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AC/DC

More than three decades into a career that shows no signs of slowing down or letting up, AC/DC, like electricity itself, provides the world with an essential source of power and energy. Since forming in 1973, AC/DC's high voltage rock 'n' roll has flowed out into the world via consistently sold-out concert tours and global sales totaling more than 150 million albums and counting. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's #1 best-selling catalog act worldwide, AC/DC has sold nearly 70 million albums in the U.S. alone, making AC/DC one of the five top-selling bands in American music history. One of the group's best-loved works, the enormously successful and influential "Back In Black," has achieved RIAA "Double Diamond" status, for sales in excess of 22 million copies in the United States, and is the U.S.'s fifth largest-selling album ever. But the roots of AC/DC lie back in Australia, and before that Glasgow, Scotland, where Angus and Malcolm Young, the musical core of the band (and still the most formidable guitar team in rock history), were born (in 1958 and 1953, respectively). In 1963, the Young family migrated to Sydney, Australia, where music would make its mark on the brothers. (As a member of the Easybeats, Angus and Malcolm's older sibling, George Young, was responsible for one of Australia's first international hits, "Friday On My Mind," in 1966. From 1974 through 2000, George and musical collaborator, Harry Vanda, produced a number of AC/DC albums including "High Voltage,," "T.N.T.," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Let There Be Rock," "If You Want Blood You've Got It," "Powerage," "'74 Jailbreak," "Who Made Who," "Blow Up Your Video," and "Stiff Upper Lip.") Taking a cue and encouragement from their older brother's musical success, Angus and Malcolm Young formed their own rock 'n' roll combo and premiered their inimitable interlocking guitar sound on December 31, 1973 at a New Year's Eve gig at Sydney's Chequers Club. Calling their new rock band "AC/DC" (from the back of a sewing machine owned by their sister, Margaret), Angus and Malcolm moved from Sydney to Melbourne and began plowing through numerous line-ups searching for a solid rhythm section and a lead singer whose voice could match the manic assault of the Young brothers' guitars. The newly-christened AC/DC found its spiritual sparkplug in Bon Scott, a hard-living, hard-loving, hard-playing wild-eyed rabble-rousing singer who'd once "auditioned" for the band when he'd worked for them as a roadie and driver back in Sydney. With Bon Scott, another born Scotsman who'd relocated to Australia as a lad, in place as co-frontman to Angus's trademark raffish schoolboy-in-knickers, AC/DC was ready to electrify the world. Quickly signed by George Young to the Albert Records label in Australia, AC/DC kicked out its first Australian album releases, 1974's "High Voltage" (a somewhat different album from the US "High Voltage") and 1975's "T.N.T." With each album achieving silver, gold, and platinum status in Australia, AC/DC embarked on a regime of relentless touring that would become one of the most enduring hallmarks of the band's career. In 1976, having conquered their very first continent, AC/DC set off for Great Britain. When the band's no-holds-barred double-barrel rock 'n' roll landed them a residency at the prestigious Marquee Club, AC/DC promptly broke the venue's all-time house attendance record. AC/DC's days in clubland would not last much longer. Within a year, "Let There Be Rock," the band's first simultaneous world release and first to use the unmistakable AC/DC logo -- raised metallic Gothic lettering separated by Zeus's own lightning bolt -- would catapult them into the stadium strata. AC/DC was ready to take on America. The summer of 1977 found AC/DC performing a dizzying crisscross of American gigs, ranging from clubs like the Palladium and CBGB in New York and the Whiskey in Los Angeles to sprawling venues like the Jacksonville Coliseum. By 1978, AC/DC was one of the hottest concert attractions in the world. For the group's next studio album, they teamed up with producer Mutt Lange to create the undeniable hard rock masterpiece, 1979's "Highway To Hell," the first AC/DC album to break into the US Top 100 and the first to go gold in America. In November of that year, the band went to Paris to film the monumental "Let The Be Rock" concert film, a quintessential document of a golden moment in the band's rise to world fame. On February 19, 1980, with the band finding genuine success around the world, lead singer Bon Scott died in London at the age of 33. Reeling from the shock of the loss of their boisterous soulful lead singer, the surviving members of AC/DC decided there was only one way to pay proper tribute to Bon Scott: carry on and create the music he'd want them to make. The group found an incredibly simpatico new lead singer and frontman in Brian Johnson, a Newcastle native who'd sung in a band Bon Scott raved about called Geordie. Returning to the studio with Mutt Lange, AC/DC and the group's new vocalist created "Back In Black," one of the best-selling albums, in any musical genre, of all-time. Powered by the title track and the anthemic "You Shook Me All Night Long," "Back In Black" hit #1 in the UK and #4 in the US, where it has gone on to achieve 22x platinum (double Diamond plus) status. AC/DC continued releasing best-selling albums through the 1980s and 1990s accompanied by strings of sold-out tours and major headlining concert and festival performances -- including attendance-record-smashing concerts on the "Monsters of Rock," Castle Donington, "Rock In Rio," and 1991's "Rock Around The Bloc" festival at Tushino Airfield in Moscow, a free concert attended by close to one million fans. On September 15, 2000, AC/DC was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame and had their hands imprinted in the cement in front of the Guitar Center on Hollywood Boulevard. On March 10, 2003, AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Aerosmith's Steve Tyler performed the induction, sang "You Shook Me All Night Long" with AC/DC during the ceremony and described the group's signature power chords and timelessly enduring rock 'n' roll as "...the thunder from Down Under that gives you the second-most-powerful surge that can flow through your body." --Tim Holmes

Latest bulletin 11.25.09

The Greatest Madison Square Garden show of the 2000’s

This is it, the final week of voting at MSG.com to determine The Greatest Madison Square Garden Show of the decade, this week with the 2000's. Over the f...

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AC/DC’s Black Ice World Tour Comes To Mexico City Jul 10
AC/DC Adds Stadium Dates to Black Ice World Tour Dec 12
Still Conquering the Headlines! Nov 24

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Jul 10, 04:27 PM

AC/DC’s Black Ice World Tour Comes To Mexico City

Get ready for packed houses, pumping fists and an electric shock from which you’ll never recover—AC/DC is coming to Mexico City! On November 12, AC/DC will perform at Foro Sol. Tickets go on-sale Monday, July 13 at 11:00 AM (local time).
Looking for special ticket access in Mexico City? Join the AC/DC Fan Club at ACDC.com (ACDC.com) to get access to our reserved Fan Club ticket allotment available at the start of the sale.

As a Fan Club member, along with special access to Fan Club tickets for the show, you’ll enjoy the following:
-An exclusive AC/DC gift
-Merchandise discounts
-Access to all of ACDC.com, including the AC/DC message boards, members-only contests and more!

ACDC.com
Dec 12, 07:10 AM

AC/DC Adds Stadium Dates to Black Ice World Tour

AC/DC add stadium shows to their Black Ice World Tour beginning in Leipzig, Germany on May 13, 2009 and running through June 30, 2009 in Glasgow, Scotland. AC/DC kicked off their hugely successful Black Ice World Tour in late October and the press can't stop raving about the band's incredible live performance. The Chicago Tribune called their live show "a celebration of all that is great about Rock N Roll," while The Boston Globe exclaimed "AC/DC is the greatest band ever." The tour is currently making it's way across the United States before heading to Europe.

Released globally on October 20, 2008, Black Ice is AC/DC's first new album in over eight years and it's evident the band are still an incredible force in rock. The Washington Post noted that "Black Ice is the best record the band has made in decades" and People magazine put it best by saying "Black Ice finds the Australian rockers at their headbanging, power-chord-crunching best." 'Rock N Roll Train,' the first single from Black Ice has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. This is AC/DC's fifth Grammy Award nomination.

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 of 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 million copies of Black Ice shipped worldwide, combined with over 5.5 million in catalog sold this year, AC/DC have surpassed The Beatles as the 1 selling catalog artist in the US for 2008. In the US, Black Ice is being sold exclusively at Walmart, Sam's Club, and www.acdc.com
Nov 24 2008, 02:29 PM

Still Conquering the Headlines!

"For a hard-rock concert, you could scarcely ask for a more satisfying escape."

"...the band declared that rock music doesnt have to belong to the young, only the young at heart..."

"The Aussie heavyweights made up for lost time with an over-the-top concert that made the stage antics of "Spinal Tap" seem tame."

"The performance roared inexorably, making most other bands, young or old, seem puny."

"The government could learn a thing or two from AC/DC. The 35-year-old hard-rock band is a model of efficiency and consistency..."

"This return of AC/DC obviously awakened the nostalgia beast, but as the band's roaring display revealed, there is still plenty of bite left."

"...this massive six-month world tour has been a long time coming and proved worth the wait. If anyone can shake rock music out of its identity crisis and reclaim its roots, it's AC/DC."

"Hells Bells, Shoot to Thrill, Back in Black, You Shook Me All Night Long -- all were deeply rhythmic case studies in why less is more when it comes to soulful, timeless rock 'n' roll and why people still pay to see a schoolboy who refuses to retire his shorts and tube socks."

"Pleasing decades' worth of fans, these rockers still hit every song full-force"
Nov 14 2008, 11:33 AM

They came. They rocked. They conquered.

They came. They rocked. They conquered. AC/DC's residency at MSG may have lasted only 2 nights, but they rocked so hard that their performances will be remembered forever. If you were there for either show and have any good stories or pictures, head to the forum and share them with your fellow rockers.
Nov 10 2008, 10:56 AM

The Press Can't Stop Raving About AC/DC

“Black Ice is the best record the band has made in decades”

A celebration of all that is great about Rock N Roll.”

“If this is what AC/DC sounds like on opening night after a seven-year layoff, later dates on the tour are going to be amazing.”

“AC/DC is the greatest band ever.”

“AC/DC: Rock ‘n’ roll that outlasts time”

“Black Ice finds the Australian rockers at their headbanging, power-chord-crunching best.”

“AC/DC remain timeless”

“AC/DC still sound strong and hungry 35 years on”

“You get primal rock with 70’s power, 60’s tunefulness and the wild abandon of the original 50’s recipe.”

After an eight year absence, the brothers Young come back as conquering heroes”

“just one monster riff-rock juggernaut after another.”

“thrilling in the extreme.”“AC/DC electrifies”

"AC/DC electrifies"

“Time stands still for AC/DC”

“Rock N Roll heaven”

“If there's a band that's absolutely essential for the rock 'n' roll time capsule, it's AC/DC.”

“Hot Riffs? Juicy Tempos? 'Black Ice' Pours 'Em On”

“AC/DC’s music is still an elemental force”

“Black Ice is a loud salute to arrested development.”

“Black Ice is a really solid hard rock album that showcases the band’s strengths even as it sounds surprisingly down-to-earth.”

“AC/DC Returns With Its Best Album In 25 Years”

“Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young remain one of the most lethal guitar duos in rock history”

“Veteran Aussie rockers AC/DC electrify”

“Critical acclaim escaped them…until now”
Oct 27 2008, 03:13 PM

Secret Show Review (Note: Contains Tour Spoilers)

Last night, AC/DC played a very intimate secret show in Wilkes-Barre, PA for a few thousand lucky fans. Here is a little taste of what went down and what you can expect if you have tickets to one of their many shows which begin tomorrow.
Oct 15 2008, 11:05 AM

Give It All You Got

We've been looking through the entries for the Give It All You Got Contest and are extremely impressed with some of the videos we have seen so far. AC/DC does truly have the best fans in the world!

If you have not submitted a video yet, you have until October 30th to do so. We are giving away 2 signed guitars!!! Get those entries in.

In the mean time, check out a few of our favorites so far...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvNkJ7devJ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6h05nf3Fj0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8baezU8wFi8
Oct 14 2008, 06:50 AM

Congratulations to the Show Us Your AC/DC Winners!

The smoke has finally cleared. After a long, heated battle, the Show Us Your AC/DC Contest has come to an end and winners have been selected. Unfortunately, since we were unable to select 3 winners from the pool of nearly 700 entries, we ended up picking 5 winners and hooking them all up! Congratulations to David, Patrick, Kelly, Jamie, and Thomas.

We would like to thank everybody who submitted an entry into this contest. You far exceeded our expectations and definitely proved that AC/DC has the best fans in the world!
Oct 01 2008, 07:06 AM

Q Magazine examines Angus Young

Kicking off this month, Q Magazine has been completely revamped with a stylish new design and gracing the striking new cover for this overhaul is the duck-walking, school uniform-wearing, flat capped rock giant of AC/DC. Join Angus Young - the tiny, teetotal AC/DC riffmeister-in-chief who has notched up an awe-inspiring 200 million album sales to date as he pulls on his schoolboy gear and runs around like a lunatic for an hour with a set of devil horns glued to his head.

Plus check out Q's exclusive behind-the-scenes gallery of the Angus Young cover shoot, an AC/DC-themed quiz and a classic AC/DC interview on the Q website www.qthemusic.com. You can also tune into Q Radio in October for special AC/DC programming, including interviews with Brian Johnson, AC/DC live in Madrid, and much more.
Sep 23 2008, 02:16 PM

Contests

We're running a whole bunch of contests to give away tickets to a secret AC/DC show. Find the one that best suits you and enter to win!

Show Us Your AC/DC
-find a creative way to display the ac/dc logo in public
www.acdcrocks.com/showusyouracdc

Dress Like Angus
-dress like angus. take a picture. simple.
www.acdcrocks.com/dresslikeangus

Rock Out Your Car
-decorate your car/truck/bus to the theme of ac/dc and black ice
www.acdcrocks.com/rockoutyourcar

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AC/DC

Latest bulletin 11.25.09

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