The Untold Truth Of AC/DC

AC/DC has been filling stadiums, getting fans to pump their fists, and making some of the best headbanging music since the 1970s. The band has come a long way, from their early days in Australia to their international tours and record-breaking album sales. Currently, AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 50 million of Back in Black, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time, just behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. They broke the rules of the genre by teaching fans you can still be rock 'n' roll while wearing a schoolboy outfit and have been an inspiration to many famous rock bands. AC/DC would eventually become a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and would keep rocking, well into their older age.

While the band has had many highlights over the years, they've also had their fair share of problems to overcome. From never-ending lineup changes to brawls with fans and other bands, AC/DC has had to power through and evolve bigger and stronger each time. They've also had to deal with the deaths of their core members, such as lead singer Bon Scott, and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young. Very few bands have had such electrifying success, gone down such dark paths, and remained together for such a long span of time. And it all started with two brothers: Malcolm and Angus Young.

AC/DC's lead guitarist, Angus Young, developed a style of his own by wearing a schoolboy uniform and dancing around on stage with his Gibson SG. Angus would try a series of outfits — from a gorilla to a Zorro-like mask and cape — before his brother Malcolm would have him wear the schoolboy outfit during a show, as per Louder. Angus would keep the schoolboy look but would have to dodge flying beer bottles while breaking in his new threads. "All you can do is play – and pray," Angus told Guitar World. "You put your head down and hope a bottle doesn't come your way. That became part of my stage act. I learnt to duck and keep moving." Angus would combine his on-the-move shuffle, dodging bottles, and would pay homage to legendary rock 'n' roll guitarist Chuck Berry, doing a faster version, called the duckwalk, as per The Guardian.

Angus still suffers from stage fright to this day. However, it would be his schoolboy uniform that would go from making him a target on stage to calming him down before a show. "Sometimes it is frightening," Angus said. "But you've got to psych yourself up a bit, give yourself a good kick up the a**. Usually, once I've got the uniform on, I'm okay. I'm on edge, nervous, but I'm not in a panic."

According to Malcolm Young, as per Blabbermouth, in the late 70s, the bassist of Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, pulled a knife on him at a hotel after a show. Malcolm went on to say, "Geezer was in the bar, crying in his bear, '10 years I've been in this band, 10 years — wait till you guys have been around 10 years, you'll feel like us.' I said 'I don't think so.' I was giving him no sympathy. He'd had many too many [drinks] and he pulled out this silly flick knife." Malcolm said that Ozzy Osbourne ran in and broke up the fight.

Butler has a slightly different version of the events that night and says he never actually pulled a knife on Malcolm; flicking knives was a casual activity he'd learned and just happened to be arguing with Malcolm at the time his knife was out. According to Rhino, Butler would say: "I always had flick-knives when I was growing up, because everybody used to go around stabbing each other in Aston. ... I was really excited to get one again. I was having a drink, flicking my knife, when Malcolm Young came up to me and started slagging Sabbath. And he came over and said, 'You must think you're big, having a flick-knife.' I said, 'What are you talking about?' And that's it. Nobody got hurt."

After Bon Scott passed away, AC/DC was faced with a hard decision: Should they continue or end the band? Months later, AC/DC would push forward, and after a strange set of circumstances, Brian Johnson would end up becoming their new singer. According to an interview with the New York Post, Johnson said Bon Scott first saw him perform while suffering from appendicitis. "I went down on my side, kicking and going, 'Ooh!'" said Johnson. "But I kept on singing. Apparently, [Bon later] told the boys, 'I saw this guy Brian Johnson sing, and he was great. He was on the floor, kicking and screaming — what an act!' Of course, it wasn't an act. I was really ill."

Angus and Malcolm remembered the story Scott told them and added Johnson to a list of possible singers. After a great audition, Johnson would get the gig and the band would continue working on their album, Back in Black. Once hired, Johnson would be asked to write lyrics to a riff the band was working on, saying: "They had a very basic riff, and said, 'We were thinking of calling it, Shook Me All Night Long.' I sat down that night with this blank piece of paper and within about 15 minutes, I had this song written." Back in Black would become the band's best-selling album and one of the world's best-selling albums ever, right behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. Finally, AC/DC would tribute the album to their fallen friend and bandmate, Bon Scott.

In 2014, Malcolm Young announced that he'd been diagnosed with dementia and would be leaving the band for good to take care of himself, as per USA Today. Filling in for Malcolm would be none other than his nephew, Stevie Young. Stevie subbed in for Malcolm in 1988 while on tour and he fit seamlessly into the band in 2014, Rolling Stone reported. "Stevie has done a great job because he grew up playing that style of the music, the same as Mal," Angus told Rolling Stone. In an interview with USA Today, Bassist Cliff Williams also spoke well of Stevie, saying: "He plays just like Malcolm, which is unique. There are not many players like that. He has the same personality as well."

Only three years later, Malcolm Young would pass away, just three weeks after the death of the Youngs' older brother, producer, and mentor, George Young. "My brother George was a very big part of AC/DC, especially in our early years," Angus told Rolling Stone. "George and Malcolm were always the two guys I relied on. It didn't matter if we were in a studio or wherever, I always asked for their advice on whatever I was doing."

Between 2015 and 2016, Brian Johnson began noticing issues with his hearing. "I couldn't hear the tone of the guitars at all," Johnson told Rolling Stone. "It was a horrible kind of deafness. I was literally getting by on muscle memory and mouth shapes. I was starting to really feel bad about the performances in front of the boys, in front of the audience. It was crippling. There's nothing worse than standing there and not being sure." AC/DC tried to continue with Johnson who did the best he could, but eventually, his doctors warned him that he could go deaf.

Johnson would be forced to leave and the band would again find itself in search of a new singer. In 2019, in an interview with Dan Rather, Johnson would explain what it was like having to leave the band, as per Rolling Stone. "It's like being shot on the battlefield; it's just your turn," he said. "I'll be quite honest with you, I went in my office and buried my head in a bottle of whiskey, good whiskey."

AC/DC would go on to record Power Up between 2018 and 2019. The recording process was very close to all the members of AC/DC, especially Angus. "This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother," Angus told Rolling Stone. "It's a tribute for him like Back in Black was a tribute to Bon Scott." Power Up would be the first album the band would work on without Malcolm, however, during the recording process, the iconic guitarist's presence would be felt by all members.

"Malcolm was always there," Johnson told Rolling Stone. "As Angus would say, the band was his idea. Everything in it ran through him. He was always there in your minds or just your thoughts. I still see him in my own way. I still think about him. And then in the studio when we're doing it, you have to be careful when you look around because he seems to be there."

Power Up was produced by Brendan O'Brien, who worked on AC/DC's two previous albums and will be released in November 2020. Due to COVID-19, the band had to stop their plans of touring, but whenever the pandemic clears up, they hope to return.