Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

ACDC good or crap?

Oh AC/DC, can't believe they're still going - brings back a lot of daft memories for me. When I was about 12 or 13 early 80's Bon Scott was my absolute hero, I used to wear these ridiculous flares 'cause Bon wore 'em, you could hear me coming a mile off from the swoosh of my trousers. I also tried to pierce my own ear with a needle and an ice cube 'cause Bon had his ear pierced! The needle got stuck in my ear and I had to get my mum to pull it out. She gave me a clip round the other ear for being an eejit! Anyway, she eventually bought me an AC/DC tshirt and I used to live in it. My first ever record was High Voltage, had to save up ages £1.50 to buy it, but didn't actually get a record player for another year. Kids today don't know they're born etc etc.
 
I think AC/DC have infiltrated society via sports and the Iron Man films. When I first started seeing them it was denim and leather and long hair among the fans, now it seems they appeal to almost everyone and people go nuts for those songs that are in the movies and soundtrack big sporting events. Thunderstruck seems to be the song that's broken through, with You shook Me All Night Long being a close second. I never found an AC/DC gig laddish, but it was mostly men and boys listening to saucy songs, whereas the last couple of times I've seen them it has been a huge cross section of society; they're also huge in every country so I was chatting to people from all over the world yesterday.
 
Back in the early 80s, owned two "metal" albums. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (still very fond of) and AC/DC - For Those About to Rock. Fellow schoolmates who were into the genre were quite homophobic. But within a year or so, I'd began to include the likes of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Soft Cell and Bronski Beat into my listening collection.

It wasn't a conscious reaction to the immature bigotry, more of a divergence or expansion of personal taste.

Did kind of quietly laugh at some of the hard lads swooning over yet man in the school blazer and shorts combo, though...
 
hash tag said:
I've developed a new appreciation for them. Good, honest rock n roll, very few frills. Inoffensive songs that are not about love or relationships or politics. They worked/rocked hard. What's not to like.
Click to expand...

This was about as political as they got....

"Well you can stick your nine to five livin'
And your collar and your tie
You can stick your moral standards
'Cause it's all a dirty lie
You can stick your golden handshake
And you can stick your silly rules
And all the other shit
That you teach to kids in school
('Cause I ain't no fool)"
 
They were great weren't they. Back in the day. 80s, early 90s. Had the records, and t-shirts. ACDC were the bomb.

Wouldn't bother with them now, like most acts who I loved as a teenager. I don't really get the same feels watching them as old men playing to a crowd of middle aged old rockers. Nah. Same goes to Guns N Roses, Metallica, etc. Fair enough if you want to spunk 90 odd quid (plus extras) on a stadium show in 2024, but it's not for me.
 
I'm not exactly a convert. Metal was the one music I just universally loathed as a kid in the 80s (until the thrash bands came along and stripped out the pomposity and brought in some wider influences). With some honourable exceptions, the fans seemed to be overwhelmingly male, narrow-minded and a bit pathetic. It was only later that I came to realise that AC/DC aren't really a metal band, more a kind of hard rocking blues outfit. Still don't own any of their records and wouldn't bother going to see them, but I can dig the riffage now.
 
Last edited:
skyscraper101 said:
They were great weren't they. Back in the day. 80s, early 90s. Had the records, and t-shirts. ACDC were the bomb.

Wouldn't bother with them now, like most acts who I loved as a teenager. I don't really get the same feels watching them as old men playing to a crowd of middle aged old rockers. Nah. Same goes to Guns N Roses, Metallica, etc. Fair enough if you want to spunk 90 odd quid (plus extras) on a stadium show in 2024, but it's not for me.
Click to expand...
One of the bands this old man did not see at their peak and doing a little catching up ie bands perhaps I should have seen years ago but missed.
PS I have never been one for merch and it's so overwhelming these days. Back in the day you could by a tee shirt and that was it. These days the choice for the tour is off the scale. I did not see any bootleggers after last night's gig. Conversely there were quite a few outside the Foos gig at the London Stadium 2 weeks ago.
It's quite sad that some of these bands will never gig or tour this country again, but that's life I guess.
 
hash tag said:
One of the bands this old man did not see at their peak and doing a little catching up ie bands perhaps I should have seen years ago but missed.
PS I have never been one for merch and it's so overwhelming these days. Back in the day you could by a tee shirt and that was it. These days the choice for the tour is off the scale. I did not see any bootleggers after last night's gig. Conversely there were quite a few outside the Foos gig at the London Stadium 2 weeks ago.
It's quite sad that some of these bands will never gig or tour this country again, but that's life I guess.
Click to expand...

It's all good. I'm glad people are still having a good time and they're still packing them in. Don't let my lack of enthusiasm have any bearing :)

Tour merch must be even more important these days given the cost of putting on shows, and changes in physical/streaming income.
 
ska invita said:
Have ACDC always been so big that they could play a couple of nights at Wembley stadium?

eta: just read that Back In Black sold 50 million copies!! (fourth best-selling album of all time in the US) That's amazing. I had no idea they were so successful! I thought they were English too
Click to expand...
Technically they are Scottish, but we gave them to the Australians and they claimed them as their own. The drummer is the only one of the band that was born in Australia
 
There were some bootleggers on the walk to Wembley North but only after you got well away from the stadium. I got a standard tour T for £20. £45 in the stadium, lol no thank you.
 
hash tag said:
Johnson is and was a member of Geordie.
Click to expand...
And the three Youngs were/are Scottish.

Plus as you you say, Beano is a Geordie. And Bon Scott was born in Scotland too.

( Its a trivial argument that I have with fellow rock people that ACDC are actually Scottish).

Note that I didn't say friends. There's a reason for that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

magneze
Selling music gear on Reverb, any experiences? Good, bad or ugly
Replies
10
Views
311
pesh
pesh
N
House/techno that sounds like Todd Sines or Baby Ford
Replies
12
Views
146
Fez909
Fez909
Aladdin
A thread for music that is religious or spiritual
2
Replies
41
Views
763
zahir
Z
Wolveryeti
Songs where you have to endure the shit bit to get to the good bit.
2
Replies
36
Views
906
Wolveryeti
Wolveryeti
C
  • Poll
DV: crap or not crap?
Replies
1
Views
193
klang
klang
Back
Top Bottom