History Music / ACDC

In 2010, their twenty-month Black Ice World Tour ended and officially became the third-highest grossing tour in music history.

In March 2016 singer Brian Johnson was [[http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/acdc-frontman-brian-johnson-ordered-to-stop-touring-immediately-or-risk-total-hearing-loss/ ordered]] by doctors to stop touring immediately or risk permanently losing his hearing. Ten scheduled U.S. dates on their 2016 tour were subsequently postponed as a result, with the band promising to reschedule them with a guest vocalist. In April 2016, Axl Rose of Music/GunsNRoses was [[http://time.com/4297027/axl-rose-acdc-world-tour/ announced]] to be the guest vocalist joining the band to finish out the tour. Initial fan reaction was mostly negative to say the least, but the band finished out the tour and the concerts received critical acclaim. Long term bassist Cliff Williams retired at the end of the 2016 "Rock or Bust" tour - this left Angus as the sole surviving founding member who was still with the band. As the band had now lost four long-time members in quick succession, the band's long-term future was in doubt with many commentators suggesting it was time for the band to call it a day and go out on a high note.

However, it was reported that the band had [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether reunited with Johnson, Rudd, and Williams]] to work on material written and demo'd by the Young brothers in the early 2000s, including working around guitar tracks recorded by Malcolm Young prior to his leaving the group. This was eventually confirmed in October 2020 with the announcement of the album ''Power Up.''

* Colin Burgess - drums (1973–74, 1975)

* BandOfRelatives: Angus and Malcolm Young are brothers. Their brother George Young was bassist in 1974 and served as producer on many of their records, and mutual nephew of all three Stevie Young filled in for Malcolm in 1988, and permanently replaced him as an official member in 2014.

* DwindlingParty: Malcolm couldn't record ''Rock or Bust''. Phil couldn't tour for it. Then Brian had to sit the final concerts out. And all the departures made Cliff decide to leave once it was done. Thankfully, [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether all the above mentioned regrouped in 2020]] (except, sadly, Malcolm, who died in 2017).

* TheTeetotaler: In stark contrast to the hard drinking Bon Scott and his older brother Malcolm, Angus Young has been sober his whole life. Apparently the heaviest thing he'll drink is coffee, and he's also quite partial to a glass of chocolate milk.
* UnusualEuphemism: In an interview Angus described Bon Scott as a "crayfisherman" because he [[KavorkaMan "caught crabs for a living."]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: 1990's "The Razor's Edge" is the closest the band ever came to straight heavy metal. The song is in a minor key, features an Angus solo that briefly meanders into "noise rock" territory, and is propelled by a almost militaristic drumbeat.

** Bon Scott in particular was something of a genius at them, but let the record show that Brian Johnson wrote probably greatest double entendre ever (from "Let Me Put My Love Into You"):

* EpicRocking: "Let There Be Rock," in every sense of "epic." Live performances of that (and a few others such as "Jailbreak") can reach over 10 minutes! Other 6 minute tracks like that include "Overdose" and "Night Prowler." Furthermore, somehow they still managed to combine it with a [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth stripped-back, no-frills style]].

* TitleOnlyChorus: At least half of their songs. This is particularly prominent in recent albums, when Angus and Malcolm Young write all of the lyrics.

* GreatBallsOfFire: Their live shows are ''huge''. Just for starters, life-sized cannons which fire during "For Those About to Rock", and a bell from which Brian hangs during "Hells Bells".

* PopStarComposer: The soundtrack to Creator/StephenKing's lone directorial effort, ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'', was comprised entirely of AC/DC songs old and new, with a little bit of instrumental incidental music.

* LesserStar: Cliff and Phil just provide a really basic rhythm section (Cliff stated he's satisfied with it, while Phil [[TheQuietOne doesn't talk very much]]).

Drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 and replaced by Simon Wright who, after that, was replaced by Chris Slade, who was in his turn asked to leave so Phil Rudd could return as drummer in 1994. In 2014, Malcolm Young was forced to retire due to serious health issues (early-onset dementia), and was replaced by his nephew Stevie Young, who previously temporarily filled in for Malcolm in 1988 when Malcolm was dealing with his alcoholism. (Malcolm passed away on November 18th, 2017.) In April 2015, Rudd got into serious legal issues, including various drug charges and threatening to kill his assistant, and was subsequently replaced -- this time directly -- by Chris Slade.

However, it was reported that the band had [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether reunited with Johnson, Rudd, and Williams]] to work on material written and demo'd by the Young brothers in the early 2000's, including working around guitar tracks recorded by Malcolm Young prior to his leaving the group. This was eventually confirmed in October 2020 with the announcement of the album ''Power Up.''

** Every single line in "Big Balls" is a double entendre. While it may sound dirty, the lyrics taken at face value are about ballroom dancing.

* CoolOldGuy: All of them! Bon was especially, since he was roughly ten years older than everyone else in the band.

The word "AC/DC" was originally seen by the sister of guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, Margaret Young, [[LineOfSightName on her sewing machine]] of all things, and it’s an abbreviation for "alternating current/direct current," meaning the appliance can use either type of electrical current for power rather than just one or the other.[[note]]Wall sockets in people's homes provide AC, but most household appliances and electronics require DC, which is why that blocky AC adapter in the power cord is necessary.[[/note]] She thought it made for a good band name and suggested it to her brothers, who agreed and used it henceforth. (The band didn't learn that it was a euphemism for bisexuality until much later in their careers, much to their amusement.) The center of the band, at the beginning, was brothers Angus Young and Malcolm Young (on lead and rhythm guitar, respectively), with vocalist Dale Evans, bassist Larry Van Kriedt and drummer Colin Burgess. As the band quickly moved away from their glam beginnings, the lineup shifted numerous times. Over the years, Angus Young - one of the most iconic guitar players in rock, with his famous schoolboy outfit and duck-walk - has been the most consistent member of the band, followed closely by his brother Malcolm until he left the band in 2014 for health reasons.

** "Big Balls". This one is chock full of DE goodness. If you can even call it "double".

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, this example was removed. Please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Brian Johnson replacing Bon Scott. Even allmusic.com said something like "The casual listener could easily have thought that Johnson ''was'' Scott." Johnson himself has said that his normal singing voice was nothing like that before AC/DC; he deliberately emulated Scott's style.[[note]]See for yourself: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUPXFndzRgM Johnson as lead singer of the band Geordie]] in TheSeventies.[[/note]] And while he was still part of the band, Bon Scott said if anyone could ever replace him, it would have to be Johnson.
** Also, Stevie Young replacing Malcolm Young in 2014.

* RefugeInAudacity: The fact that ''Music/BackInBlack'', the first album they recorded after Bon Scott's death, features songs about drinking to excess ("Have a Drink on Me"), partying and overall fighting death ("Back in Black") and going to Hell ("Hells Bells"). All were homages to Scott, of course, given he would write in that vein.

* IconicLogo: The AC and DC separated by a lightning bolt in the middle, all in a gothic typeface.

** "T.N.T." features the line "I'm dirty, I'm mean, I'm mighty unclean", a reference to advertising icon [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_the_Fly Louie The Fly]].

** Also, Brian Johnson's [[NiceHat cap]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: Music/{{Airbourne}} are seen by many as this, being a four piece Australian rock band doing a very similar style of music.

** "High Voltage" wasn't on the album with that name.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: "Love Song" is an actual love song, with jangly guitars and all, and "Ride On" is the closest thing to a ballad AC/DC has. These two also count as a bit of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as they are both part of AC/DC's earlier material (the former is from the Australian edition of ''High Voltage''[[note]]excluded from the 1976 international release[[/note]], and the latter from ''Dirty Deeds...'').
** Many albums have one or two songs that are far slower and more bluesy then the rest of the album, such as "Stormy May Day" and "Rock 'n' Roll Dream" on ''Black Ice''.
** In the documentary ''Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll'', Angus Young recalls that, for some reason, the band decided to play the theme from ''Film/ZorbaTheGreek'' at one show.
** "Can I Sit Next To You, Girl" and "Rockin' In The Parlour" - the only songs they recorded with Dave Evans that was officially released, are straight up glam rock.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Usually around 5 or 6. Some of their songs go down to 4, while a few other songs get as high as 7.

* YouMakeMeSic: Officially, "Hells Bells" and "The Razors Edge" have no apostrophes, "Can I Sit Next to You Girl" has no punctation at all (although the original Dave Evans release had a comma after "You" which was removed from subsequent releases), and all songs with "'n" in the title use a lowercase "n" and apostrophes both before and after the "n".

%% * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* AscendedFanboy: Despite his own international rockstar status, here on AC/DC, Axl Rose is this. Brian Johnson qualifies as well, since prior to joining the band, his band Geordie would cover an AC/DC song or two live, and he's on record saying he was a fan before they asked him to become their new vocalist.

* EverythingIsAnInstrument: While only four songs have instruments other than guitars, bass and drums, three are "regular" ones ("It's a Long Way To The Top"'s bagpipes, bells in both "Hells Bells" and "Mistress For Christmas")... and "For Those About To Rock" features ''[[UpToEleven cannons]]''.

"AC/DC" was [[LineOfSightName originally seen by the sister of guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, Margaret Young, on her sewing machine]] of all things, and it’s an abbreviation for "alternating current/direct current," meaning the appliance can use either type of electrical current for power rather than just one or the other.[[note]]Wall sockets in people's homes provide AC, but most household appliances and electronics require DC, which is why that blocky AC adapter in the power cord is necessary.[[/note]] She thought it made for a good band name and suggested it to her brothers, who agreed and used it henceforth. (The band didn't learn that it was a euphemism for bisexuality until much later in their careers, much to their amusement.) The center of the band, at the beginning, was brothers Angus Young and Malcolm Young (on lead and rhythm guitar, respectively), with vocalist Dale Evans, bassist Larry Van Kriedt and drummer Colin Burgess. As the band quickly moved away from their glam beginnings, the lineup shifted numerous times. Over the years, Angus Young - one of the most iconic guitar players in rock, with his famous schoolboy outfit and duck-walk - has been the most consistent member of the band, followed closely by his brother Malcolm until he left the band in 2014 for health reasons.