When did AC/DC become so huge?

For a long time you'd go see AC/DC and the people there would be basically the same crowd you saw at any hard rock show. Then at some point it was like everybody was there. Around Stiff Upper Lip, I remember looking around and thinking, 'these people are at an AC/DC show?' So it was like they became more of a general audience thing where you'd see all types of people...much like a Rolling Stones show for example.

That's what I meant before about next level. Probably still not explaining it well but there you go.

 

You’re absolutely right. Thunderstruck/Razor’s Edge made them a household name all over again and then their logo itself because iconic all over again once the whole RnR lifestyle thing became mall fodder. Everything after that was gravy

 

I saw that show at the Centrum in Worcester as well. Same thing happened at my school in MA

 

They formed in 1973 they had been going for 7 years before Back In Black. You may think that they suddenly burst onto the international satge but when I first saw them Angus was still a schoolboy. They were huge well & truly before they landed in England. One of the biggest bands in Australia at the time. Household names.
Back In Black is the largest selling rock album in history but AC/DC were huge before they became mega huge. It wasn't their fault it took the rest of the world 7 years to catch on.

 

If you're trying to make me jealous, it's working.

AC/DC was opening for Cheap Trick and also for the Dictators on the Highway To Hell tour in the States and playing the clubs while not opening for other bands. Not exactly huge.

 

Big: Highway to Hell
Huge: Back in Black

 

Back in Black was the turning point but it wasn't until the followup For Those About to Rock that they completed the transition from theaters and small arenas to strictly arenas and stadiums. Go back and look at the BiB dates and you see they were still playing small places like the Orpheum in Boston. The For Those About to Rock tour was MEGA.

 

The spirit of AC/DC is just so addictive for a young male. AC/DC has this spell that they cast over teenage boys that cannot be underestimated. I saw their popularity come in waves at least 3 different times while I was growing up.
I remember AC/DC being big in America even before Back in Black. When Back in Black hit, they were probably the biggest band in America for a few years. They just sold millions of records here. For those about to rock was a huge seller. Then they caught a second wind in America with Who Made Who in 86. That was about as close as they could get at making a greatest hits album without actually making one. Who made who sold in the millions and that record introduced the band to a new group of young people in America.
They did again in 1990 with the Razor's edge. Thunderstruck was everywhere that year as it was a great rock song. They have just been luck with a few major popularity comebacks in their history.

 

Totally agree here; even the Stiff Upper Lip album rocked my group of friends in 2000 (we were 20 and were so pumped for a new AC/DC album and tour-- saw the tour twice; amazing).

 

You are just not getting it. AC/DC were huge in Australia before they went to England. They had big hit albums in Australia. They were then & probably still are the most popular band in Australia.
They were household names, they were all over the radio, all over TV. Black AC/DC T-Shirts were almost a national dress standard, The only other artists that have come as close in popularity was Abba
The rest of the world took a long time to catch up, but hey at least you finally caught on. There are quite a number of great Australian bands that you have let slip by.

 

I think most of us in Australia first saw them on the ABC countdown tv show doing baby please dont go and being knocked out by Angus guitar solo... here's the clip and Angus' solo is about 2 min 13 in
from there it was high voltage, it's a long way to the top ,TNT , dirty deeds and Jailbreak.. which was played as a video for about 8 weeks before its release complete with explosions and gunfire as seen here AC/DC - Jailbreak (Official Video) HD and like the posts before, the rest of the world caught on later...but in Australia they were virtually an instant hit when Bon joined as vocalist...Jailbreak was on the australian lp of dirty deeds making it a killer album from start to finish....the usa back catalogue releases were all mixed up track wise....Back in Black was their eighth lp release

 

I always knew AC/DC was highly successful in the U.S. from 1980 on, but until fairly recently, I had no idea "Back in Black" had become so vastly bestselling an album: over 40 million copies sold worldwide, second only to "Thriller". Daaa-yuuum.

 

You're not getting it. There is more to the world than Australia. The topic creator lives in North Carolina. They didn't get big in the States until Back In Black.

And before you get off your high horse, there are a TON of fantastically great Australian bands that Australia has let slip by. Mustang, Lime Spiders, Celibate Rifles, Brother Brick, Persian Rugs, Challenger 7, Yes Men, Onyas, Bored, the Monarchs, Lipstick Killers, the Victims, Scientists, etc...

 

Couldn't have said it better myself, but same here!

 

Bon had heard a handful of the new songs that ended up on BIB but he didn't get the chance to share any of his ideas with the Young brothers. Bon's notebooks and other personal effects were returned to his parents immediately after his death and were not read by anyone.

There were a couple of titles and lines that the band held over from the writing process before Brian joined, but to say any of the songs on BIB were Bon's is simply not true.

Classic Rock magazine has interviews with the band outlining all of this.

 

Some people just believe what they want to believe or refuse to accept the known facts. There's always someone out there that thinks there's 'more' to the story or a cover up. In today's times, it's hard not to be cynical and suspicious, but sometimes things are what they are and nothing more than that.

 

And isn't it ironic that the biggest selling rock album in history in the USA is an Australian band.

Thats a nice list of Aussie artists there but hardly mainstream & doubtful that more than a handful of people in the US have heard of them.
For more good similar stuff check out Items in off the hip records store on eBay!

 

While I can appreciate the fanboy, facts suggest something different.
From what Ive read, ACDC didnt have a Top 10 album in Australia until HtH.
In fact, after High Voltage/Dirty Deeds the next couple albums sold less, with only the live album breaking that string.

While its great ACDC were an instant hit in Oz, the fact is in the rest of the world, they spent a good 4,5 years opening for other bands and slowly building their own audience. They worked hard and earned their worldwide success.

Question Ive alway wondered is if BiB would have sold as well if Bon had survived to make it.
Yes or No, for sure the album would have been different.

 

Incorrect. It was a minor rumbling that been around for 10 or 15 yrs. But the Tipper Gore/PMRC thing - which put it in the public eye - didn’t happen until 1985.

Regardless, it had virtually nothing to do with AC/DC’s success and radio play.

 

Didnt hear much ACDC on the radio in the States until HtH.
And then it was on album oriented FM stations, and certainly nothing in the mainstream, nor television.

With BiB, that album was all over the radio, and radio stations started playing a lot of the back catalog, TNT, Rosie, Let There Be Rock, DD, High Voltage, A Long Way To The Top. Add this all into the band suddenly being on MTV every hour on the hour, and it doesnt surprise me that BiB sold a zillion copies.

Probably didnt hurt that they caught that consumer sweet spot between when albums were still king, cassette sales rising (thats how I bought my first 3 ACDC albums), and cds just being on the horizon.

 

Pink Floyd got pretty big airplay with an album called The Wall...among others.

 

Back in Black made them humongous, no doubt, but the Bon catalog as a whole is far superior IMO.

 

Around the time they upgraded to BJ on vocals

 

High Voltage around here put them in heavy LP rock rotation. Soon after that, maybe right when Bon died a couple songs from Dirty Deeds were starting to get airplay. Next up was BiB.

 

Timeless music. Classic rock stations base their song choices on listening surveys/panels, and AC/DC obviously scores well. Also, their future looks bright. My 12 and 9 year old sons think AC/DC are top notch.