AC/DC
Aussie Rock Legends

AC/DC are an Australian hard rock band sometimes referred to as 'Acker Dacker'. They were formed in 1973 and released their first single in 1974.

The group's main members (and there've been a few) include; Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Chris Slade, Simon Wright, Mark Evans, Dave Evans, George Young. (Sorry if I've left anyone out!)

It was guitarist Malcolm Young who originally started the band. Legend has it that he saw first-hand all the benefits that came with being a rock star, as his older brother, George Young, reached the big time as a member of the popular 1960s band, the Easybeats.

The young Malcolm decided he wanted to follow in George's footsteps and recruited his younger, 15 year old, brother Angus, a very talented guitar player, to be the new band's lead guitarist.

Because Angus was still a school boy it was suggested that he should wear his school uniform on stage and in time that look would become his trademark.

AC/DC had a stormy beginning and the band members changed quite a few times in that first year, but by the time they started to play steady gigs around Australia, the main line up consisted of lead singer Dave Evans, Rob Bailey on bass, Peter Clark on the drums, along with the two Young brothers.

AC/DC recorded their first single in 1974 with 'Can I Sit Next to You Girl', which was produced by George Young, the older brother of Malcolm and Angus.

Shortly after the success of that first single, the new group started recording their debut album, High Voltage, but just as work started on the project, Peter Clark and Rob Bailey left and were replaced by Bon Scott who eventually took over as lead vocalist.

In just ten days 'High Voltage' was released but again the group was in disarray as they added a new drummer Phil Rudd, and a new bass guitarist Mark Evans.

After the album received a lot of air play AC/DC started to gain popularity in Australia, and this line-up would stay intact for the next three albums.

Bon Scott's image helped shape the band as a loud, wild, crazy and a violent group and he was even labelled as "socially maladjusted" by the Australian government. All that did though was help make the band even more popular.

It was 1975 and at this point in time heavy metal music was at the height of its popularity.

AC/DC fitted in perfectly with their attitude in general, Bon Scott's voice, which was perfect for metal, plus Angus' loud and wild guitar playing.

Their first two albums, 'High Voltage' and 'TNT' would be combined into one for their first UK and America album which was also titled 'High Voltage', and released in 1976.

The group toured both countries and a big following of fans outside of Australia, soon came with the success of that tour and the album.

There followed further successful albums, 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' and 'Let There Be Rock'.

In 1978, the album 'Powerage' was released and that along with their live album, 'If You Want Blood, You Got It', released the same year, would help their fan base to grow even more.

1979 was probably the groups greatest year with the release of 'Highway to Hell', which proved that AC/DC were true superstars, with the album charting big in Australia and in both the US and UK. It was also their first album to sell over a million copies.

On February 20, 1980 tragedy struck when Bon Scott was found dead in the backseat of a friend's car. The coroner's report stated he had "drunk himself to death."

It couldn't have come at a worse time as the band had been getting ready to record their next album, but in true Acker Dacker style they immediately hired singer Brian Johnson and within a month they went directly into the studio to work on their next album.

'Back in Black', titled to reflect Scott's loss. It was a heavy metal masterpiece and would prove to be their biggest album, selling over nineteen million copies in the U.S. alone, worldwide it has sold over fifty million copies!

Throughout the eighties and nineties and right through to today AC/DC's success has continued with albums like 'For Those About to Rock We Salute You', which was their first album to reach number one in the United States.

The band experienced a further resurgence in the early 1990's with the release of 'The Razors Edge'.

'Stiff Upper Lip' was released in 2000 and was well received by critics, and the band's latest studio album, 'Black Ice', was released on 20 October 2008 and was the second-highest-selling album of that year. It was their biggest hit on the charts since 'For Those About to Rock', eventually reaching No.1.

AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 71 million albums in the United States alone.

'Back in Black' has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, making it the second-highest-selling album by any artist and only just behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.

AC/DC were ranked fourth on VH1's list of the '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock' and were recently named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV.

They are one of the bands I absolutely loved when I was younger and I've been to see them a few times over the years too, first with Bon Scott up front and then with Brian Johnson, absolutely bloody amazing in concert! Love 'Acker Dacker'.

You can get their awesome albums and singles from iTunes and enjoy them all over again.