AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band ^{rock music} formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm ^{Malcolm Young} and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock and are considered a pioneer of heavy metal ^{heavy metal music} , they have always classified their music as rock and roll.

AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage ^{High Voltage (1975 album)} , in 1975. Membership remained stable until bassist Mark Evans ^{Mark Evans (musician)} was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977 for the album Powerage. The band recorded their highly successful album Highway to Hell in 1979. Lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group briefly considered disbanding, but soon ex-Geordie ^{Geordie (band)} singer Brian Johnson was selected to replace Scott. Later that year, the band released their best-selling album, Back in Black.

The band's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was their first album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC declined in popularity soon after drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 and was replaced by future Dio ^{Dio (band)} drummer Simon Wright, though the band resurged in the early 1990s with the release of The Razor's Edge ^{The Razors Edge (album)} . Phil Rudd returned in 1994 (after Chris Slade, whom was with the band from 1990–1994, was asked to leave in favour of him) and contributed to the band's 1995 album Ballbreaker. Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000 and was well received by critics. Since then, the band has stayed the same with the 1980-1983 lineup. The band's most recent album, Black Ice ^{Black Ice (album)} , was released on 20 October 2008. It was their biggest hit on the charts since "For Those About to Rock, reaching #1 on all the charts eventually. AC/DC's newest studio album, AC/DC: Iron Man 2 is set to release on April 19, 2010.

As of 2008, AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 71 million albums in the United States. Back in Black has sold an estimated 45 million units worldwide, making it the highest-selling album by any band ^{List of best-selling albums worldwide} and the 2nd highest-selling album in history, behind Thriller ^{Thriller (album)} by Michael Jackson. The album has sold 22 million in the US alone, where it is the fifth-highest-selling album. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and was named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, the band was ranked number 72 in the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

 
Background and name

Brothers Malcolm, Angus and George Young ^{George Young (rock musician)} were born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Sydney with most of their family in 1963. George was the first to learn to play the guitar. He became a member of the Easybeats, one of Australia's most successful bands of the 1960s. In 1966, they became the first local rock act to have an international hit, with the song "Friday on My Mind". and ex-Back Street Crawler ^{Back Street Crawler (band)} vocalist Terry Slesser, who turned down this opportunity when he decided not to join an established band and instead started a solo career. The remaining AC/DC members finally decided on ex-Geordie ^{Geordie (band)} singer Brian Johnson.

Angus Young later recalled, "I remember Bon playing me Little Richard, and then telling me the story of when he saw Brian singing." He says about that night, "There's this guy up there screaming at the top of his lungs and then the next thing you know he hits the deck. He's on the floor, rolling around and screaming. I thought it was great, and then to top it off—you couldn't get a better encore—they came in and wheeled the guy off!"

Amid rumours of alcoholism and drug-induced paranoia, drummer Phil Rudd's friendship with Malcolm Young deteriorated and, after a long period of unfriendliness, the men's dislike for each other grew so strong that they fought. Rudd was fired two hours after the fight. Although Rudd had finished the drum tracks for their next album, he was replaced by Simon Wright in the summer of 1983 after the band held an anonymous audition.

Later in the year, AC/DC released the self-produced album Flick of the Switch, which was less successful than their previous albums, and was considered underdeveloped and unmemorable. AC/DC was voted the eighth-biggest disappointment of the year in the 1984 Kerrang! readers' poll. However, Flick of the Switch eventually reached #4 on the UK charts, A music concept video of the same name ^{Fly on the Wall (video)} featured the band at a bar, playing five of the album's ten songs.

In 1986, the group returned to the charts with the made-for-radio "Who Made Who ^{Who Made Who (song)} ". The album Who Made Who was the soundtrack to Stephen King's film Maximum Overdrive, and is the closest the band has come to releasing a "greatest hits" collection, which AC/DC have always refused to do.


Back to commercial success (1987–90)

AC/DC's 1988 album, Blow Up Your Video, was recorded at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France, and reunited the band with their original producers, Harry Vanda and George Young ^{George Young (rock musician)} . The group recorded nineteen songs, choosing ten for the final release; though the album was later criticised for containing excessive "filler ^{filler (media)} ", it was a commercial success. Blow Up Your Video sold more copies than the previous two studio releases combined, reaching #2 on the UK charts—AC/DC's highest position since "Back in Black" in 1980. The album featured the UK top-twenty single "Heatseeker ^{Heatseeker (song)} " It was during this tour when AC/DC headlined the Monsters of Rock show, which was released on DVD as Live at Donington ^{Live at Donington (AC/DC)} . A year later, AC/DC recorded "Big Gun" for the soundtrack of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Last Action Hero, and was released as a single, reaching #1 on the US Mainstream Rock ^{Mainstream Rock Tracks} chart, the band's first #1 single on that chart.

In 2000, the band released Stiff Upper Lip, produced by brother George Young ^{George Young (rock musician)} at the Warehouse Studio, again in Vancouver. The album was better received by critics than Ballbreaker but was considered lacking in new ideas. The Australian release included a bonus disc with three promotional videos and several live performances recorded in Madrid, Spain in 1996. Stiff Upper Lip reached #1 in five countries, including Argentina and Germany; #2 in three countries, Spain, France and Switzerland; #3 in Australia; #5 in Canada and Portugal; and #7 in Norway, the US and Hungary. The first single, "Stiff Upper Lip ^{Stiff Upper Lip (song)} ", remained at #1 on the US Mainstream Rock charts for four weeks. who went on to release a series of remastered albums as part of their AC/DC remasters series. Each release contained an expanded booklet featuring rare photographs, memorabilia, and notes. In 2003, the entire back-catalogue (except Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip) was remastered and re-released. Ballbreaker was eventually re-released in October 2005; Stiff Upper Lip was later re-released in April 2007.

On 30 July 2003, the band performed with the Rolling Stones and Rush ^{Rush (band)} at Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto. The concert, held before an audience of half a million, was intended to help the city overcome the negative publicity stemming from the effects of a 2003 SARS ^{severe acute respiratory syndrome} epidemic. The concert holds the record for the largest paid music event ^Concert in North American history. The band came second in a list of Australia's highest-earning entertainers for 2005, and sixth for 2006, despite having neither toured since 2003 nor released an album since 2000. Verizon Wireless has gained the rights to release AC/DC's full albums and the entire Live at Donington ^{Live at Donington (AC/DC)} concert to download in 2008.

On 16 October 2007, Columbia Records released a double and triple DVD titled Plug Me In. The set consists of five and seven hours of rare footage, and even a recording of AC/DC at a high school performing "School Days ^{School Days (song)} ", "T.N.T. ^{T.N.T. (song)} ", "She's Got Balls", and "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)". As with Family Jewels, disc one contains rare shows of the band with Bon Scott, and disc two is about the Brian Johnson era. The collector's edition contains an extra DVD with 21 more rare performances of both Scott and Johnson and more interviews.

AC/DC made their video game debut on Rock Band 2, with "Let There Be Rock ^{Let There Be Rock (song)} " included as a playable track. The setlist from their Live at Donington live album was released as playable songs for the Rock Band series ^{Rock Band (series)} by means of a Wal-Mart-exclusive retail disc titled AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack ^{List of Rock Band track packs#AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack} .

No Bull: The Directors Cut, a newly edited, comprehensive Blu-Ray and DVD of the band's July 1996 Plaza De Toros de las Ventas ^{Las Ventas} concert in Madrid, Spain, was released on 9 September 2008.


Black Ice (2008–present)


On 18 August 2008, Columbia Records announced the 18 October Australian release, and 20 October worldwide release, of the studio album Black Ice ^{Black Ice (album)} . The 15-track album was the band's first studio release in eight years, and was produced by Brendan O'Brien ^{Brendan O'Brien (music producer)} . Like Stiff Upper Lip, it was recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. Black Ice was sold in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club and the band's official website.

"Rock 'n' Roll Train", the album's first single, was released to radio on 28 August. On 15 August, AC/DC recorded a video for a song from the new album in London with a special selection of fans getting the chance to be in the video.
Black Ice made history debuting at #1 on album charts in 29 countries and also has the distinction of being Columbia Records' biggest debut album (since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard in March 1991). Black Ice has been certified Multi Platinum in eight countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany and the Czech Republic. Additionally Black Ice has achieved Platinum status in twelve countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, UK, Argentina, Singapore and New Zealand) and Gold status in four countries (Netherland, Spain, Poland and Brazil). With over 6.5 million copies of Black Ice shipped worldwide, combined with over 5.5 million in catalog sold, AC/DC have surpassed The Beatles as the #1 selling catalog artist in the US for 2008. The 18-month Black Ice World Tour supporting the new album was announced on September 11 and began on 28 October in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The band played 42 dates in North America, ending in Nashville ^{Nashville, Tennessee} , Tennessee on 31 January 2009. The Answer ^{The Answer (band)} was the opening act during the North American portion of the tour.

On 15 September 2008, AC/DC Radio debuted on Sirius ^{Sirius XM Radio} Channel 19 and XM ^{Sirius XM Radio} channel 53. The channel plays AC/DC music along with interviews with the band members.

With the North American release of Black Ice on 20 October 2008, Columbia Records and Walmart created "Rock Again AC/DC Stores" to promote the album. In October 2008, MTV, Walmart, and Columbia created "AC/DC Rock Band Stores" in New York City, at Times Square, and in Los Angeles. "Black Ice" trucks were also dispatched on the streets of these two cities after the release, playing AC/DC music aloud and making various stops each day to sell merchandise.

In late September 2009, the band rescheduled six shows when Brian Johnson underwent an operation for ulcers. On September 29, the band announced a collection of studio and live rarities, Backtracks ^{Backtracks (AC/DC album)} , which was released on November 10, 2009 as a 3-CD/2-DVD/1-LP box-set.

On the 4th November AC/DC were announced as the Business Review Weekly top Australian earner (entertainment) for 2009 with earnings of $105 million. This displaced The Wiggles from the number one spot for the first time in four years.

On January 26, 2010, AC/DC announced on their official site the release of their new album AC/DC: Iron Man 2, the soundtrack for the upcoming film Iron Man 2.

AC/DC plans to give a concert for the celebration of 20th anniversary of German Reunification in Etzenricht ^{GKK Etzenricht} , Bavaria, Germany.

On the 25th January 2010 it was announced that the band are to headline Download Festival at Donington Park, England in June 2010., Melbourne
AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2003. During the ceremony the band performed "Highway to Hell ^{Highway to Hell (song)} " and "You Shook Me All Night Long", with guest vocals provided by host Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. He described the band's power chords as "the thunder from down under that gives you the second-most-powerful surge that can flow through your body." During the acceptance speech, Brian Johnson quoted their 1977 song "Let There Be Rock".

In May 2003, Malcolm Young accepted a Ted Albert ^{Edward 'Ted' Albert} Award for Outstanding Service to Australian Music at the 2003 Music Winners Awards, during which he paid special tribute to Bon Scott.

On 1 October 2004, a central Melbourne thoroughfare, Corporation Lane, was renamed ACDC Lane ^{ACDC Lane, Melbourne} in honour of the band. However, the City of Melbourne forbade the use of the slash ^{slash (punctuation)} character in street names, so the four letters were combined. The lane is near Swanston Street ^{Swanston Street, Melbourne} where, on the back of a truck, the band recorded their video for the 1975 hit "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".

Since Nielsen SoundScan began to track music sales in 1991, AC/DC have sold over $26.4? million worth of albums, making their sales figures second only to The Beatles, outselling both The Rolling Stones and The Who. Over the last five years, as CD ^{Compact Disc} sales have declined in general, AC/DC albums have sold just as well or better. They sold over 1.3 million CDs in the US during 2007 despite not having released a new album since 2001 at that point.

In 2009 the Recording Industry Association of America upgraded the group's US sales figures from 69 million to 71 million, making AC/DC the fifth-best-selling band in US history and the ninth-best-selling artist, selling more albums than Madonna ^{Madonna (entertainer)} , Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson. The RIAA also certified Back in Black as double Diamond (20 million) in US sales, and by 2007 the album had sold 22 million copies, which moved it into fifth place.(left) and Angus Young (right) in St. Paul, Minnesota, on 23 November 2008

*Brian Johnson – lead vocals (1980–present)
*Angus Young – lead guitar (1973–present)
*Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1973–present)
*Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals (1977–present)
*Phil Rudd – drums, percussion (1975–1983, 1994–present)

;Former members
*Dave Evans ^{Dave Evans (singer)} – lead vocals (1973–74)
*Bon Scott – lead vocals (1974–80)†
*Mark Evans ^{Mark Evans (musician)} – bass guitar, backing vocals (1975–77)
*Simon Wright – drums, percussion (1983–89)
*Chris Slade – drums, percussion (1989–94)*High Voltage (Australia) ^{High Voltage (1975 album)} (1975)
*T.N.T. ^{T.N.T. (album)} (1975)
*High Voltage (International) ^{High Voltage (1976 album)} (1976)
*Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)
*Let There Be Rock (1977)
*Powerage (1978)
*If You Want Blood You've Got It (1978) (live album)
*Highway to Hell (1979)
*Back in Black (1980)
*For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981)
*Flick of the Switch (1983)
*'74 Jailbreak (1984 USA) (compilation album)
*Fly on the Wall ^{Fly on the Wall (album)} (1985)
*Who Made Who (1986) (soundtrack album)
*Blow Up Your Video (1988)
*The Razors Edge ^{The Razors Edge (album)} (1990)
*AC/DC Live (1992) (double live album)
*Ballbreaker (1995)
*Stiff Upper Lip (2000)
*Black Ice ^{Black Ice (album)} (2008)
*AC/DC: Iron Man 2 (2010) (soundtrack album)