"Malcolm was always there. As Angus would say, the band was his idea.
Everything in it ran through him. He was always there in your minds
or just your thoughts. I still see him in my own way. I still think about him."
Power Up was produced by Brendan O'Brien, who worked on AC/DC's two previous albums.
Due to COVID-19, the band had to stop their plans of touring in 2020,
but whenever the pandemic clears up, they hope to return.
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