One of the most famous rock bands in the history of music. The nucleus of the group throughout its history has been based on the leading guitar Angus young (born March 31, 1955 – other sources cite 1959 – in Glasgow, Scotland) and his older brother, the rhythm guitar Malcom (born January 6, 1953 in Glasgow, Scotland).
They were both brothers of George Young, one of the main members of the Easybeats band, who had achieved great success with the song “Friday on my mind“. The family Young would leave Britain when Angus Y Malcolm They were still children, arriving in Sydney in 1963.
In Australia they would be trapped by the blues, Chuck Berry’s rock’n’roll and British Invasion bands, especially the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Kinks, trying to imitate Angus your favorite sounds with your Gibson SG guitar in your first group, Kantuckee, later renamed as Tantrum.
For its part, Malcolm at the beginning of the 70s he occupied the position of guitarist in a band called The Velvet Underground, completed by the singer Andy Imlah, Les Hall, Michael Szchefswick Y Herm Kovac, whose music had nothing to do with the experimental sounds of the eponymous New York group led by Lou reed.
In 1973 Malcolm left the Velvet Underground and formed a group that he called AC / DC, a name suggested by his sister Margaret, which was derived from letters engraved on his mother’s sewing machine.
Margaret also suggested to Angus, who was looking for an original outfit to appear on the scene, the now legendary schoolboy uniform, used at that time as a joke for his young age.
Malcolm would initially occupy the position of lead guitar, originally accompanied by the bassist Larry Van Kriedt and the drummer Colin burgess.
Shortly after its formation and after the breakup of Tantrum, Angus joined as second lead guitarist (moving in 1974 to rhythmic Malcolm), occupying the position of vocalist Dave evans.
The first and historic live performance of the new line-up would be on New Years Eve 1973 at Checkers Nightclub, located on Goulburn Street in Sydney, where they would cover songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones, in addition to their first own compositions, like “Sunset strip“or”The Old Bay Road“.
In the first months of life, AC / DC underwent various changes in its formation, falling out of the group Larry Van Kriedt Y Colin burgess, which were replaced by Rob bailey Y Ron Carpenter, later replaced by Russell coleman and later, by Peter clark.
This instability would increase with the departure of Clark and battery inputs Mark Kerrante. Even his own George Young, who together with another member of the Easybeats, Harry vanda, would take care of the representation of the group and production of their first albums, held for a certain time the position of bassist.
The last casualty was that of the vocalist David evans, who was replaced by the Scotsman Bon scott (real name Ronald Belford Scott, born July 9, 1946 in Kirriemuir), former drummer and singer of Australian bands such as The Spektors, The Valentines or Fraternity, who debuted as a member of AC / DC in the recording of the song “Can I sit next to you “, a single produced by the couple Vanda / Young, which at the time did not have much impact.
Scott it became a key part of the group’s success, thanks to its lyrics soaked in sarcasm and eroticism, with a combative zeal.
His presence on stage, together with the brothers Young, made him one of the most charismatic leaders in rock history.
His first LP would be “High Voltage” (1974), an album released only in Australia, which was continued by “TNT” (1975), album in which two new members of the band already appeared, the bassist Mark Evans (born March 2, 1956 in Melbourne) and drummer Phil Rudd (born May 19, 1954 in Melbourne), musicians they met when the band had moved to Melbourne in 1974.
In 1976 they would publish “High Voltage” (1976), his first album published beyond Australian borders, which offered a compilation of songs included in his first two Lps.
This album and the next, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“(1976), minimalist basic rock records, which offered a sonic counterpoint to the bombast of the time, were enthusiastically received by lovers of the most direct and forceful rock, although their celebrity had not yet reached a mass audience.
“Let there be rock“(1977), an album that featured the participation of Cliff williams, a musician who had replaced Mark Evans, “Powerage“(1978) and the direct”If you want blood, you’ve got it “ (1978) were Lps that would also make them popular in the United States, a status firmly confirmed thanks to “Highway to hell“(1979), a great album produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange (the first of their fruitful collaboration) that managed to enter the American Top 20.
When they were at their best, both commercially and artistically, misfortune took hold of the group, as Bon scott He died of drowning in his own vomit on February 19, 1980, due to alcohol abuse after a wild night party.
Your substitute would be Brian johnson, former vocalist of the group Geordie, who fit in perfectly within the band.
Johnson’s first job would be “Back in black“(1980), his best-selling album, which showed that Scott’s loss had not affected AC / DC’s creative capacity, or its commercial appeal.
The triumphant career of the group, sustained by the skill in building powerful songs / hymns under the guitar dominance of its leader Angus young, I would go on with multi-million dollar records like “For those about to rock we salute you “ (1981).
With “Flick the switch“(1983) there was the march of the drummer Phil Rudd, which was replaced on the drumsticks by Simon Wright, later replaced by Chris slade. The sales were not as excessive as in past works, but even so the group maintained a massive legion of fans all over the world.
Lps like “Fly on the wall“(1985),”Who made who“(1986) or”Blow up your video“(1988) reiterated the hard-rock sounds of past installments, a fact frowned upon by a sector of music criticism and worse received commercially.
But if AC / DC were the best group in the world in their sonic registers and their followers demanded it, why change?
The album “The Razor’s Edge“(1990), produced by Bruce fairbairn, returned to collect considerable sales. At the same time, their live performances were, as always, first-rate shows.
“Live“(1992),”Ballbreaker“(1995), with production of Rick rubin Y “Stiff Upper Lip“(2000), again with George Young, are the latest studio work from the Australian institution, a fundamental and fireproof band, an energetic touchstone for any good rock’n’roll lover.