AC/DC
Australian rock band / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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AC/DC (stylised as AC⚡︎DC) are an Australian rock band formed in 1973. They were founded by brothers Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar and Angus Young on lead guitar. Their current line-up comprises Angus, bass guitarist Cliff Williams, drummer Phil Rudd, lead vocalist Brian Johnson and rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, nephew of Angus and Malcolm. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal, but the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formative influence on the new wave of British heavy metal bands, such as Def Leppard and Saxon. AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
AC/DC | |
|---|---|
.jpg) AC/DC in Buenos Aires in 2009. From left to right: Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams, Angus Young and Brian Johnson | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Discography | |
| Years active | 1973–present (hiatus from 2016–2018) |
| Labels | |
| Spinoff of | Marcus Hook Roll Band |
| Members | |
| Past members | See list of AC/DC members |
| Website | acdc |
AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their debut album, High Voltage (1975), which was released exclusively in Australasia. Membership subsequently stabilised after the release of Let There Be Rock (1977), with the Young brothers, Rudd, Williams and Bon Scott on lead vocals. Seven months after the release of Highway to Hell (1979), Scott died of alcohol poisoning and the other members considered disbanding. However, at the request of Scott's parents, they continued together. They recruited English singer Johnson as their new frontman. Their first album with Johnson, Back in Black (1980), was dedicated to Scott's memory. It became the second best-selling album of all time.
The band's eighth studio album, For Those About to Rock (1981), was their first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200. Rudd was fired partway through the Flick of the Switch sessions in 1983 and was replaced by Simon Wright, 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. Rudd has since recorded five more albums with the band, starting with Ballbreaker (1995). Their fifteenth studio album, Black Ice, was the second highest-selling record of 2008 and their biggest chart hit 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, Slade filled in for Rudd. In 2016, 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. 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 bass guitarist Chris Chaney replacing Williams.