AC/DC

Lock up the Wolves, Magica, Killing the Dragon,  Master of the Moon) and two live albums Evil or Divine - Live In New York City and Holy Diver - Live.) who was himself replaced by Chris Slade six years later. AC/DC experienced a commercial resurgence in the early 1990s with the release of The Razors Edge (1990); it was their only record to feature Slade, as Rudd returned in 1994. Phil Rudd has since recorded five more albums with the band, starting with Ballbreaker (1995). Their fifteenth studio album, Black Ice (2008), was the second highest-selling record of 2008 and their highest chart peak since For Those About to Rock, eventually reaching number one worldwide.

The band's line-up remained the same for 20 years until 2014 when Malcolm retired due to early-onset dementia, from which he died three years later; additionally, Rudd was charged with threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. Stevie, who replaced Malcolm, debuted on the album Rock or Bust (2014). On the accompanying tour, Chris Slade filled in for Phil Rudd. In 2016, Brian Johnson was advised to stop touring due to worsening hearing loss and Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose stepped in as the band's interim lead singer for the remainder of that year's dates. Cliff Williams retired at the end of the tour in 2016 and the band entered a two-year hiatus. A reunion of the Rock or Bust line-up was announced in September 2020; the band's seventeenth studio album, Power Up, was released two months later. Drummer Matt Laug filled in for Rudd at the Power Trip festival in October 2023. The Power Up Tour was announced in February 2024, with bassist Chris Chaney replacing Williams.

AC/DC were formed in the Australian pop music scene of the early to mid-1970s, which is described as the third wave of rock music. Many local 1960s artists – e.g., The Easybeats and The Masters Apprentices, had attempted to gain international recognition but achieved limited commercial success overseas and disbanded after returning to Australia. Newer artists and veterans of the 1960s Beat boom developed a variety of genres, which included a harder Blues rock style dubbed Pub rock. Popular Australian bands – e.g., Sherbet and Skyhooks, played mainstream pop or adopted a Glam rock approach.

In November 1973, brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DC in Sydney with drummer Colin Burgess from the Masters Apprentices, bass guitarist Larry Van Kriedt and vocalist Dave Evans. Earlier, Malcolm and Dave Evans had been members of a band called Velvet Underground.

Not the American group of the same name – based in Newcastle for two years, and Angus started his own band called Tantrum – he would only jam with his friends. The Young brothers had joined Marcus Hook Roll Band, a studio-only band, in 1973, which provided their first recordings for their debut album, Tales of Old Grand-Daddy (1974), although the pair left before it was issued. Before formation, Malcolm teamed with ex-Velvet Underground bass guitarist Mick Sheffzick and Burgess for his proposed group. Van Kriedt took over from Sheffzick for bass guitar, then Evans responded to an ad in The Sydney Morning Herald and then Angus joined after passing an audition.

Upon formation, Malcolm and Angus developed the band's name after their sister Margaret pointed out the symbol "AC/DC" on the AC adapter of her sewing machine. A.C./D.C. is an abbreviation for alternating current/direct current electricity. The brothers felt that this name symbolised the band's raw energy and the power-driven performances of their music. It is pronounced one letter at a time, though the band are colloquially known as Acca Dacca in Australia. The AC/DC band name is stylised with a lightning bolt separating the AC from DC and has been used on all studio albums, except the international version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Their logo was designed by American typographer Gerard Huerta in 1977 and first appeared on Let There Be Rock. Adam Behr of The Bulletin explained, "[its] type font conveyed the sense of electricity implicit in their name."

AC/DC's first official gig was at Chequers nightclub in Sydney on 31 December 1973. For about 18 months, most members of the band dressed in some form of glam or satin outfit. Angus tried various costumes: Zorro, a gorilla, and Superman. Their performances involved cover versions of The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, The Beatles and "smattering of old blues standards" while trialling some original songs. Angus first wore his characteristic school-uniform stage outfit in April 1974 at Victoria Park, Sydney; the idea was Margaret's. He portrayed a boy "straight from school to play his guitar."

On stage, Dave Evans was occasionally replaced on lead vocals by their first manager, Denis Loughlin († 2019) from Sherbet. In Paul Stenning's book AC/DC: Two Sides to Every Glory, he states that Evans and Loughlin were clashing and as a consequence, other members developed bitter feelings towards Evans. The group recorded a session in January 1974 at EMI Studios in Sydney, with Vanda & Young – George Young and Harry Vanda – as the producers; both were former members of The Easybeats and Marcus Hook Roll Band. George is Angus and Malcolm's older brother. Several songs were recorded, including "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl", "Rockin' in the Parlour" and an early version of "Rock 'n' Roll Singer". A week after the session, Burgess was fired due to intoxication; he was unconscious during a performance.

Subsequently, Larry Van Kriedt was replaced; his recorded bass lines for the January session were re-recorded by George. Their replacements, Neil Smith († 2013) on bass guitar and Noel Taylor on drums, lasted six weeks, replaced in turn by Rob Bailey and Peter Clack, respectively. The band signed with Albert Productions in June 1974. "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl", backed with "Rockin' in the Parlour", taken from the January session, was released on July 22, 1974 as the band's first single. The song reached the top 50 on Australia's Kent Music Report singles chart. The group had developed a strong live reputation by mid-1974, which resulted in a supporting slot on Lou Reed's national tour in August. During that tour, Malcolm switched to rhythm guitar, leaving Angus on lead guitar – the roles the two guitarists played from then on.

During 1974, on the recommendation of Michael Chugg, veteran Melbourne promoter Michael Browning booked them to play at his club, the Hard Rock Cafe. He was not pleased with their glam rock image and felt that Dave Evans was the wrong singer, but he was impressed by the Young brothers' guitar playing. Browning then received a call, weeks after the Hard Rock gig from Malcolm: Denis Loughlin had quit and they were stuck in Adelaide with no money. They hired Browning as their manager in November 1974, with the cooperation of George Young and Harry Vanda. The Young brothers decided to abandon their Glam rock image; instead, they pursued a Pub rock sound. To this end, they agreed that Evans was no longer a suitable frontman.

In September 1974, Bon Scott, (†1980) a vocalist previously with The Valentines (1966–1970) and  Fraternity (1971–1973), joined AC/DC after his former bandmate Vince Lovegrove introduced him to George during their stopover in Adelaide in August. Scott worked as a chauffeur for the group until an audition promoted him to lead singer. Like the Young brothers, Scott was born in Scotland, emigrated to Australia in his childhood and had a passion for Blues music. Bon Scott also had experience as a songwriter and drummer.

Their debut single's tracks were re-written and the vocals were re-recorded by Bon Scott. With Scott's inclusion, "[their] working-class style, Boogie-rock sound and earthy humour fell into place", according to music journalist Ian McFarlane. Scott's first concert for AC/DC was on October 5, 1974 at the Masonic Hall in Brighton-Le-Sands, New South Wales. AC/DC recorded their first studio album, High Voltage, in November 1974 with Vanda & Young producing at Albert Studios in Sydney.

Rob Bailey and Peter Clack were still in the band during its recording, but Clack played on only one track, and the rest were provided by session drummer Tony Currenti. George handled some bass parts and later redid others. Recording sessions took ten days and were based on instrumentals written by the Young brothers with lyrics added by Bon Scott. They relocated to Melbourne that month. Both Bailey and Clack were fired in January 1975. Paul Matters took over bass duties briefly before being fired in turn and replaced temporarily by George or Malcolm for live duties. Paul Matters had disagreements with the Young brothers' decisions. Meanwhile, on drums, Ron Carpenter and Russell Coleman had brief tenures before Phil Rudd, from Buster Brown, joined in that month. Bass guitarist Mark Evans was enlisted in March 1975, setting the line-up which lasted two years.

The band were scheduled to play at the 1975 Sunbury Pop music festival in January; however, they went home without performing following a physical altercation with the management and crew of headlining act, Deep Purple. High Voltage was released exclusively in Australasia on February 17, 1975 via Albert Productions/EMI Music Australia, and reached the top 20 in Australia. It provided a single, their cover version of Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go".

McFarlane observed, "their initial achievement was to take the raw energy of Aussie pub rock, extend its basic guidelines, serve it up to a teenybop Countdown audience and still reap the benefits of the live circuit by packing out the pubs." They released their second studio album T.N.T. (1975), in Australasia only, its tracks were recorded with Dave Evans and Phil Rudd except for two tracks, which used Tony Currenti and George Young. It peaked at number two in Australia and the top 40 in New Zealand. Its second single, "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (December 1975), had a well-known promotional video made for the ABC-TV pop music programme Countdown, featuring the band miming the song on the back of a flatbed truck. The single reached the top ten in Australia. The title track was issued as a single in March 1976 and includes the lyric "so lock up your daughter", which was modified into their first United Kingdom tour's name.

Browning sent promo material to contacts in London, which came to the attention of Phil Carson of  Atlantic Records. AC/DC signed an international deal with Atlantic in 1976. On their arrival in London in April, their scheduled tour with Back Street Crawler was cancelled due to the death of that group's guitarist, Paul Kossoff. As a result, AC/DC returned to playing smaller venues to build a local following until their label organised the Lock Up Your Daughters tour sponsored by Sounds magazine, starting in June 1976.

At the time, Punk rock was breaking and came to dominate the pages of major British music weeklies, including NME and Melody Maker. AC/DC were sometimes identified with the punk rock movement by the British press, but they hated punk rock, believing it to be a passing fad. Browning wrote that "it wasn't possible to even hold a conversation with AC/DC about punk without them getting totally pissed off".

The first AC/DC album to have worldwide distribution was a 1976 combination of tracks taken from the High Voltage and T.N.T. LPs. Also titled High Voltage, it was released through Atlantic in May 1976, eventually going on to sell over three million copies in the US by 2005. The track selection was heavily weighted towards the more recent T.N.T., including only two songs from their first LP. Their third studio album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, was released in September–November 1976, in both Australian and European versions. Track listings varied worldwide; the international version of the album included the T.N.T. track "Rocker", which had previously not been released internationally. The original Australian version included "Jailbreak". This was later more readily available on the 1984 compilation  extended play '74 Jailbreak, or as a live version on 1992's Live. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was not released in North America until April 2, 1981, by which time the band were at the peak of their popularity.

After a brief tour of Sweden, they returned to London, where they set new attendance records during their residency at the Marquee. They continued to tour throughout Europe and then Australia. In January 1977, they started recording their fourth studio album, Let There Be Rock. Early the same year, they returned to Britain and began a European tour with Black Sabbath. While Bon Scott and Ozzy Osbourne  quickly became friends, other members of each group were less cordial. In one incident, Geezer Butler  allegedly pulled a switchblade at Malcolm during their show in Sweden in April. Accounts of the incident differ, but AC/DC were taken off the rest of the tour.

In May 1977, Mark Evans was fired. This was due to "musical differences" and personality clashes with Angus. He was replaced on bass guitar by Cliff Williams, a former member of the UK bands Home (1970–1974) and Bandit (1976). Scott explained that Williams was more experienced, while Malcolm wanted a bass guitarist and backing vocalist. Evans' autobiography, Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC, released in 2011, predominantly dealt with his time in AC/DC.

AC/DC's first American radio exposure was through Bill Bartlett at Jacksonville station WPDQ-FM/WAIV-FM in 1975. Two years later, they played their first concert there, as a support act for Canadian group Moxy in Austin, Texas, on 27 July 1977. From booking agent Doug Thaler (ex Elf, keyboards 1967–1972, and rhythm guitar 1968–1972, he left Elf to become a booking agent) of American Talent International and the management of Leber-

Krebs, they experienced the country's stadium circuit, supporting Rock acts Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Kiss, Styx, UFO and Blue Öyster Cult; they co-headlined with Cheap Trick. AC/DC released their fifth studio album, Powerage, on May 5, 1978. The sole single from Powerage was "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" (June 1978). An appearance at The Apollo, Glasgow, during the Powerage Tour was recorded and released as If You Want Blood You've Got It (1978).

In 1979, the group recorded their sixth studio album, Highway to Hell, with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, which was issued on July 27, 1979. It became their first album to reach the top 20 in the Billboard  200, eventually peaking at number 17, and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts. Highway to Hell had lyrics that shifted away from flippant and comical towards more central rock themes, putting increased emphasis on backing vocals but still featuring AC/DC's signature sound: loud, simple, pounding riffs and grooving back-beats.

In February 1980, the members began to work on their seventh studio album, Back in Black, with Bon Scott on drums instead of vocals. On February 18, Bon Scott passed out in a car driven by his friend Alistair Kinnear after a night of drinking at The Music Machine in Camden Town, London. According to Kinnear, upon his arrival at home, he was unable to move Scott from the car so he left Scott in the car overnight to sleep off the alcohol effects. Unable to wake Scott early on the evening of February 19, Kinnear rushed him to King's College Hospital, Camberwell, where Scott was pronounced dead on arrival. The official cause of death was "acute alcohol poisoning". Scott's family buried him in Fremantle, Western Australia, the area they emigrated to when he was a boy.

Following Bon Scott's death, the members briefly considered quitting. Scott's parents advised the members that he would have wanted them to carry on, so they decided to continue and sought a new vocalist. Fat Lip vocalist Allan Fryer, ex-Rick Wakeman vocalist Gary Pickford-Hopkins, and the Easybeats' singer Stevie Wright were touted by the press as possible replacements.

Various other candidates were considered by the group: ex-Moxy member Buzz Shearman, who was unable to join due to voice issues, Slade vocalist Noddy Holder, and ex-Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser. During their auditions, the group brought in ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson, who impressed the group. Johnson sang Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" and then "Whole Lotta Rosie" from Let There Be Rock.

After they worked through the rest of the applicants in the following days, Johnson returned for a second audition. Angus later recalled that Bon Scott himself had praised Johnson's singing.

On March 29, 1980, Malcolm offered Brian Johnson a place in the band, much to the singer's surprise. Out of respect for Bon Scott, the band wanted a vocalist who would not be an imitator. In addition to his distinctive voice, demeanour and love of classic Soul and Blues music, the group were impressed by Johnson's engaging personality. Brian Johnson was officially announced as the lead singer of AC/DC on April 1. With Johnson, the group completed the songwriting previously began with Scott for Back in Black. Recording took place at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas a few months after Scott's death. Produced by Lange and recorded by Tony Platt, it became the second best-selling album of all time and a hard rock landmark. Its singles are "Hells Bells", "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" and the title track. The album peaked at number one in the UK, and number four in the US, where it spent 612 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. It also reached the top spot in Australia,  Canada, and France.

AC/DC released their first theatrical concert film, AC/DC: Let There Be Rock, which was recorded on December 9, 1979 in Paris during their Highway to Hell Tour on September 1, 1980. It was produced and directed by Eric Dionysius and Eric Mistler and distributed by Warner Bros. The band's eighth studio album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was released on November 23, 1981. It was their first number-one album on the Billboard 200, and it also reached the top three in Australia and Germany. It received mixed reviews from critics. Two singles were issued: "Let's Get It Up" and the title track, which peaked at number 13 and number 15 in the UK, respectively.

Instead of Robert John "Mutt" Lange, their ninth studio album, Flick of the Switch (1983), was produced by the group's members themselves. It was a return to the rawness and simplicity of their early albums, but received mixed reviews and was considered underdeveloped and unmemorable; one critic stated that they "had made the same album nine times". Flick of the Switch eventually reached number four on the UK charts, and the top five in Australia, and Finland. AC/DC had minor success with the single "Guns for Hire",

reaching number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. Phil Rudd has had long-term drug and alcohol addictions. His friendship with Malcolm had deteriorated and eventually escalated into a physical confrontation, after which Rudd was fired partway through the Flick of the Switch sessions in mid-1983. Rudd was replaced by ex-A II Z drummer Simon Wright in July 1983, after they held over 700 auditions in the US and UK. Simon Kirke and Paul Thompson were two drummers who auditioned.

The band's tenth studio album, Fly on the Wall, produced by the Young brothers in 1985, was also regarded as uninspired and directionless. A concept music video of the same name featured the band at a bar, playing five of the album's ten songs. In 1986, the group returned to the top 20 on singles charts with the made-for-radio "Who Made Who", reaching number nine in Australia and number 16 in the UK. The associated album Who Made Who is the soundtrack to Stephen King's film Maximum Overdrive;  it brought together older hits, such as "You Shook Me All Night Long", with a few new songs – the title track and two instrumentals, "D.T." and "Chase the Ace".

In February 1988, both AC/DC and Vanda & Young were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association's inaugural Hall of Fame. The group's eleventh studio album, Blow Up Your Video, released in 1988, was recorded at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France, with Vanda & Young as producers. The group recorded nineteen songs, choosing ten for the final release; though the album was later criticised for containing excessive "filler", it was a commercial success: Blow Up Your Video reached number two on the UK charts and Australia, AC/DC's highest position since Back in Black in 1980. It provided an Australian top-five and UK top-twenty single, "Heatseeker", and "That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll".

The Blow Up Your Video World Tour began in February 1988 in Perth, Australia. In April, following live appearances across Europe, Malcolm announced that he was taking time off from the North American legs of the tour, principally to deal with his alcoholism. Angus and Malcolm's nephew, Stevie Young, temporarily replaced Malcolm on guitar. In 1989, Simon Wright left the group to work on Heavy metal band Dio's fifth studio album, Lock Up the Wolves (1990); he was replaced by drummer Chris Slade, who has played with ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore, before joining. Brian Johnson was unavailable for several months while finalising his divorce, so the Young brothers wrote all the songs for the next album, a practice they continued for all subsequent releases through Power Up in 2020.

The band's twelfth studio album, The Razors Edge, was recorded in Vancouver, Canada and was mixed and engineered by Mike Fraser and produced by Bruce Fairbairn, who had previously worked with Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. Released on September 24, 1990, it was a major success for the band, reaching the top three in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany,

Switzerland, and the US. Its lead single, "Thunderstruck" (September 1990), peaked at number 5 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, number 4 on the ARIA Singles chart, and number 13 on the OCC's UK Singles Chart. Its second single, "Moneytalks" (November 12, 1990), peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. By 2006, the album had achieved 5× Platinum status in the US.

Several shows on the 1991 Razors Edge World Tour were recorded for the 1992 live album, AC/DC Live. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and was called one of the best live albums of the 1990s by Barry Weber of AllMusic. AC/DC headlined the Monsters of Rock show during this tour, which was released as a video album, Live at Donington, in 1992. During the tour, three fans were killed at a concert at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on January 18, 1991, when they were crushed and fell to the floor at the beginning of the show. It took 26 minutes before venue security and group members understood the severity of the situation and halted the concert. AC/DC settled out of court with the victims' families. In September 1991, AC/DC performed in Moscow for the Monsters of Rock festival in front of 1.6 million people. It was the first open-air rock concert to be held in the former Soviet Union.

AC/DC recorded "Big Gun" in 1993 for the soundtrack of Arnold Schwarzenegger's film Last Action Hero. Released as a single, it reached number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart, the band's first number-one single on that chart. Pacific Gameworks proposed a beat 'em up video game for the Atari Jaguar CD  in 1994, AC/DC: Defenders of Metal, which would have featured the group's crew; however, production never started. Angus and Malcolm invited Phil Rudd to several jam sessions during 1994; he was eventually rehired due to Chris Slade resigning. Recording began in October 1994 at Record Plant Studios in New York City. After 10 weeks of recording, they moved to Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, in February 1995, and finished the recording in May. On September 22, their thirteenth studio album, Ballbreaker, was released, which reached number one in Australia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

In November 1997, a box set, Bonfire, was released. It contained four albums: a remastered version of Back in Black, Volts – a disc with alternative takes, outtakes and stray live cuts recorded with Bon Scott – and two live albums, Live from the Atlantic Studios and Let There Be Rock: The Movie. Live from the Atlantic Studios was recorded on December 7, 1977 at the Atlantic Studios in New York. Let There Be Rock: The Movie was a double album recorded in December 1979 at the Pavillon de Paris and was the soundtrack of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (1980).