AC/DC was founded in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. They were inspired by their older brother, George, who had a successful music career in the band The Easybeats, according to rock95.com.
The brothers decided to name their band AC/DC after seeing an alternating current and direct current symbol on the back of their sister’s sewing machine, because to them it represented the fast, electric energy of their music. Initially, the band had a glam rock image, which was characterized by heavy makeup, wild hairstyles, and extravagant outfits, while under their original lead vocalist Dave Evans. He was eventually replaced by Bon Scott in order to change the direction of the band to hard blues-rock, according to rock95.com.
The band’s lineup included rhythm guitarist Malcom Young, lead guitarist Angus Young, lead vocalist Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans. All together they released their first album in 1975 called “High Voltage.” However, due to later disagreements with Angus Young, Evans left the band and was replaced by Cliff Williams in May 1977, according to rock95.com.
AC/DC eventually released their first major breakthrough in 1979 with their song titled “Highway to Hell,” but this joy soon came to an end in February of 1980 when Scott died from acute alcohol poisoning. Despite this, the band continued and in April of 1980, Brian Johnson was introduced as their new lead singer. The first album featuring Johnson was “Back in Black,” which came out in 1980 and was dedicated to Scott. It also went on to become the second best selling album globally at the time, according to rock95.com.
After the success of the band’s 1981 album “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You),” Rudd departed in 1983 and was replaced by Simon Wright. Malcolm Young also had a brief absence from the band to deal with alcohol issues and had his nephew Stevie Young fill in for him, according to rock95.com.
Eventually the band was able to stabilize their lineup in 1994 when Rudd returned. The lineup consisted of Malcolm and Angus Young, Rudd, Johnson and Williams. However, in 2014, due to early onset dementia, Malcolm Young retired from the band, at which point his nephew Stevie Young filled his position but this time for the foreseeable future, according to rock95.com.
There were many member changes after their “Rock or Bust” tour, which included Rudd being replaced by Chris Slade for legal reasons, and in 2016, Johnson left the tour due to increased hearing loss. Guns n’ Roses frontman Axl Rose stepped in to complete what remained of the tour, and at the end of that tour their bassist Williams also retired saying that the band had changed after Malcolm, Rudd and Johnson departed, according to rock95.com.
In 2017, Malcolm Young passed away as a result of his dementia, but despite this setback, AC/DC ended their leave and reunited to release their Power Up album, which was dedicated to Malcolm and featured the return of the “Rock or Bust” lineup of Angus, Stevie, Rudd, Williams and Johnson. The band continued performing, appearing at the Power Trip festival, and announced the European leg of their Power Up tour in early 2024, according to rock95.com.
The band has announced the North American part of their Power Up tour, where they will visit The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 8 as one of their locations. The average ticket price is $275, according to explorestlouis.com.
