Songs such as “Highway to Hell “, “ Back in Black “, “ TNT “ are legendary songs of a mythical hard rock band : AC/DC. Lead guitarist Angus Young and his brother Malcom formed the band in November 1973. They are regarded as the first Australian rock band to have had success both in America and United Kingdom. The Young brothers were born in Scotland and moved to Sydney in 1963. While some fans argue that AC/DC plays hard rock, blues rock or metal music, the members of the group have always said that their music is “simply Rock’n’Roll”. The name of the band means "alternating current/direct current" which is a reference to electricity and the name is a symbol for the energy of the band, especially their very dynamic live performances. Even though AC/DC as a band experienced different lineups through the years, the Young brothers have always been in.
Even when the lead singer, Bon Scott, died in February 1980 due to heavy drinking, they considered disbanding but eventually kept producing music for the sake of Rock’n’Roll and as a tribute to Bon Scott. Auditions were organised to find a new singer and eventually Brian Johnson was selected.
Two major songs of the group are worth mentioning: “Highway to Hell” (1979) and “Back in Black” (1980). In 1979, their sixth album was released, which included “Highway to Hell”. It is their first album to enter the top 100 in the US and after the release of this song the band became known as one of the best hard rock bands.
After the death of Bon Scott the group released its seventh and best album in 1980 “Back in Black”.It is the second largest-selling album in the world (50 million copies) after Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. The album is a tribute to Bon Scott in multiple ways: the cover is simply black with the group’s name and the title in white letters (instead of the usual coloured and fussy covers) and the lyrics of "Back in Black" pay tribute to the former singer, implying he will live forever through his music (e.g."Forget the hearse 'cause I never die", “Yes, I'm back, Well, I'm back, back”).
In total, the group has gone on twenty tours. Their first one, Australian Clubs, took place in Australia in 1974-1975 and their first time performing abroad was in 1976 with their fourth tour, Lock Up Your Daughters Tour. Their twenty-first tour, Rock Or Bust World Tour, planned for this year (2015), will begin on 10 April in California, USA. For this international tour, they will go on stage forty-three times and travel across eighteen different countries, including Belgium on 6 of July in Dessel.
AC/DC has won several awards and was honoured a lot of times, for example in several films like Iron Man or Percy Jackson.
The group was nominated twenty-four times in their whole career and has
won twelve awards, which is one of the best rates in the musical world.
The best award they have ever received was certainly the one for the
“Best Hard Rock Performance” in 2010, given by the Grammy Awards.
To conclude, AC/DC is considered as an Anglophone icon because they are pioneers of hard rock, they come from English-speaking countries and they have influenced lots of famous bands like Guns 'n' roses and Megadeath. The most important point is the fact that their album "Back in Black", being the second largest-selling album in the world, has had a huge succes, bringing them fame all over the world.
To conclude, AC/DC is considered as an Anglophone icon because they are pioneers of hard rock, they come from English-speaking countries and they have influenced lots of famous bands like Guns 'n' roses and Megadeath. The most important point is the fact that their album "Back in Black", being the second largest-selling album in the world, has had a huge succes, bringing them fame all over the world.
Lionel Dehart, Robin Despeghel and Valentin Luz
Sources:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hWybVnSJ3o
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRQnJyP77tY
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_to_Hell#/media/File:Acdc_Highway_to_Hell.JPG
- http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/ac+dc/back+in+black_20003193.html
- http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/ac+dc/highway+to+hell_20003337.html
- http://coverlib.com/Download/1933937/ACDC-Bonfire_CD_4_Back_In_Black_Australia-Front.JPG
- http://www.hellsbellsrocks.com/Portals/9/LiveContent/741/Images/HBBAND2012-1.jpg
- http://wikipedia.org/wiki/AC/DC
- http://www.songfacts.com
- http://www.highwaytoacdc.com/index.php?zone=paroles/index&song_lyrics=65
- http://www.acdc.com/us/theband
- http://www.allmusic.com/album/back-in-black-mw0000188862
- http://www.rocknheavy.net/?page=groupe&groupe=acdc
- “guitar world” volume 36, January 2015
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