AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian band formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Their first vocalist Dave Evans was quickly replaced by the future world superstar Bon Scott. By 1975, Angus and Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd had constituted the stable lineup of AC/DC. The new band used to show up on TV regularly, which accelerated their rise to glory in Australia. The first hit by AC/DC was the song It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll). The band managed to draw attention from many recording companies and soon signed a contract with Atlantic Records. This was followed by tours in the UK and Europe. At those times, AC/DC were honored to accompany Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Kiss, The Who and many other celebrated musicians.

The extravagant attitude on stage and beyond, bold and rough lyrics, and, finally, spectacular and skilful performances made AC/DC a significant figure in the British rock music world. The style of AC/DC, on the brink of breaking the rules, did not make everybody happy, which shut the access for the musicians to some venues. AC/DC reached the peak of the world fame with the album Highway To Hell (1979). That was one of the greatest contributions to the world rock legacy of all times. However, the band was on the verge of collapse after Bon Scott’s accidental death in 1980. It took the musicians a long while to make a decision to carry on. One of loyal supporters advised them to try Brian Johnson. After a short audition, they agreed to welcome him as the new singer. The first album recorded with Johnson, was the magnificent Back in Black, released in 1980. It was the biggest commercial success in the entire history of AC/DC with the largest number of sold copies. The best song from the album, You Shook Me All Night Long, devoted to the memory of Bon Scott, became one of the hard rock strongest hits ever.

Inspired by the latest success, AC/DC continued recording acclaimed albums: For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981) and Flick of the Switch (1983). After that, Phil Rudd quit the band. Simon Write joined AC/DC to substitute him. Fly on the Wall, released in 1985, was far less worthy than its predecessors. It did not frustrate AC/DC as they regained their positions soon afterwards. First, the band produced the compilation Who Made Who with old hits and the song under the same title, soundtrack for Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive. In February 1988, AC/DC were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association’s Hall of Fame. In the same year, they released Blow Up Your Video, a good album with the hit Heatseeker, one of the Top 20 singles in the British charts. Then came another successful album, The Razor's Edge(1990). In 1994, Phil Rudd returned to the band. The renewed AC/DC recorded Ballbreaker (1995) and Stiff Upper Lip (2000). In March 2003, AC/DC became residents of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York. After a long pause, the musicians came back to their fans with the new studio album Black Ice (2008). In 2009 the box set Backtracks was released, which included the best songs of the band and rare records. Many of the compositions appeared on the CD for the very first time. This group influenced the music of multitudes of leading bands playing most various kinds of hard rock. One of the Melbourne streets is named after AC/DC, no doubt, the best band in Australia and one of the world monumental rock groups of all times. The release of an extremely strong record titled Iron Man 2 took place in 2010. It includes one of the most vigorous compositions of the band: Shoot To Thrill, Back In Black and many others. Of course, the release of that album is connected with the eponymous movie Iron Man 2 and it is worth mentioning that they really complement each other.