View source for AC/DC

{{short description|Australian rock band}}
{{About|the band}}
{{Good article}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = AC/DC
| image             = AC DC Black Ice Tour 2009 Buenos Aires 4 de Diciembre (4238680962).jpg
| landscape         = yes
| alt               = Five men perform on stage: rhythm guitarist glancing left, drummer behind his kit, bass guitarist turned to his right, lead guitarist in school boy costume and lead singer hunched over microphone turned to his left.
| caption           = AC/DC in [[Buenos Aires]] in 2009. From left to right: [[Malcolm Young]], [[Phil Rudd]], [[Cliff Williams]], [[Angus Young]] and [[Brian Johnson]]
| origin            = [[Sydney]], Australia
| genre             = <!--These genres are sourced under the genres section and have been agreed after several talk page discussions. Do not change without first obtaining consensus on the talk page.--> {{flatlist|
* [[Hard rock]]
* [[blues rock]]
* [[rock and roll]]
* [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]]
}}
| works             = {{flatlist|
* [[AC/DC discography|Discography]]
* [[List of songs recorded by AC/DC|songs]]
}}
| years_active      = 1973–present{{efn|Hiatus: 2016–2018}}
| label             = {{flatlist|
* [[Albert Productions|Albert]]
* [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
* [[Atco Records|ATCO]]
* [[East West Records|East West]]
* [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]
* [[Epic Records|Epic]]
* [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
}}
| spinoff_of        = [[Marcus Hook Roll Band]]
| current_members   = 
* [[Angus Young]]
* [[Phil Rudd]]
* [[Cliff Williams]]
* [[Brian Johnson]]
* [[Stevie Young]]
| past_members      = See [[list of AC/DC members]]
| website           = {{URL|acdc.com}}
}}

'''AC/DC''' are<!-- Don't change "are" to "is"; in Australian English band names are treated as noun plurals. --> an <!--Do not change per talk page consensus -->Australian<!--Do not change per talk page consensus --> rock band formed in [[Sydney]] in 1973. Their music has been variously described as [[hard rock]], [[blues rock]] and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], although the band calls it simply "[[rock and roll]]". They are cited as a formative influence on the [[new wave of British heavy metal]] bands. The band was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2003 and have sold over 200 million records worldwide, making them [[List of best-selling music artists |one of the best-selling artists of all time]].

AC/DC were founded by brothers [[Angus Young|Angus]] (lead guitar) and [[Malcolm Young]] (rhythm guitar), with [[Colin Burgess (musician)|Colin Burgess]] (drums), [[Larry Van Kriedt]] (bass guitar) and [[Dave Evans (singer)|Dave Evans]] (lead vocals). They underwent several line-up changes before releasing their debut [[Australasia]]n-only album, ''[[High Voltage (1975 album)|High Voltage]]'' (1975). Membership stabilised after the release of ''[[Let There Be Rock]]'' (1977), with the Young brothers, [[Phil Rudd]] on drums, [[Cliff Williams]] on bass guitar and [[Bon Scott]] on lead vocals. Seven&nbsp;months after the release of ''[[Highway to Hell]]'' (1979), Scott died of [[alcohol poisoning]] and English singer [[Brian Johnson]] was then recruited as their new frontman. Their first&nbsp;album with Johnson, ''[[Back in Black]]'' (1980), dedicated to Scott's memory, became the [[List of best-selling albums|second&nbsp;best-selling album of all time]]. Their eighth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[For Those About to Rock We Salute You|For Those About to Rock]]'' (1981), was their first&nbsp;album to reach number&nbsp;one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. Rudd was fired partway through the ''[[Flick of the Switch]]'' sessions in 1983 and was replaced by [[Simon Wright (musician)|Simon Wright]], who was replaced by [[Chris Slade]] six&nbsp;years later.

AC/DC experienced a commercial resurgence in the early 1990s with the release of album ''[[The Razors Edge (AC/DC album)|The Razors Edge]]'' (1990); it was their only record to feature Slade, as Rudd returned in 1994. Rudd has since recorded five more albums with the band, starting with ''[[Ballbreaker]]'' (1995). Their fifteenth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Black Ice (album)|Black Ice]]'', was the second&nbsp;highest-selling record of 2008 and their highest chart peak since ''For Those About to Rock'', eventually reaching number&nbsp;one worldwide. The band's line-up remained the same for 20&nbsp;years until 2014, when Malcolm retired due to early-onset [[dementia]], from which he died three&nbsp;years later; additionally, Rudd was charged with threatening to kill and possession of [[methamphetamine]] and [[cannabis]]. Angus and Malcolm's nephew, [[Stevie Young]], replaced Malcolm and debuted on the album ''[[Rock or Bust]]'' (2014). On the [[Rock or Bust World Tour|accompanying tour]], Slade filled in for Rudd. In 2016, [[Guns N' Roses]] singer [[Axl Rose]] replaced Johnson for the rest of the tour dates due to a risk of hearing loss. Williams retired at the end of the tour and the band entered a two-year hiatus. A reunion of the ''Rock or Bust'' line-up was announced in September 2020; the band's seventeenth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Power Up (album)|Power Up]]'', was released two months later. Its [[Power Up Tour|supporting tour]] was announced in February 2024, with drummer [[Matt Laug]] and bassist [[Chris Chaney]] replacing Rudd and Williams, though both remain official members.

==History==
===1973–1974: Formation and name===
AC/DC were formed in the Australian pop music scene of the early to mid-1970s,<ref name="Kimball">{{cite web |last1=Kimball |first1=Duncan |title=AC/DC |url=http://www.milesago.com/Artists/acdc.htm |publisher=Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117090857/http://www.milesago.com/Artists/acdc.htm |archive-date=17 January 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=7 May 2024}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> which is described as the [[Rock music in Australia#1970–1975: "Third wave"|third&nbsp;wave of rock music]].<ref name="Kimball 1">{{Cite web |last=Kimball |first=Duncan |title=An Overview |url=http://www.milesago.com/Overview.htm |publisher=Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419094612/http://www.milesago.com/Overview.htm |archive-date=19 April 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=7 May 2023}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Many local 1960s artists – e.g., [[the Easybeats]] and [[the Masters Apprentices]], had attempted to gain international recognition but achieved limited commercial success overseas and disbanded after returning to Australia.{{sfn|McFarlane|1999|loc=entry for [https://web.archive.org/web/20040420000351/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=310 the Easybeats]}}{{sfn|McFarlane|1999|loc=entry for [https://web.archive.org/web/20040618055742/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=469 the Masters Apprentices]}} Newer artists and veterans of the 1960s [[beat music|beat boom]] developed a variety of genres, which included a harder blues rock style dubbed [[Pub rock (Australia)|pub rock]].<ref name="Kimball 1" /> Popular Australian bands – e.g., [[Sherbet (band)|Sherbet]] and [[Skyhooks (band)|Skyhooks]], played mainstream pop or adopted a [[glam rock]] approach.{{sfn|McFarlane|1999|loc=entry for [https://web.archive.org/web/20040419053920/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=365 Sherbet]}}{{sfn|McFarlane|1999|loc=entry for [https://web.archive.org/web/20040419072143/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=375 Skyhooks]}}

{{Multiple image|total_width=300
 | image1 = Angus Young - Manchester Apollo - 1982.jpg
 | alt1 = This photo is in black and white. Angus, aged 27, is shown playing guitar with both hands. He is seen shirtless, with shorts, and the socks-shoes combo. Brian Johnson, aged 34, is shown behind Angus, with his hands and knees on the ground. He is seen wearing an Irish hat, a tank top, jeans and shoes. Both are shown in right profile.
 | image2 = 1982 Malcolm Young.jpg
 | alt2 = This photo is in black and white. Malcolm, aged 29, is shown in left profile, playing guitar with both hands. He has over shoulder-length hair, and is wearing a dark T-shirt, jeans and shoes.
 | footer = AC/DC's founding members [[Angus Young]] (''left'') and [[Malcolm Young]] (''right''); both performing in [[Manchester]] in 1982
}}

In November 1973, brothers [[Malcolm Young|Malcolm]] and [[Angus Young]] formed AC/DC in [[Sydney]] with drummer [[Colin Burgess (musician)|Colin Burgess]] from the Masters Apprentices, bass guitarist [[Larry Van Kriedt]] and vocalist [[Dave Evans (singer)|Dave Evans]].<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="McFarlane">
* 1st edition [online]: {{harvnb|McFarlane|1999|loc=entry for [https://web.archive.org/web/20040419092226/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=9 AC/DC]}}.
* 2nd edition [print]: {{harvnb|McFarlane|Jenkins|2017|loc=entry for AC/DC|pp=8–9}}.</ref> Earlier, Malcolm and Evans had been members of a band called Velvet Underground – not [[The Velvet Underground|the American group of the same name]] – based in [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] for two&nbsp;years,<ref name="Kimball" /> and Angus started his own band called Tantrum – he would only jam with his friends.<ref name="Nimmervoll">{{cite web |last1=Nimmervoll |first1=Ed |author-link1=Ed Nimmervoll |title=AC/DC |url=http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/acdc/acdc.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120726200808/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/14231/20120727-0512/www.howlspace.com.au/en/acdc/acdc.htm |archive-date=26 July 2012 |access-date=26 September 2023 |website=Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} '''n.b.''' Incorrectly spells "Currenti" as "Kerrante".</ref> The Young brothers had joined [[Marcus Hook Roll Band]], a [[Session musician#Studio band|studio-only band]], in 1973,<ref name="McFarlane 2017">{{cite web |last=McFarlane |first=Ian |author-link=Ian McFarlane |date=2017 |title=Marcus Hook Roll Band |url=https://www.thirdstonepress.com.au/archive-blog/2017/10/31/marcus-hook-roll-band |publisher=Third Stone Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301220358/https://www.thirdstonepress.com.au/archive-blog/2017/10/31/marcus-hook-roll-band |archive-date=1 March 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref> which provided their first&nbsp;recordings for their debut album, ''[[Tales of Old Grand-Daddy]]'' (1974),{{sfn|McFarlane|1999|loc=entry for [https://web.archive.org/web/20040803174936/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=607 Flash and the Pan]}} although the pair left before it was issued. Before formation, Malcolm teamed with ex-Velvet Underground bass guitarist Mick Sheffzick and Burgess for his proposed group. Van Kriedt took over from Sheffzick for bass guitar,{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=46}} then Evans responded to an ad in ''[[the Sydney Morning Herald]]'' and then Angus joined after passing an audition.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|pp=46, 50}}

[[File:Logo ACDC pwrup.svg|thumb|left|alt=AC/DC's logo is shown in orange lettering with the AC separated from DC by a stylised lightning bolt.|The band's logo was designed in 1977 by [[Gerard Huerta]]. It first appeared on the international version of ''[[Let There Be Rock]]''.]]
Upon formation, Malcolm and Angus developed the band's name after their sister Margaret pointed out the symbol "AC/DC" on the [[AC adapter]] of her sewing machine.<ref name="McFarlane" /> [[Electric current#Alternating and direct current|A.C./D.C.]] is an abbreviation for [[alternating current]]/[[direct current]] electricity. The brothers felt that this name symbolised the band's raw energy and the power-driven performances of their music.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=20}} It is pronounced one letter at a time, though the band are colloquially known as Acca Dacca in Australia.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="AwrS5">{{cite news |first=Patrick |last=Donovan |date=17 May 2004 |title=''Tracker'' to Acca Dacca |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/16/1084646066908.html |work=[[The Age]] |location=Melbourne, Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218143853/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/16/1084646066908.html |archive-date=18 December 2008 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 October 2008}}</ref> The AC/DC band name is stylised with a lightning bolt separating the AC from DC and has been used on all studio albums, except the international version of ''[[Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap]]''. Their logo was designed by American typographer [[Gerard Huerta]] in 1977 and first&nbsp;appeared on ''[[Let There Be Rock]]''. Adam Behr of ''The Bulletin<!-- not at dab page -->'' explained, "[its] type font conveyed the sense of electricity implicit in their name."<ref name="Behr">{{cite news |last1=Behr |first1=Adam |date=31 July 2020 |title=AC/DC's ''Back in Black'' at 40 – Establishing Rock Bands as Brands |website=The Bulletin |url=https://thebulletin.net.au/news/entertainment/5012-ac-dc-s-back-in-black-at-40-establishing-rock-bands-as-brands |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20221029124801/https://thebulletin.net.au/news/entertainment/5012-ac-dc-s-back-in-black-at-40-establishing-rock-bands-as-brands |archive-date=29 October 2022 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

AC/DC's first&nbsp;official gig was at Chequers nightclub in Sydney on 31 December 1973.<ref name="McFarlane" /> For about 18&nbsp;months, most members of the band dressed in some form of glam or satin outfit. Angus tried various costumes: [[Zorro]], a gorilla, and [[Superman]].<ref name="AutoJ4-1">{{Cite web |last=staff writers |date=3 June 2016 |title=A Short History of Angus Young's School Uniforms |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/a-history-of-angus-young-s-school-uniforms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711183831/https://www.loudersound.com/features/a-history-of-angus-young-s-school-uniforms |archive-date=11 July 2019 |access-date=18 September 2023 |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|LouderSound]]}}</ref><ref name="Countdown Zorro">{{cite web |date=2011 |title=Angus Young of AC/DC |url=http://www.countdown.com.au/gallery/photo/angus-young-of-acdc |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120324202908/http://www.countdown.com.au/gallery/photo/angus-young-of-acdc |archive-date=24 March 2012 |access-date=27 December 2023 |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC) |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} '''n.b.''' Click "6" to see Angus in the Superman costume and click "10" to see him in the Zorro costume.</ref> Their performances involved [[cover version]]s of [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Chuck Berry]], [[the Beatles]] and "smattering of old blues standards" while trialling some original songs.<ref name="McFarlane" /> Angus first&nbsp;wore his characteristic [[School uniforms by country#Australia|school-uniform]] stage outfit in April 1974 at [[Victoria Park, Sydney]]; the idea was Margaret's.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="AutoJ4-1" /> He portrayed a boy "straight from school to play his guitar."<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> On stage, Evans was occasionally replaced on lead vocals by their first&nbsp;[[Talent manager|manager]], Denis Loughlin from Sherbet.<ref name="Kimball" /> In [[Paul Stenning]]'s book ''AC/DC: Two Sides to Every Glory'', he states that Evans and Loughlin were clashing and as a consequence, other members developed bitter feelings towards Evans.{{sfn|Stenning|Johnstone|2005|pp=32–34}}

The group recorded a session in January 1974 at [[Studios 301|EMI Studios]] in Sydney, with [[Vanda & Young]] – [[George Young (rock musician)|George Young]] and [[Harry Vanda]] – as the producers; both were former members of the Easybeats and Marcus Hook Roll Band.<ref name="McFarlane" /><ref name="Holmgren">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031206234245/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/a/acdc.html |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/a/acdc.html |title=AC/DC |publisher=[[Australian Rock Database]] |last1=Holmgren |first1=Magnus |archive-date=6 December 2003 |url-status=usurped |access-date=25 September 2023}}</ref> George is Angus and Malcolm's older brother. Several songs were recorded, including "[[Can I Sit Next to You, Girl]]", "Rockin' in the Parlour" and an early version of "Rock 'n' Roll Singer".{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=21}} A week after the session, Burgess was fired due to intoxication; he was unconscious during a performance.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="Baker Obit for Burgess">{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |author-link=Glenn A. Baker |date=18 December 2023 |title=Original Drummer with AC/DC Lived Rock'n'roll Lifestyle |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/original-drummer-with-ac-dc-lived-rock-n-roll-lifestyle-20231218-p5es89.html |access-date=26 December 2023 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218053504/https://www.smh.com.au/national/original-drummer-with-ac-dc-lived-rock-n-roll-lifestyle-20231218-p5es89.html |archive-date=18 December 2023 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Subsequently, Van Kriedt was replaced;<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="Paul Matters death">{{Cite web |url=https://themusicnetwork.com/vale-paul-matters/ |title=Australian Bassist Paul Matters, an Early Member of AC/DC, Has Died |author=staff writer |website=The Music Network |date=19 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019231727/https://themusicnetwork.com/vale-paul-matters/ |archive-date=19 October 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=31 December 2023}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> his recorded bass lines for the January session were re-recorded by George.<ref name="Kimball" /> Their replacements, Neil Smith on bass guitar and Noel Taylor on drums, lasted six&nbsp;weeks, replaced in turn by [[Rob Bailey (musician)|Rob Bailey]] and [[Peter Clack]], respectively.<ref name="McFarlane" /><ref name="AutoJ4-2">{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-lineup-changes/ |title=AC/DC Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide |work=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |date=18 April 2016 |access-date=19 August 2023 |archive-date=4 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104009/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-lineup-changes/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The band signed with [[Albert Productions]] in June 1974.<ref name="Kimball" /> "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl", backed with "Rockin' in the Parlour", taken from the January session, was released on 22 July 1974 as the band's first&nbsp;single.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=60}} The song reached the top 50 on Australia's [[Kent Music Report]] singles chart.{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}}

The group had developed a strong live reputation by mid-1974, which resulted in a supporting slot on [[Lou Reed]]'s national tour in August.<ref name="McFarlane" /> During that tour, Malcolm switched to rhythm guitar, leaving Angus on lead guitar – the roles the two guitarists played from then on.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=62}} During 1974, on the recommendation of [[Michael Chugg]], veteran Melbourne promoter Michael Browning booked them to play at his club, the Hard Rock Cafe.{{sfn|Browning|2014|p=108}} He was not pleased with their glam rock image and felt that Evans was the wrong singer, but he was impressed by the Young brothers' guitar playing.{{sfn|Browning|2014|p=110}} Browning then received a call weeks after the Hard Rock gig from Malcolm: Loughlin had quit and they were stuck in [[Adelaide]] with no money.{{sfn|Browning|2014|pp=114–115}} They hired Browning as their manager in November 1974, with the cooperation of George and Harry Vanda.<ref name="Kimball" />{{sfn|Browning|2014|pp=115–120}} The Young brothers decided to abandon their glam rock image; instead, they pursued a pub rock sound.{{sfn|Cockington|2001|pp=198–201}} To this end, they agreed that Evans was no longer a suitable frontman.{{sfn|Stenning|Johnstone|2005|pp=32–34}}

===1974–1976: Bon Scott joins===
[[File:Bonscott.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Scott, aged about 33, is shown in right profile, he holds his microphone in his left hand, while his right hand, with tattoos visible, is clenched near his bare chest.|[[Bon Scott]] (''pictured in 1979'') joined as the lead singer in 1974.]]

In September 1974, [[Bon Scott]], a vocalist previously with [[the Valentines (rock band)|the Valentines]] (1966–1970) and [[Fraternity (band)|Fraternity]] (1971–1973),<ref name="McFarlane" /> joined AC/DC after his former bandmate [[Vince Lovegrove]] introduced him to George during their stopover in Adelaide in August.<ref name="Nimmervoll" /><ref name="Scott ADoB">{{Cite web |last=Browne |first=Geoff |year=2018 |title=Ronald Belford (Bon) Scott (1946–1980) |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/scott-ronald-belford-bon-27533 |website=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323175150/https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/scott-ronald-belford-bon-27533 |archive-date=23 March 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=7 May 2024}}</ref> Scott worked as a chauffeur for the group until an audition promoted him to lead singer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DiVita |first=Joe |date=19 February 2021 |title=Bon Scott Reveals How AC/DC Hired Him in Newly Uploaded 1976 Interview |url=https://loudwire.com/bon-scott-1976-interview-surfaces-2021/ |website=[[Loudwire]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221120217/https://loudwire.com/bon-scott-1976-interview-surfaces-2021/ |archive-date=21 February 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref> Like the Young brothers, Scott was born in Scotland, emigrated to Australia in his childhood and had a passion for blues music. Scott also had experience as a songwriter and drummer.<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> Their debut single's tracks were re-written and the vocals were re-recorded by Scott. With Scott's inclusion, "[their] working-class style, [[Boogie rock|boogie-rock]] sound and earthy humour fell into place", according to music journalist [[Ian McFarlane]].<ref name="McFarlane" /> Scott's first&nbsp;concert for AC/DC was on 5 October 1974 at the Masonic Hall in [[Brighton-Le-Sands, New South Wales]].<ref>{{cite web |last=DeRiso |first=Nick |date=5 October 2015 |orig-date=5 October 2014 |title=The Day AC/DC Played Their First Concert With Bon Scott |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-bon-scott-debut/ |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006012229/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-bon-scott-debut/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref>

AC/DC recorded their first&nbsp;studio album, ''[[High Voltage (1975 album)|High Voltage]]'', in November 1974 with Vanda & Young producing at [[Albert Studios]] in Sydney.<ref name="Kimball" /> Bailey and Clack were still in the band during its recording, but Clack played on only one&nbsp;track, and the rest were provided by session drummer [[Tony Currenti]]. George handled some bass parts and later redid others.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="Nimmervoll" /> Recording sessions took ten&nbsp;days and were based on instrumentals written by the Young brothers with lyrics added by Scott.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|pp=91–92}} They relocated to Melbourne that month.<ref name="Kimball" /> Both Bailey and Clack were fired in January 1975.<ref name="Kimball" /> [[Paul Matters]] took over bass duties briefly before being fired in turn and replaced temporarily by George or Malcolm for live duties.<ref name="McFarlane" /> Matters had disagreements with the Young brothers' decisions.<ref name="Paul Matters death" /> Meanwhile, on drums, Ron Carpenter and Russell Coleman had brief tenures before [[Phil Rudd]], from [[Buster Brown (Australian band)|Buster Brown]], joined in that month.<ref name="Kimball" /> Bass guitarist [[Mark Evans (musician)|Mark Evans]] was enlisted in March 1975, setting the line-up which lasted two&nbsp;years.<ref name="McFarlane" />

{{Listen
 | type = music
 | filename = "T.N.T." song sample.ogg
 | title = "T.N.T."
 | description = "[[T.N.T. (song)|T.N.T.]]", AC/DC's third&nbsp;single from the [[T.N.T. (album)|album of the same name]], with lead vocals by Scott
}}
The band were scheduled to play at the [[Sunbury Pop Festival#1975|1975 Sunbury Pop music festival]] in January; however, they went home without performing following a physical altercation with the management and crew of headlining act [[Deep Purple]].<ref name="Kimball" /> ''High Voltage'' was released exclusively in [[Australasia]] on 17 February 1975 via Albert Productions/[[EMI Music Australia]],<ref name="Holmgren" />{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=107}} and reached the top&nbsp;20 in Australia.{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}} It provided a single, their cover version of [[Big Joe Williams]]' "[[Baby, Please Don't Go#AC/DC version|Baby, Please Don't Go]]".{{sfn|Walker|2006|p=142}}

McFarlane observed, "[their] initial achievement was to take the raw energy of Aussie pub rock, extend its basic guidelines, serve it up to a teenybop ''[[Countdown (Australian TV series)|Countdown]]'' audience and still reap the benefits of the live circuit by packing out the pubs."<ref name="McFarlane" /> They released their second&nbsp;studio album ''[[T.N.T. (album)|T.N.T.]]'' (1975), in Australasia only,<ref name="McFarlane" /> its tracks were recorded with Evans and Rudd except for two tracks, which used Currenti and George. It peaked at number&nbsp;two in Australia and the top&nbsp;40 in New Zealand.{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}}<ref name="NZ Charts">{{cite web |url=https://charts.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=AC%2FDC |title=Discography AC/DC |first=Steffen |last=Hung |publisher=New Zealand Charts Portal (Hung Medien) |access-date=26 September 2023 }}</ref> Its second&nbsp;single, "[[It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)]]" (December 1975), had a well-known promotional video made for the [[ABC TV (Australian TV channel)|ABC-TV]] pop music programme ''Countdown'',{{sfn|Wall|2012|p=160}} featuring the band miming the song on the back of a flatbed truck.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bastow |first=Clem |date=25 March 2014 |title=Australian Anthems: AC/DC – 'It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/mar/25/australian-anthems-acdc-its-a-long-way-to-the-top-if-you-wanna-rocknroll |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325193600/https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/mar/25/australian-anthems-acdc-its-a-long-way-to-the-top-if-you-wanna-rocknroll |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2024}}</ref> The single reached the top&nbsp;ten in Australia.{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}} The [[T.N.T. (song)|title track]] was issued as a single in March 1976 and includes the lyric "so lock up your daughter", which was modified into their first&nbsp;United Kingdom tour's name.<ref name="Fricke 2" />

===1976–1977: Initial success and record deal===
[[File:ACDC-Hughes-long ago.jpg|thumb|alt=Angus, about 24, in mid-leap, right leg cocked, back arched while playing guitar. Scott holds microphone above his head, another tattoo partly visible.|Scott (''centre'') pictured with Angus (''left'') and bass guitarist [[Cliff Williams]] (''back''), performing in [[Belfast]] in 1979]]

Browning sent promo material to contacts in London, which came to the attention of [[Phil Carson]] of [[Atlantic Records]]. AC/DC signed an international deal with Atlantic in 1976.<ref name="McFarlane" /> On their arrival in London in April,<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> their scheduled tour with [[Back Street Crawler (band)|Back Street Crawler]] was cancelled due to the death of that group's guitarist, [[Paul Kossoff]].<ref name="Kimball" /> As a result, AC/DC returned to playing smaller venues to build a local following until their label organised the Lock Up Your Daughters tour sponsored by ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine, starting in June 1976.<ref name="Fricke 2">{{cite magazine |first=David |last=Fricke |author-link=David Fricke |date=15 April 2015 |title=Flashback: AC/DC Refuses to Give Up and Rocks On |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-acdc-refuses-to-give-up-and-rocks-on-631/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone Australia]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203045623/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-acdc-refuses-to-give-up-and-rocks-on-631/ |archive-date=3 December 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=27 December 2023}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> At the time, [[punk rock]] was breaking and came to dominate the pages of major British music weeklies, including ''[[NME]]'' and ''[[Melody Maker]]''. AC/DC were sometimes identified with the punk rock movement by the British press, but they hated punk rock, believing it to be a passing fad. Browning wrote that "it wasn't possible to even hold a conversation with AC/DC about punk without them getting totally pissed off".{{sfn|Browning|2014|p=165}}

The first&nbsp;AC/DC album to have worldwide distribution was a 1976 combination of tracks taken from the ''High Voltage'' and ''T.N.T.'' [[LP record|LPs]].<ref name="McFarlane" /> Also titled ''[[High Voltage (1976 album)|High Voltage]]'', it was released through Atlantic in May 1976,<ref name="McFarlane" /> eventually going on to sell over three&nbsp;million copies in the US by 2005.<ref name="AutoJ4-4">{{Cite web |title=American Album Certifications – AC/DC – ''High Voltage'' |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=AC%2FDC&ti=High+Voltage&format=Album&type=#search_section |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) |access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> The track selection was heavily weighted towards the more recent ''T.N.T.'', including only two&nbsp;songs from their first&nbsp;LP.{{sfn|Atlantic Records|1976a}} Their third&nbsp;studio album, ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'', was released in September–November 1976,{{efn|The album was released on 20 September 1976 in Australasia,<ref name="Disco 4">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142522/https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=4 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' (Australia) |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=27 June 2024 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=4 |url-status=live }}</ref> and released in Europe on 12 November 1976.<ref name="Disco 5">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142057/http://ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=5 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=5 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} in both Australian and European versions.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=56}}{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=166}} Track listings varied worldwide; the international version of the album included the ''T.N.T.'' track "Rocker", which had previously not been released internationally.{{sfn|Atlantic Records|1976b}} The original Australian version included "[[Jailbreak (AC/DC song)|Jailbreak]]". This was later more readily available on the 1984 compilation [[extended play]] ''[['74 Jailbreak]]'',{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=57}} or as a live version on 1992's ''[[Live (AC/DC album)|Live]]''.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=185}} ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' was not released in North America until 2 April 1981, by which time the band were at the peak of their popularity.{{sfn|Masino|2015|p=137}}

After a brief tour of Sweden, they returned to London, where they set new attendance records during their residency at the [[Marquee Club|Marquee]].<ref name="Kimball" />{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=49}} They continued to tour throughout Europe and then Australia. In January 1977, they started recording their fourth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Let There Be Rock]]''.{{efn|The album was released less than 2 months later on 21 March 1977 in Australasia,<ref name="Disco 6">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815061504/http://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=31 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Let There Be Rock'' (Australia) |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=15 August 2019 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=31 |url-status=live }}</ref> and internationally on 23 June 1977.{{sfn|Albert Productions|Epic Records|2003}}}} Early the same year, they returned to Britain and began a European tour with [[Black Sabbath]]. While Scott and [[Ozzy Osbourne]] quickly became friends, other members of each group were less cordial. In one incident, [[Geezer Butler]] allegedly pulled a [[switchblade]] at Malcolm during their show in Sweden in April. Accounts of the incident differ, but AC/DC were taken off the rest of the tour.<ref name="AutoJ4-5">{{Cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/let-there-be-rock-the-album-that-nearly-killed-ac-dc |title=''Let There Be Rock'': The Album that Saved AC/DC's Career |last=Wall |first=Mick |author-link=Mick Wall |date=7 May 2016 |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024073817/https://www.loudersound.com/features/let-there-be-rock-the-album-that-nearly-killed-ac-dc |archive-date=24 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear|left}}

===1977–1980: Cliff Williams joins and death of Bon Scott===
[[File:Cliffwilliams.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|alt=Williams, about 31, shown in upper body shot. He sings into microphone on a stand while strumming his guitar. He wears a singlet top and has shoulder length hair.|[[Cliff Williams]] (''pictured in 1981'') joined as bass guitarist in 1977.]]

In May 1977, Mark Evans was fired. This was due to "musical differences" and personality clashes with Angus.<ref name="Kimball" /> He was replaced on bass guitar by [[Cliff Williams]], a former member of the UK bands [[Home (UK band)|Home]] (1970–1974) and [[Bandit (band)|Bandit]] (1976).<ref name="McFarlane" /> Scott explained that Williams was more experienced, while Malcolm wanted a bass guitarist and backing vocalist.{{sfn|Walker|2006|p=200}} Evans' autobiography, ''Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC'', released in 2011, predominantly dealt with his time in AC/DC.<ref name="Evans Autobiography">{{cite web |url=http://www.mumslounge.com.au/entertainment/book-reviews/1325-review-dirty-deeds,-my-life-inside-outside-of-ac-dc,-mark-evans.html?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page= |title=Review: ''Dirty Deeds, My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC'', Mark Evans |first=Mandi |last=Johnston |website=Mums Lounge |date=19 November 2012 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20130411033037/http://www.mumslounge.com.au/entertainment/book-reviews/1325-review-dirty-deeds,-my-life-inside-outside-of-ac-dc,-mark-evans.html?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page= |archive-date=11 April 2013 |access-date=21 September 2023 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

AC/DC's first&nbsp;American radio exposure was through Bill Bartlett at Jacksonville station [[WJGL|WPDQ-FM/WAIV-FM]] in 1975.{{sfn|Fink|2013|pp=107–111}} Two&nbsp;years later, they played their first&nbsp;concert there, as a support act for Canadian group [[Moxy (band)|Moxy]] in Austin, Texas, on 27 July 1977.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=67}} From booking agent Doug Thaler of American Talent International and the management of Leber-Krebs, they experienced the country's stadium circuit, supporting rock acts [[Ted Nugent]], [[Aerosmith]], [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], [[Styx (band)|Styx]], [[UFO (band)|UFO]] and [[Blue Öyster Cult]]; they co-headlined with [[Cheap Trick]]. AC/DC released their fifth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Powerage]]'', on 5 May 1978.<ref name="fuEcH">{{cite web |url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/r81 |title = AC/DC – ''Powerage'' | publisher = [[AllMusic]] |first1=Greg |last1=Prato |access-date = 2 August 2008 |archive-date = 4 September 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105024/https://www.allmusic.com/album/powerage-mw0000194999 |url-status = live }}</ref> The sole single from ''Powerage'' was "[[Rock 'n' Roll Damnation]]" (June 1978).<ref name="McFarlane" /> An appearance at [[The Apollo, Glasgow]], during the Powerage Tour was recorded and released as ''[[If You Want Blood You've Got It]]'' (1978).<ref name="Rivadavia 3">{{Cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |date=13 October 2023 |orig-date=13 October 2013 |title=How AC/DC Elevated Their Career with the Live ''If You Want Blood, You've Got It'' |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-if-you-want-blood-youve-got-it/ |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418061221/http://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-if-you-want-blood-youve-got-it/ |archive-date=18 April 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=27 December 2023}}</ref>

[[File:BonScottStatue3 gobeirne.jpg|thumb|alt=Scott's life-sized statue shown in upper body shot. He sings into a hand held microphone, his chest partly exposed beneath a vest.|A bronze statue of Bon Scott in [[Fremantle]], Western Australia]]
In 1979, the group recorded their sixth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Highway to Hell]]'', with producer [[Robert John "Mutt" Lange]],{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=89}} which was issued on 27 July 1979.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=101}} It became their first&nbsp;album to reach the top&nbsp;20 the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], eventually peaking at number&nbsp;17,<ref name="billboard200">{{Cite magazine |title=AC/DC Chart History (''Billboard'' 200) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ac-dc/chart-history/tlp/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts.{{sfn|Engleheart|1997}} ''Highway to Hell'' had lyrics that shifted away from flippant and comical towards more central rock themes, putting increased emphasis on backing vocals but still featuring AC/DC's signature sound: loud, simple, pounding riffs and grooving back-beats.<ref name="slL1m">{{cite web |url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/r82 |title = AC/DC – ''Highway to Hell'' | publisher = [[AllMusic]] |first1=Steve |last1=Huey |access-date = 2 August 2008 |archive-date = 22 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722052054/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r82 |url-status = live }}</ref>

In February 1980, the members began to work on their seventh&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Back in Black]]'', with Scott on drums instead of vocals.<ref name="Kielty 2">{{cite web |first=Martin |last=Kielty |date=21 August 2020 |title=Angus Young Still Suffers from Stage Fright / 40 Facts About AC/DC's ''Back in Black'' / Bon Scott Played Drums on Some of the Demos |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/angus-young-stage-fright/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926060033/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/angus-young-stage-fright/ |archive-date=26 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=22 August 2020}}</ref> On 18 February, Scott passed out in a car driven by his friend Alistair Kinnear after a night of drinking at [[KOKO (music venue)|The Music Machine]] in [[Camden Town]], London.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=106}} According to police, Kinnear left Scott in the car overnight to sleep off the alcohol effects.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rock Singer, Left in Car to 'Sober Up', Found Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-rock-singer-left/115890228/ |newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=20 February 1980 |access-date=2 November 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Unable to wake Scott early on the evening of 19 February, Kinnear rushed him to [[King's College Hospital]], Camberwell, where Scott was pronounced dead on arrival.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=106}} The official cause of death was "[[Alcohol poisoning|acute alcohol poisoning]]".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Alcohol Blamed for Singer's Death |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-alcohol-blamed/137006294/ |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=23 February 1980 |access-date=20 August 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Scott's family buried him in [[Fremantle, Western Australia]], the area they emigrated to when he was a boy.<ref name="K4EE6">{{cite web |title=Bon's Highway Leads to the National Trust |url=http://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/MCBNews/mediaRel.html |publisher=[[Karrakatta Cemetery|Metropolitan Cemeteries Board]] |date=15 February 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116103758/http://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/MCBNews/mediaRel.html |archive-date=16 November 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=9 December 2007}}</ref>

===1980–1983: Brian Johnson joins and rebirth===
[[File:Brian Johnson.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Johnson, aged 61, shown in left profile. He sings into a cordless microphone while wearing a newsboy cap and a Harley Davidson sleeveless vest.|[[Brian Johnson]] (''pictured in 2008'') joined as a lead singer in 1980.]]

Following Scott's death, the members briefly considered quitting. Scott's parents advised the members that he would have wanted them to carry on, so they decided to continue and sought a new vocalist.{{sfn|Wall|2012|p=315}} [[Heaven (Australian band)|Fat Lip]] vocalist Allan Fryer, ex-[[Rick Wakeman]] vocalist [[Gary Pickford-Hopkins]],{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=318}} and the Easybeats' singer [[Stevie Wright (Australian singer)|Stevie Wright]] were touted by the press as possible replacements.<ref name="Kimball" />{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=308}} Various other candidates were considered by the group: ex-Moxy member [[Buzz Shearman]], who was unable to join due to voice issues,{{sfn|Fink|2017|pp=367–368}} [[Slade]] vocalist [[Noddy Holder]],<ref name="YjBlL">{{cite web |url=http://www.soundchecks.co.uk/articles/noholder.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405014451/http://www.soundchecks.co.uk/articles/noholder.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 April 2005 |title=Straight from His Own Gob – Noddy Holder |first1=Andrew |last1=Darlington |publisher=Soundchecks.co.uk |access-date=9 April 2011}}</ref> and ex-Back Street Crawler vocalist [[Terry Slesser]].{{sfn|Fink|2013|pp=211–212}} During their auditions, the group brought in ex-[[Geordie (band)|Geordie]] singer [[Brian Johnson]], who impressed the group.<ref name="Kielty 2" />{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=309}} Johnson sang [[Ike & Tina Turner]]'s "[[Nutbush City Limits]]" and then "[[Whole Lotta Rosie]]" from ''Let There Be Rock''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harbron |first=Lucy |date=8 February 2024 |title=The Song Brian Johnson Sang for His AC/DC Audition |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/song-brian-johnson-ac-dc-audition/ |website=[[Far Out (website)|Far Out]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306103651/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/song-brian-johnson-ac-dc-audition/ |archive-date=6 March 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref>{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=121}} After they worked through the rest of the applicants in the following days, Johnson returned for a second&nbsp;audition.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|pp=317–318}} Angus later recalled that Scott himself had praised Johnson's singing.<ref name="rKfEU">{{cite web |date=18 February 2010 |url=http://www.bravewords.com/news/132727 |title=AC/DC Guitarist Angus Young Remembers Bon Scott – 'When I Think Back in Hindsight, He Was a Guy That I Always Knew Was Full of Life' |first1=Tim |last1=Henderson |website=[[Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles]] |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708091937/http://www.bravewords.com/news/132727 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 29 March 1980, Malcolm offered Johnson a place in the band, much to the singer's surprise.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=319–320}} Out of respect for Scott, the band wanted a vocalist who would not be an imitator. In addition to his distinctive voice, demeanour and love of classic soul and blues music, the group were impressed by Johnson's engaging personality.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="McFarlane" /> Johnson was officially announced as the lead singer of AC/DC on 1 April.<ref name="AutoJ4-8">{{Cite web |last1=Rivadavia |first1=Eduardo |date=1 April 2015 |title=How Happenstance Originally Brought Brian Johnson to AC/DC |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/brian-johnson-joins-acdc/ |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903004114/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/brian-johnson-joins-acdc/ |archive-date=3 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> With Johnson, the group completed the songwriting previously began with Scott for ''Back in Black''. Recording took place at [[Compass Point Studios]] in The Bahamas a few months after Scott's death. Produced by Lange and recorded by [[Tony Platt]], it became the [[List of best-selling albums|second best-selling album of all time]] and a hard rock landmark. Its singles are "[[Hells Bells (song)|Hells Bells]]", "[[You Shook Me All Night Long]]", "[[Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution]]" and [[Back in Black (song)|the title track]]. The album peaked at number&nbsp;one in the UK,<ref name="OCC">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC {{!}} Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16970/ac-dc/ |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> and number&nbsp;four in the US, where it spent 612&nbsp;weeks<!-- Updated on 5 July 2024 --> on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.<ref name="billboard200" /> It also reached the top spot in Australia,{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}} Canada,<ref name="Can Black">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0298&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0298.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0298 |title=Image: ''RPM'' Weekly |issue=298 |magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |via=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |date=30 August 2022 |access-date=28 September 2023 }}</ref> and France.<ref name="FRA">{{cite web |url=http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=ac%2Fdc&cat=a |title=AC/DC – French Charts |publisher=Les Charts |access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref>

AC/DC released their first&nbsp;theatrical [[concert film]], ''[[AC/DC: Let There Be Rock]]'', which was recorded on 9 December 1979 in Paris during their [[Highway to Hell Tour]] on 1 September 1980. It was produced and directed by Eric Dionysius and Eric Mistler and distributed by [[Warner Bros.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=''AC/DC: Let There Be Rock'' (1980) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080321/ |publisher=[[IMDb]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702150719/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080321/ |archive-date=2 July 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=8 April 2024}}</ref> The band's eighth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[For Those About to Rock We Salute You]]'', was released on 23 November 1981.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=153}} It was their first&nbsp;number-one album on the ''Billboard'' 200,<ref name="billboard200" /> and it also reached the top&nbsp;three in Australia and Germany.{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}}<ref name="GER For Those">{{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-7640 |title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts - ''For Those About to Rock We Salute You'' |publisher=[[GfK Entertainment charts|GfK Entertainment]] |language=de |access-date=28 September 2023 }}</ref> It received mixed reviews from critics.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=150}} Two&nbsp;singles were issued: "[[Let's Get It Up]]" and [[For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)|the title track]], which peaked at number&nbsp;13 and number&nbsp;15 in the UK, respectively.<ref name="OCC" />

===1983–1990: Line-up changes and commercial decline===
[[File:Ac-dcphil-rudd.jpg|thumb|alt=Rudd, aged 42, mostly obscured by his kit. He smokes a cigarette, has shoulder-length hair and wears a dark T-shirt. He has a tattoo on his upper left arm, right arm obscured.|[[Phil Rudd]] performing in Seattle in 1996]]

Instead of Lange, their ninth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Flick of the Switch]]'' (1983), was produced by the group's members themselves.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|pp=158, 167}} It was a return to the rawness and simplicity of their early albums, but received mixed reviews and was considered underdeveloped and unmemorable;<ref name="flickof">{{cite web | url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/r86 | title = AC/DC – ''Flick of the Switch'' | publisher = [[AllMusic]] | first1 = Steve | last1 = Huey | access-date = 2 August 2008 | archive-date = 13 November 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101113060852/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r86 | url-status = live }}</ref> one critic stated that they "had made the same album nine times".<ref name="JTHjd">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/acdc/albums/album/174854/review/5945613/flick_of_the_switch | title = AC/DC: ''Flick of the Switch'' | access-date = 2 August 2008 |last1=Fricke |first1=David |author-link1=David Fricke | date = 27 October 1987 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618141735/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/acdc/albums/album/174854/review/5945613/flick_of_the_switch| archive-date=18 June 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Flick of the Switch'' eventually reached number&nbsp;four on the UK charts,<ref name="OCC" /> and the top&nbsp;five in Australia,{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}} and Finland.<ref name="FIN">{{cite web |url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=9 |title=Finnish Albums |website=[[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]] |page=9 |access-date=28 September 2023 |language=fi }}</ref> AC/DC had minor success with the single "[[Guns for Hire]]", reaching number&nbsp;84 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name="Hot 100">{{Cite magazine |title=AC/DC Chart History (''Billboard'' Hot 100) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ac-dc/chart-history/hsi/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> Rudd has had long-term drug and alcohol addictions.<ref name="Bremner">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804041348/https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/phil-rudd-warned-he-ll-go-to-jail-if-drinks-or-takes-drugs-during-home-detention-q00603.html |url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/phil-rudd-warned-he-ll-go-to-jail-if-drinks-or-takes-drugs-during-home-detention-q00603.html |title=Phil Rudd Warned He'll Go to Jail if He Drinks or Takes Drugs During Home Detention |first=Nicole |last=Bremner |website=OneNewsNow |date=9 July 2015 |access-date=27 December 2023 |archive-date=4 August 2015 }}</ref> His friendship with Malcolm had deteriorated and eventually escalated into a physical confrontation, after which Rudd was fired partway through the ''Flick of the Switch'' sessions in mid-1983.<ref name="AutoJ4-9">{{Cite web |last1=Lifton |first1=Dave |date=19 July 2015 |title=Bad Boy Boogie: A Phil Rudd Timeline |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/phil-rudd-ac-dc-timeline/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731010151/http://ultimateclassicrock.com/phil-rudd-ac-dc-timeline/ |archive-date=31 July 2015 |url-status=live |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> Rudd was replaced by ex-[[A II Z]] drummer [[Simon Wright (musician)|Simon Wright]] in July 1983, after they held over 700&nbsp;auditions in the US and UK.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=368}} [[Simon Kirke]] and [[Paul Thompson (musician)|Paul Thompson]] were two&nbsp;drummers who auditioned.{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=367}}

The band's tenth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Fly on the Wall (AC/DC album)|Fly on the Wall]]'', produced by the Young brothers in 1985,<ref name="Holmgren" /> was also regarded as uninspired and directionless.<ref name="AqoRk">{{cite web | url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/r88 | title = AC/DC – ''Fly on the Wall'' | publisher = [[AllMusic]] |first1=Steve |last1=Huey | access-date = 2 August 2008 | archive-date = 4 September 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105530/https://www.allmusic.com/album/fly-on-the-wall-mw0000192737 | url-status = live }}</ref> A concept music video of [[Fly on the Wall (video)|the same name]] featured the band at a bar, playing five of the album's ten&nbsp;songs.<ref name="AutoJ4-10">{{Cite web |last1=McPadden |first1=Mike |date=28 June 2015 |title=AC/DC's ''Fly on the Wall'' Turns 30: Rock Out with 30 Album Facts |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/lel4zp/acdc-fly-on-the-wall-30-album-facts |publisher=[[VH1]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904113738/https://www.vh1.com/news/lel4zp/acdc-fly-on-the-wall-30-album-facts |archive-date=4 September 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref> In 1986, the group returned to the top&nbsp;20 on singles charts with the made-for-radio "[[Who Made Who (song)|Who Made Who]]", reaching number&nbsp;nine in Australia and number&nbsp;16 in the UK.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=164}} The associated album ''[[Who Made Who]]'' is the soundtrack to [[Stephen King]]'s film ''[[Maximum Overdrive]]'';<ref name="popmatters">{{cite web |url = https://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/a/acdc-reissues2.shtml |title = Epic Records AC/DC Re-issues: Second Wave |access-date = 2 August 2008 |first1=Christopher |last1=Michael |date = 30 June 2003 |work = [[PopMatters]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080414132334/http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/a/acdc-reissues2.shtml |archive-date = 14 April 2008 |url-status = dead}}</ref> it brought together older hits, such as "You Shook Me All Night Long", with a few new songs – the title track and two&nbsp;instrumentals, "D.T." and "Chase the Ace".<ref name="AutoJ4-11">{{Cite web |last1=Wiederhorn |first1=Jon |date=24 May 2023 |title=37 Years Ago: AC/DC Release ''Who Made Who'' |url=https://loudwire.com/acdc-who-made-who-anniversary/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608021438/https://loudwire.com/acdc-who-made-who-anniversary/ |archive-date=8 June 2023 |url-status=live |website=[[Loudwire]] |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Stevie Young with ACDC Tacoma WA Feb 2 2016.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|alt=Stevie, 59 years old, shown in full left profile. Strums guitar while at microphone on a stand. He wears black T-shirt, dark blue pants and grey-blue runners.|[[Stevie Young]] (''pictured in 2016'') joined as a touring rhythm guitarist in 1988, then joined as a permanent member in 2014.]]
In February 1988, both AC/DC and Vanda & Young were inducted into the [[Australian Recording Industry Association]]'s inaugural [[ARIA Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Middleton">{{cite news |first1=Karen |last1=Middleton |author-link1=Karen Middleton (journalist) |date=3 March 1988 |title=Good Times – Music Awards: A Scratch on the Records |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101980224 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=62 |issue=19,142 |access-date=28 September 2023 |page=23 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> The group's eleventh&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Blow Up Your Video]]'', released in 1988, was recorded at [[Studio Miraval]] in [[Le Val, Var|Le Val]], France, with Vanda & Young as producers.<ref name="Holmgren" />{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=169}} The group recorded nineteen&nbsp;songs, choosing ten for the final release; though the album was later criticised for containing excessive "[[filler (media)|filler]]",<ref name="blowup">{{cite web |first=Greg |last=Prato |title=AC/DC – ''Blow Up Your Video'' |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r90 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105022/https://www.allmusic.com/album/blow-up-your-video-mw0000198970 |archive-date=4 September 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> it was a commercial success: ''Blow Up Your Video'' reached number&nbsp;two on the UK charts and Australia, AC/DC's highest position since ''Back in Black'' in 1980.{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}}<ref name="OCC" /> It provided an Australian top-five and UK top-twenty single, "[[Heatseeker (song)|Heatseeker]]", and "[[That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll]]".{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=11}}<ref name="OCC" />

[[File:Malcolm Young at ACDC Monster of Rock Tour.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Malcolm, aged 37, plays his guitar with both hands, while singing into a microphone on a stand. His over shoulder-length hair partly obscures his face.|Malcolm performing for the "[[Thunderstruck (song)|Thunderstruck]]" music video in 1990]]
The [[Blow Up Your Video World Tour]] began in February 1988 in [[Perth]], Australia. In April, following live appearances across Europe, Malcolm announced that he was taking time off from the North American legs of the tour, principally to deal with his alcoholism. Angus and Malcolm's nephew, [[Stevie Young]], temporarily replaced Malcolm on guitar.<ref name="McFarlane" /> In 1989, Wright left the group to work on British heavy metal band [[Dio (band)|Dio]]'s fifth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Lock Up the Wolves]]'' (1990); he was replaced by drummer [[Chris Slade]], who has played with ex-[[Thin Lizzy]] guitarist [[Gary Moore]], before joining.<ref name="McFarlane" /><ref name="Holmgren" /> Johnson was unavailable for several months while finalising his divorce, so the Young brothers wrote all the songs for the next album, a practice they continued for all subsequent releases through ''[[Power Up (album)|Power Up]]'' in 2020.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=173}}

===1990–1999: Popularity regained===
The band's twelfth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[The Razors Edge (AC/DC album)|The Razors Edge]]'', was recorded in [[Vancouver]], Canada and was mixed and engineered by [[Mike Fraser (record producer)|Mike Fraser]] and produced by [[Bruce Fairbairn]], who had previously worked with Aerosmith and [[Bon Jovi]].<ref name="Henderson 2">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-razors-edge-mw0000690074 |title=AC/DC – ''The Razors Edge'' Review |last=Henderson |first=Alex |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=27 December 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401192500/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-razors-edge-mw0000690074 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=174}} Released on 24 September 1990,{{sfn|Elliott|2018|pp=174, 184}} it was a major success for the band, reaching the top&nbsp;three in Australia,<ref name="AUS Razors">{{Cite web |url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=AC/DC&titel=The+Razors+Edge&cat=a |title=AC/DC – ''The Razors Edge'' |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |publisher=Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien) |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> Canada,<ref name="CAN Razors">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.9106&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.9106.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.9106 |title=Image: ''RPM'' Weekly |issue=9106 |date=8 December 1990 |magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |via=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |access-date=28 September 2023 }}</ref> Finland,<ref name="FIN" /> Germany,<ref name="GER Razors Edge">{{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-7640 |title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts - ''The Razors Edge'' |publisher=[[GfK Entertainment charts|GfK Entertainment]] |language=de |access-date=28 September 2023 }}</ref> Switzerland,<ref name="SWI">{{cite web |url=http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?cat=a&search=AC%2FDC |title=AC/DC Discography |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |publisher=Hung Medien |website=[[Swiss Hitparade]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112160501/http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?cat=a&search=AC%2FDC |access-date=28 September 2023 |archive-date=12 November 2012 }}</ref> and the US.<ref name="billboard200" /> Its [[lead single]], "[[Thunderstruck (song)|Thunderstruck]]" (September 1990), peaked at number&nbsp;5 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s [[Mainstream Rock Tracks|Mainstream Rock]] chart,<ref name="mra">{{Cite magazine |title=AC/DC Chart History (Mainstream Rock Airplay) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ac-dc/chart-history/rtt/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> number&nbsp;4 on the [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Singles]] chart,<ref name="AutoJ4-15">{{Cite web |url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=AC/DC&titel=Thunderstruck&cat=s |title=AC/DC – 'Thunderstruck' |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |publisher=Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien) |access-date=20 September 2023}}</ref> and number&nbsp;13 on the [[Official Charts Company|OCC]]'s [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="OCC" /> Its second&nbsp;single, "[[Moneytalks]]" (12 November 1990),<ref name="aus disco">{{Cite web |first=Steffen |last=Hung |title=AC/DC Discography |url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=AC%2FDC |publisher=Hung Medien |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032610/http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=AC%2FDC |archive-date=1 December 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref> peaked at number&nbsp;23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name="Hot 100" /> By 2006, the album had achieved 5× Platinum status in the US.<ref name="AutoJ4-16">{{Cite web |title=American Album Certifications – AC/DC – ''The Razors Edge'' |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=AC%2FDC&ti=The+Razors+Edge&format=Album&type=#search_section |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) |access-date=20 September 2023}}</ref>

Several shows on the 1991 [[Razors Edge World Tour]] were recorded for the 1992 live album, ''[[AC/DC Live]]''. It was produced by Fairbairn and was called one of the best live albums of the 1990s by Barry Weber of [[AllMusic]].<ref name="nUjzh">{{cite web | url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/r53486 | title = AC/DC – ''AC/DC Live'' | publisher = [[AllMusic]] |first1=Barry |last1=Weber | access-date = 2 August 2008 | archive-date = 4 September 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105529/https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-mw0000616074 | url-status = live }}</ref> AC/DC headlined the [[Monsters of Rock]] show during this tour, which was released as a video album, ''[[Live at Donington (AC/DC album)|Live at Donington]]'', in 1992. During the tour, three fans were killed at a concert at the [[Salt Palace (arena)|Salt Palace]] in [[Salt Lake City]] on 18 January 1991, when they were crushed and fell to the floor at the beginning of the show.<ref name="deathinarena">{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Mike |title=AC/DC Says Band Stopped |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2ZGAAAAIBAJ&dq=ac%2Fdc+concert&pg=PA1&article_id=1306,5192839 |access-date=4 September 2023 |work=[[The Daily Gazette]] |date=24 January 1991 |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |page=D14 |archive-date=4 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104010/https://books.google.com/books?id=q2ZGAAAAIBAJ&dq=ac%2Fdc+concert&pg=PA1&article_id=1306,5192839 |url-status=live }}</ref> It took 26&nbsp;minutes before venue security and group members understood the severity of the situation and halted the concert. AC/DC settled out of court with the victims' families.<ref name="ibYKb">{{cite news |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/146127/SL-COUNTY-FINDS-NO-NEGLIGENCE-IN-CONCERT-DEATHS.html |title=S.L. County Finds no Negligence in Concert Deaths |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=9 February 1991 |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417091451/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/146127/SL-COUNTY-FINDS-NO-NEGLIGENCE-IN-CONCERT-DEATHS.html?pg=all |archive-date=17 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="knYih">{{cite news |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/265054/FAMILIES-SETTLE-SUITS-OVER-ACDC-CONCERT-DEATHS.html |title=Families Settle Suits Over AC/DC Concert Deaths |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=17 December 1992 |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306192726/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/265054/FAMILIES-SETTLE-SUITS-OVER-ACDC-CONCERT-DEATHS.html?pg=all |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In September 1991, AC/DC performed in Moscow for the Monsters of Rock festival in front of 1.6&nbsp;million people. It was the first&nbsp;open-air rock concert to be held in the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="AutoJ4-17">{{cite news |title=List of the Most Crowded Music Concerts in History |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/list-of-the-most-crowded-music-concerts-in-history/articleshow/49702777.cms?from=mdr |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=8 November 2015 |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111231049/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/list-of-the-most-crowded-music-concerts-in-history/articleshow/49702777.cms?from=mdr |url-status=live}}</ref>

AC/DC recorded "[[Big Gun]]" in 1993 for the soundtrack of [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]'s film ''[[Last Action Hero]]''. Released as a single, it reached number&nbsp;one on the US Mainstream Rock chart, the band's first&nbsp;number-one single on that chart.<ref name="mra" /> Pacific Gameworks proposed a [[beat 'em up]] video game for the [[Atari Jaguar CD]] in 1994, ''AC/DC: Defenders of Metal'', which would have featured the group's crew; however, production never started.<ref name="AutoJ4-18">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Jay |url=http://archives.insertcredit.com/news/122003.html |title=News: ''AC/DC - Defenders of Metal'' |website=insertcredit.com |date=30 December 2003 |access-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228061039/http://archives.insertcredit.com/news/122003.html |archive-date=28 December 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Angus and Malcolm invited Rudd to several [[jam session]]s during 1994; he was eventually rehired due to Slade resigning.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Jeff |date=24 July 2014 |title=Chris Slade Reveals the Reason He Quit AC/DC, Hints at Firm Reunion |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ac-dc-chris-slade-quit/ |website=[[Future plc|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003225004/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ac-dc-chris-slade-quit/ |archive-date=3 October 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref> Recording began in October 1994 at [[Record Plant Studios]] in New York City. After 10&nbsp;weeks of recording, they moved to [[Ocean Way Recording|Ocean Way Studios]] in Los Angeles, in February 1995,<ref name="Disco 19">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142712/http://ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=22 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Ballbreaker'' |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=22 January 2024 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url=https://ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=22 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=183}} and finished recording in May.<ref name="Disco 19" /> On 22 September, their thirteenth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Ballbreaker]]'', was released,{{sfn|Elliott|2018|pp=183, 186}}<ref name="Disco 19" /> which reached number&nbsp;one in Australia,<ref name="AUS Ballbreaker">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC – ''Ballbreaker'' |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=AC/DC&titel=Ballbreaker&cat=a |publisher=Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien) |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> Sweden,<ref name="SWE" /> and Switzerland.<ref name="SWE">{{cite web |url=http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=AC%2FDC |title=Discography AC/DC |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |publisher=[[Sverigetopplistan]] (Hung Medien) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103172729/http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=AC%2FDC |access-date=28 September 2023 |archive-date=3 November 2012 }}</ref>

In November 1997, a box set, ''[[Bonfire (album)|Bonfire]]'', was released.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|pp=184, 186}} It contained four albums: a [[remaster]]ed version of ''Back in Black'', ''[[Volts (album)|Volts]]'' – a disc with alternative takes, outtakes and stray live cuts recorded with Scott – and two live albums, ''[[Live from the Atlantic Studios]]'' and ''[[Let There Be Rock: The Movie – Live in Paris|Let There Be Rock: The Movie]]''. ''Live from the Atlantic Studios'' was recorded on 7 December 1977 at the [[Atlantic Studios]] in New York. ''Let There Be Rock: The Movie'' was a double album recorded in December 1979 at the [[Pavillon de Paris]] and was the soundtrack of ''AC/DC: Let There Be Rock'' (1980).<ref name="Erlewine Bonfire">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614131908/http://www.allmusic.com/album/bonfire-mw0000028954 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bonfire-mw0000028954 |title=''Bonfire'' – AC/DC: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |archive-date=14 June 2012 |access-date=28 December 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=184}}

===1999–2014: Popularity confirmed and ''Black Ice''===
[[File:AngusYoung1.JPG|thumb|left|alt=Angus, aged about 45, is shown in an upper body shot wearing his trademark schoolboy uniform. He faces away to his left, with his left hand halfway down the neck of his guitar.|Angus performing in [[Munich]] in 2001.]]

AC/DC recorded their fourteenth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Stiff Upper Lip (album)|Stiff Upper Lip]]'', in 1999, which was produced by George at [[The Warehouse Studio]] in Vancouver. Released in February 2000, it was better received by critics than ''Ballbreaker'' but was considered lacking in new ideas.<ref name="wpYhs">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/acdc/albums/album/198241/review/5941859/stiff_upper_lip | title = AC/DC: ''Stiff Upper Lip'' | access-date = 2 August 2008 |last1=Wild |first1=David | date = 30 March 2000 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727012816/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/acdc/albums/album/198241/review/5941859/stiff_upper_lip| archive-date=27 July 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="fYAUO">{{cite web | url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/r465726 | title = AC/DC – ''Stiff Upper Lip'' | publisher = [[AllMusic]] |first1=Stephen Thomas |last1=Erlewine |author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine | access-date = 2 August 2008 | archive-date = 4 September 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105529/https://www.allmusic.com/album/stiff-upper-lip-mw0000053121 | url-status = live }}</ref> The [[Stiff Upper Lip (AC/DC song)|title track]] was issued as a single in January 2000, which remained at number&nbsp;one on the US Mainstream Rock charts for four&nbsp;weeks.<ref name="mra" /> The other singles, "[[Satellite Blues]]" and "[[Safe in New York City]]", reached number&nbsp;one and number&nbsp;seven, respectively, on the same chart.<ref name="mra" /> The band signed a long-term, multi-album deal with [[Sony Music]] in December 2002,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=Chuck |date=21 December 2002 |title=Epic Signs AC/DC; Deal Includes Catalog Rerelease |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2002/BB-2002-12-21.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=114 |issue=51 |page=54 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125060557/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2002/BB-2002-12-21.pdf |archive-date=25 January 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> which issued their remasters series.<ref name="EZXaW">{{cite web | url = https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3496/discography | title = AC/DC – Discography | publisher = [[AllMusic]] |first1=Eduardo |last1=Rivadavia | access-date = 2 August 2008 | archive-date = 4 September 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105645/https://ssum-sec.casalemedia.com/usermatch?us_privacy=1NNY&d=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allmusic.com%2F&s=184674&cb=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.indexww.com%2Fht%2Fhtw-pixel.gif%3F | url-status = live }}</ref> In 2003, the entire back catalogue – except ''Ballbreaker'' and ''Stiff Upper Lip'' – was remastered and reissued.<ref name="AutoJ4-21">{{cite magazine |title=Epic Rolls Out First AC/DC Reissues |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/72503/epic-rolls-out-first-acdc-reissues |access-date=18 February 2021 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=30 January 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705050228/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/72503/epic-rolls-out-first-acdc-reissues |archive-date=5 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Ballbreaker'' and ''Stiff Upper Lip'' were reissued in the UK in 2004.<ref name="AutoJ4-22">{{cite web |title=AC/DC: Sony/Epic Reissues Due This Month |url=https://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-sony-epic-reissues-due-this-month |website=[[Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles]] |access-date=3 June 2024 |date=2 June 2004 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603091659/https://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-sony-epic-reissues-due-this-month |url-status=live}}</ref> Later in 2003, AC/DC were inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]. The band's 2003 lineup (Johnson, Williams, Rudd, Angus Young, and Malcolm Young), in addition to Scott, were the inductees. Notably, former bassist Mark Evans (who appeared on four albums in the 1970s) was initially announced as an inductee, but six weeks after the announcement, his inclusion was quietly omitted.<ref name="BB RnRHoF" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/former-ac-dc-bassist-mark-evans-knocks-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-after-snub |title=Former AC/DC Bassist MARK EVANS Knocks ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME After Snub |website=[[Blabbermouth.net]] |date=2 November 2022 |access-date=29 October 2024}}</ref>

The group performed at [[Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto]], supporting the Rolling Stones, with [[Rush (band)|Rush]] and other artists, on 30 July 2003. The benefit concert assisted the city's tourism industry, which was negatively impacted by the 2003 [[severe acute respiratory syndrome]] (SARS) outbreak. The audience of 450,000 set a record for the largest paid music event in Canadian history.<ref name="gSyaE">{{cite news |date=31 July 2003 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stones-rock-out-at-toronto-s-biggest-party-1.385413 |title=Stones Rock Out at Toronto's 'Biggest Party' |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC) |access-date=2 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630093945/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2003/07/30/concert_opener030730.html |archive-date=30 June 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The band came second&nbsp;in a list of Australia's highest-earning entertainers for 2005,<ref name="kEd0Z">{{cite news |first1=Daniel |last1=Ziffer | title = Wiggles Wriggle Back into Top Spot | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/people/wiggles-wriggle-back-into-top-spot/2006/04/12/1144521401699.html | work = [[The Age]] | date = 13 April 2006 | access-date = 2 August 2008 | location = Melbourne | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080616035429/http://www.theage.com.au/news/people/wiggles-wriggle-back-into-top-spot/2006/04/12/1144521401699.html | archive-date = 16 June 2008 | url-status = live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and sixth&nbsp;in the following year.<ref name="PVgSY">{{cite news | url = https://www.smh.com.au/news/people/a-wobble-but-the-wiggles-still-rule/2007/07/17/1184559786837.html | title = A Wobble, but the Wiggles Still Rule | work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date = 18 July 2007 |first1=Emily |last1=Dunn | access-date = 17 August 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015064126/http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/a-wobble-but-the-wiggles-still-rule/2007/07/17/1184559786837.html | archive-date = 15 October 2007 | url-status = live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Verizon (mobile network)|Verizon]] made all the albums, including the ''Live at Donington'' video, available for digital download in 2007.<ref name="XTI07">{{cite news | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0136768220070802 | title = AC/DC Goes Digital via Verizon Wireless | work = [[Reuters]] | date = 1 August 2007 |first1=Antony |last1=Bruno | access-date = 17 August 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071229234803/http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0136768220070802 | archive-date = 29 December 2007 | url-status = live}}</ref> AC/DC released video compilations ''[[Family Jewels (video compilation)|Family Jewels]]'' on 28 March 2005,<ref name="FJ Release">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227005758/http://ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=232 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Family Jewels'' |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-date=27 December 2016 |url=https://ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=232 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Plug Me In]]'' on 16 October 2007.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=8 September 2007 |title=Latest Buzz – High Voltage |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2007/BB-2007-09-08.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=119 |issue=36 |page=46 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121031543/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2007/BB-2007-09-08.pdf |archive-date=21 January 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> ''No Bull: The Directors Cut'', a newly edited, comprehensive [[Blu-ray]] and DVD of the band's July 1996 [[Las Ventas|Plaza De Toros de las Ventas]] concert in Madrid, Spain, was released on 9 September 2008.<ref name="No Bull: The Directors Cut">{{cite magazine |last1=Cohen |first1=Jonathan |date=18 August 2008 |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/acdc-sets-date-track-list-for-black-ice-1044421/ |title=AC/DC Sets Date, Track List for ''Black Ice'' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904075503/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/acdc-sets-date-track-list-for-black-ice-1044421/ |archive-date=4 September 2023 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Madrid-acdc 22.JPG|thumb|alt=AC/DC shown on stage with huge screens either side depicting Angus on guitar. He is actually at extreme stage right the rest of the band at centre stage. They are beneath a huge steam engine, tilted slightly upwards, with AC/DC's logo on its side.|AC/DC's [[Black Ice World Tour]], performed in [[Madrid]] in 2009]]
''[[Black Ice (album)|Black Ice]]'', their fifteenth&nbsp;studio album, was released in Australia on 18 October 2008,<ref name="Black Ice AUS Release">{{cite web |last1=Cashmere |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cashmere |date=3 October 2008 |url=http://www.undercover.fm/news/6405-ac-dc-black-ice-vinyl-goes-exclusive-to-indies|title=AC/DC ''Black Ice'' Vinyl Goes Exclusive to Indies |website=Undercover News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320084825/http://www.undercover.fm/news/6405-ac-dc-black-ice-vinyl-goes-exclusive-to-indies |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=usurped |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref> and issued worldwide two days later.<ref name="Black Ice">{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/acdc-135-1336377 |title=AC/DC to Release First New Album in Eight Years |website=[[NME]] |access-date=20 September 2023 |date=18 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128051135/https://www.nme.com/news/music/acdc-135-1336377 |archive-date=28 November 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Produced by [[Brendan O'Brien (record producer)|Brendan O'Brien]] and mixed and engineered by Mike Fraser, its 15&nbsp;tracks were their first&nbsp;studio recordings in eight years. Like ''Stiff Upper Lip'', it was recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver.<ref name="AutoJ4-25">{{Cite web |last1=Tingen |first1=Paul |date=January 2009 |title=Inside Track: AC/DC ''Black Ice'' |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-acdc-black-ice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809110649/https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-acdc-black-ice |archive-date=9 August 2022 |url-status=live |website=[[Sound on Sound]] |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref> It was sold in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart, [[Sam's Club]] and the band's official website.<ref name="Black Ice" /> ''Black Ice'' reached number&nbsp;one in 29&nbsp;countries,<ref name="AutoJ4-26">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Top Sales in 29 Countries |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/acdc-139-1326164 |date=28 October 2008 |website=[[NME]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923005541/https://www.nme.com/news/music/acdc-139-1326164 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=23 September 2023}}</ref> including Australia,<ref name="AUS Black Ice">{{Cite web |url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=AC/DC&titel=Black+Ice&cat=a |title=AC/DC – ''Black Ice'' |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |publisher=Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien) |access-date=20 September 2023}}</ref> the UK,<ref name="OCC" /> and the US.<ref name="billboard200" /> "[[Rock 'n' Roll Train]]", the album's first&nbsp;single, was released to radio on 28 August.<ref name="AutoJ4-28">{{Cite web |last1=Bosso |first1=Joe |date=28 August 2008 |title=AC/DC Debut New Single, 'Rock 'N Roll Train' |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/ac-dc-debut-new-single-rock-n-roll-train-171173 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624003434/https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/ac-dc-debut-new-single-rock-n-roll-train-171173 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |url-status=live |website=[[Future plc|MusicRadar]] |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref>

The [[Black Ice World Tour]] was announced on 11 September 2008 and began on 28 October in [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Black Ice World Tour">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/acdc-planning-24-date-tour-119004/ |title=AC/DC Planning 24-Date Tour |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |via=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=20 September 2023 |date=11 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128024031/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/acdc-planning-24-date-tour-119004/ |archive-date=28 November 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref> It then concluded with its final show in [[Bilbao]], Spain, on 28 June 2010, after 20&nbsp;months in which the band went to 108&nbsp;cities in over 28&nbsp;countries, with an estimated total audience of over 4.9&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Francisco |last=Rendon |date=31 July 2019 |title=Ed Sheeran Concludes 'Divide' Tour, Sets All-Time Touring Record at $775.6M |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2019/07/31/ed-sheeran-concludes-divide-tour-sets-all-time-touring-record-at-775-6m-2/ |website=[[Pollstar]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002063712/https://news.pollstar.com/2019/07/31/ed-sheeran-concludes-divide-tour-sets-all-time-touring-record-at-775-6m-2/ |archive-date=2 October 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> On 15 September 2008, AC/DC Radio debuted on [[Sirius XM Radio|Sirius]] Channel 19 and XM Channel 53, which plays their music along with band member interviews.<ref name="AutoJ4-30">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Radio to Launch on Sirius |url=https://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-radio-to-launch-on-sirius |website=[[Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles]] |date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603094351/https://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-radio-to-launch-on-sirius |archive-date=3 June 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref><ref name="2jL0m">{{cite web|url=http://www.sirius.com/acdcradio |title=AC/DC to Host Their Own Exclusive Music Channel on Sirius and XM |publisher=[[Sirius XM|Sirius]] |access-date=12 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121044926/http://www.sirius.com/acdcradio |archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref>

On 29 September 2009, the band announced a collection of studio and live rarities, ''[[Backtracks (AC/DC album)|Backtracks]]'', which was released on 10 November as a 2×CD and DVD standard edition, or 3×CD, 2×DVD and LP deluxe edition box set.<ref name="AutoJ4-32">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Announce ''Backtracks'' Rarities and Collectors' Edition Set |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/acdc-120-1305985 |date=29 September 2009 |website=[[NME]] |access-date=29 August 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701090650/https://www.nme.com/news/music/acdc-120-1305985 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 4 November, AC/DC were announced as the ''[[BRW (magazine)|Business Review Weekly]]'' top Australian earner in entertainment for 2009, with earnings of $105&nbsp;million. This displaced [[the Wiggles]] from the number-one spot for the first&nbsp;time in four&nbsp;years.<ref name="Rqlrv">{{cite web |url = http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/acdc-tops-brw-entertainment-rich-list-ahead-of-kylie-minogue-and-the-wiggles/story-e6frf7jo-1225794320822 |title = AC/DC Tops ''BRW'' Entertainment Rich List, Ahead of Kylie Minogue and the Wiggles |work =[[Herald Sun]] |date = 11 April 2009 |access-date = 13 November 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110614064954/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/acdc-tops-brw-entertainment-rich-list-ahead-of-kylie-minogue-and-the-wiggles/story-e6frf7jo-1225794320822 |archive-date = 14 June 2011 |url-status = dead |url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 19 April 2010, AC/DC released ''[[Iron Man 2 (soundtrack)|Iron Man 2]]'', the soundtrack for the [[Iron Man 2|eponymous film]], which compiled earlier tracks from the band's studio albums.<ref name="jH3Z9">{{cite web |url=https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-to-release-soundtrack-to-iron-man-2-ng-ya-223612 |title=AC/DC to Release Soundtrack to ''Iron Man 2'' |website=[[The West Australian]] |date=27 January 2010 |access-date=4 October 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004043809/https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-to-release-soundtrack-to-iron-man-2-ng-ya-223612 |archive-date=4 October 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Angus Young 18-06-2010.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Angus, aged 55, stand atop a large, high pedestal. He is bare-chested and without his cap, he wears shorts while playing his guitar.|Angus performing in Paris in 2010]]
The band headlined the [[Download Festival]] at [[Donington Park]] in June 2010.<ref name="AutoJ4-33">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC to Headline UK Download Festival |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ac-dc-to-headline-uk-download-festival-5519907.html |date=27 January 2010 |website=[[The Independent]] |access-date=29 August 2023 |archive-date=29 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829104940/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ac-dc-to-headline-uk-download-festival-5519907.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Three concerts in December 2009 at the [[River Plate Stadium]] in Argentina were released on a video album, ''[[Live at River Plate]]'' via DVD on 10 May 2011.<ref name="8S4Et">{{cite magazine |last1=Somaiya |first1=Ravi |date=6 May 2011 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-talk-epic-concert-dvd-live-at-the-river-plate-238090/ |title=AC/DC Talk Epic Concert DVD ''Live at the River Plate'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823053152/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-talk-epic-concert-dvd-live-at-the-river-plate-238090/ |archive-date=23 August 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> An exclusive single from the DVD, featuring the songs "[[Shoot to Thrill]]" and "War Machine", was issued on [[Record Store Day]], April 2011.<ref name="OVw1Q">{{cite web |last1=Stickler |first1=Jon |url=https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/164728/9 |title=Sony Music Supports UK Record Store Day 2011 |website=Stereoboard |date=6 April 2011 |access-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920061535/https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/164728/9 |archive-date=20 September 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> AC/DC released their first&nbsp;live audio album in 20&nbsp;years, ''[[Live at River Plate (album)|Live at River Plate]]'', on 19 November 2012.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=16 November 2012 |title=AC/DC Rip It Up on ''Live at River Plate'' – Album Premiere |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-rip-it-up-on-live-at-river-plate-album-premiere-248866/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128084919/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-rip-it-up-on-live-at-river-plate-album-premiere-248866/ |archive-date=28 January 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=8 April 2024}}</ref>

In June 2011, AC/DC reissued their concert film, ''AC/DC: Let There Be Rock'', on DVD and Blu-ray.<ref name="Vbqlc">{{cite web |last=Wilkening |first=Matthew |date=11 February 2011 |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-let-there-be-rock-dvd/ |title=AC/DC: ''Let There Be Rock'' Concert Film to Receive Blu-Ray Release in June |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201200426/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/acdc-let-there-be-rock-dvd/ |archive-date=1 February 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> The entire catalogue – excluding ''T.N.T.'' (1975) and the Australian versions of ''High Voltage'' (1975), ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' (1976) and ''Let There Be Rock'' (1977), became available on the [[iTunes Store]] the same day.<ref name="tYjOi">{{cite news|last=Sisario|first=Ben|title=AC/DC Joins iTunes, as Spotify Emerges as Music's New Disrupter|url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/acdc-joins-itunes-as-spotify-emerges-as-musics-new-disrupter/|access-date=21 November 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=19 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121003526/http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/acdc-joins-itunes-as-spotify-emerges-as-musics-new-disrupter/|archive-date=21 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> At the conclusion of the Black Ice World Tour in 2010, Malcolm had been diagnosed with lung cancer. It was treated at an early stage and surgery was successful with cancerous tissue removed. He also had an unspecified heart problem and had a [[Artificial cardiac pacemaker|pacemaker]] fitted.<ref name="blackicehealth">{{cite web |last=Wilkening |first=Matthew |date=8 January 2015 |title=Lung Cancer, Pacemaker: More Malcolm Young Health Woes Detailed |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/malcolm-young-lung-cancer-pacemaker/ |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708172838/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/malcolm-young-lung-cancer-pacemaker/ |archive-date=8 July 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=25 May 2024}}</ref>

===2014–2018: Malcolm Young retires and hiatus===
[[File:ACDC, Concierto en el Estadio Olimpico Lluís Companys - (Barcelona 2015).JPG|thumb|alt=Four AC/DC members are shown from stage left; Johnson singing at front, Angus in red uniform with guitar, Stevie further right on guitar and Williams back left on guitar and singing.|AC/DC's [[Rock or Bust World Tour]], performed in [[Barcelona]] in 2015]]

Malcolm became seriously ill in April 2014 and was unable to continue performing; fans speculated that the group could disband.<ref name="aibA9">{{Cite web |first1=Peter |last1=Vincent |first2=Martin |last2=Boulton |date=16 April 2014 |title=AC/DC to Split Over Sick Band Member, According to Rumours |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-to-split-over-sick-band-member-according-to-rumours-20140415-36puy.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418065545/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-to-split-over-sick-band-member-according-to-rumours-20140415-36puy.html |archive-date=18 April 2014 |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription |access-date=16 April 2014}}</ref> However, Johnson stated that despite Malcolm's absence, they would return to Vancouver to record their sixteenth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Rock or Bust]]''.<ref name="AutoJ4-34">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Are Not Retiring, Though Malcolm Young is 'Taking a Break' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/16/acdc-not-retiring-brian-johnson |date=16 April 2014 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416224144/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/16/acdc-not-retiring-brian-johnson |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2023}}</ref> In July, AC/DC announced that they had finished recording it and that Stevie had replaced Malcolm in the studio.<ref name="YOIkv">{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/07/10/acdc-finishes-album-malcolm-young-hospitalized/12472559/|title=AC/DC Finishes Album; Malcolm Young Hospitalized |first1=Korina|last1=Lopez|date=10 July 2014|website=[[USA Today]]|access-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715045435/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/07/10/acdc-finishes-album-malcolm-young-hospitalized/12472559/|archive-date=15 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> On 23 September, AC/DC members confirmed that Malcolm had officially retired from performing.<ref name="smhrockorbust">{{Cite web |last1=Vincent |first1=Peter |date=24 September 2014 |title=AC/DC Confirm Malcolm Young's Retirement, ''Rock or Bust'' Album and World Tour |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-confirm-malcolm-youngs-retirement-rock-or-bust-album-and-world-tour-20140924-10lmlf.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925010417/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-confirm-malcolm-youngs-retirement-rock-or-bust-album-and-world-tour-20140924-10lmlf.html |archive-date=25 September 2014 |url-status=live |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=3 September 2023 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Malcolm's last show with the group had been on 28 June 2010 in Bilbao, Spain;<ref name="AutoJ4-35">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-malcolm-youngs-last-ever-gig-acdc-2160766 |title=Watch Malcolm Young's Last Ever Gig with AC/DC |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=18 November 2017 |website=[[NME]] |access-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019041338/https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-malcolm-youngs-last-ever-gig-acdc-2160766 |archive-date=19 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> he died on 18 November 2017 at the age of 64 due to his [[dementia]].<ref name="F8ig3">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/malcolm-young-acdc-guitarist-and-co-founder-dead-at-64-w512164|title=Malcolm Young, AC/DC Guitarist and Co-Founder, Dead at 64|first1=Daniel|last1=Kreps|date=18 November 2017|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=18 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118224850/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/malcolm-young-acdc-guitarist-and-co-founder-dead-at-64-w512164|archive-date=18 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Rudd confirmed that there would be another AC/DC tour and that they had no intention of retiring.<ref name="AutoJ4-37">{{Cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Cameron |date=22 August 2014 |title=AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Says the Band and Angus Young Will Never Retire |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-drummer-phil-rudd-says-the-band-and-angus-young-will-never-retire/news-story/3bb28144b012da69fd1508ab7cbc4611 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320031127/https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-drummer-phil-rudd-says-the-band-and-angus-young-will-never-retire/news-story/3bb28144b012da69fd1508ab7cbc4611 |archive-date=20 March 2016 |url-status=live |publisher=[[news.com.au]] |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref>

On 23 September 2014, The band revealed that ''Rock or Bust'', featuring eleven&nbsp;tracks, would be released on 28 November as the first&nbsp;AC/DC album in the band's history without Malcolm on the recordings,<ref name="smhrockorbust" /> nevertheless all its compositions were credited to Angus and Malcolm.{{sfn|Columbia Records|2014}} The album reached number&nbsp;one in Australia,<ref name="AUS RoB">{{Cite web |first1=Steffen |last1=Hung |title=AC/DC – ''Rock or Bust'' |url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=AC/DC&titel=Rock+Or+Bust&cat=a |publisher=Australian Charts Portal (Hung Medien) |access-date=25 May 2024}}</ref> Canada,<ref name="CAN">{{Cite magazine |title=AC/DC Chart History (Canadian Albums) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ac-dc/chart-history/cna/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=25 May 2024}}</ref> Germany,<ref name="GER RoB">{{cite web |title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts - ''Rock or Bust'' |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-255378 |publisher=[[GfK Entertainment charts|GfK Entertainment]] |language=de |access-date=28 September 2023 }}</ref> and the UK.<ref name="OCC" /> The band also announced their [[Rock or Bust World Tour|supporting world tour]], with Stevie as Malcolm's replacement.<ref name="23b5t">{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/acdc-to-release-new-album-rock-or-bust-as-guitarist-malcolm-young-retires-from-band/story-e6frfmq9-1227069572711|title=AC/DC to Release New Album ''Rock or Bust'' as Guitarist Malcolm Young Retires from Band |date=24 September 2014 |publisher=[[news.com.au]] |access-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202070207/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/acdc-to-release-new-album-rock-or-bust-as-guitarist-malcolm-young-retires-from-band/story-e6frfmq9-1227069572711|archive-date=2 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Rudd was charged with threatening to kill, possession of [[methamphetamine]] and possession of [[cannabis]] following a police raid on his home on 6 November 2014.<ref name="yPSCa">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29928698|title=AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd on New Zealand Murder Plot Charge|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=6 November 2014|access-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112021452/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29928698|archive-date=12 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> AC/DC's members issued a statement clarifying that the tour promoting ''Rock or Bust'' would continue but did not indicate whether or not Rudd would participate or whether he was still a member.<ref name="5QBWO">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/nov/06/what-now-for-acdc-phil-rudd-arrest-malcolm-young-retirement |title=What Now for AC/DC, After Phil Rudd's Arrest and Malcolm Young's Retirement? |date=6 November 2014 |access-date=6 November 2014 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106194218/http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/nov/06/what-now-for-acdc-phil-rudd-arrest-malcolm-young-retirement |archive-date=6 November 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> At a charity signing before the [[Grammy Award]]s, the band were photographed together with Slade. It was later confirmed that he had rejoined for the Grammys and tour.<ref name="Sh8CW">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/13/acdc-confirm-chris-slade-will-replace-phil-rudd-2015-tour |title=AC/DC Confirm Chris Slade Will Replace Phil Rudd on Their 2015 Tour |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307041846/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/13/acdc-confirm-chris-slade-will-replace-phil-rudd-2015-tour |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2015, Rudd pleaded guilty to drug and threatening to kill charges.<ref name="YTP8b">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ac-dc-drummer-phil-rudd-pleads-guilty-to-drugs-threatening-to-kill-charges-20150421 |title=AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Pleads Guilty to Drugs, Threatening to Kill Charges |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |date=21 April 2015 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=29 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424234240/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ac-dc-drummer-phil-rudd-pleads-guilty-to-drugs-threatening-to-kill-charges-20150421 |archive-date=24 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, the band's website showed that Rudd was replaced by Slade on drums.<ref name="CZI9i">{{cite web |last1=Schaffner |first1=Lauryn |date=7 October 2020 |url=https://loudwire.com/acdc-photo-timeline-career/ |title=AC/DC: A Photo Timeline of Their Legendary Career |website=[[Loudwire]] |access-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010074218/https://loudwire.com/acdc-photo-timeline-career/ |archive-date=10 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 9 July 2015, Rudd was sentenced to eight&nbsp;months of [[House arrest|home detention]].<ref name="notsocheap">{{Cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Jason |date=9 July 2015 |title=AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Sentenced to Eight Months Home Detention |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-drummer-phil-rudd-sentenced-to-eight-months-home-detention-45048/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822201620/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-drummer-phil-rudd-sentenced-to-eight-months-home-detention-45048/ |archive-date=22 August 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=26 January 2024}}</ref>

[[File:ACDC with AxlRose WashingtonDC 17-SEP-2016 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|alt=AC/DC with touring, lead vocalist Axl Rose, aged 44, shown in right profile both on screen and centre stage. He wears a black hat, T-shirt and jeans with gold jewellery. Chris Slade on drums is shown on screen but obscured on stage. Stevie is at right stage, Angus in white shirt and dark shorts to Rose's left, Williams in black at stage left.|AC/DC with [[Axl Rose]] (''centre and top left''), performing in Washington, D.C., in 2016]]
On 7 March 2016, the band announced that the final ten&nbsp;dates of the Rock or Bust World Tour would be rescheduled as Johnson's doctors had ordered him to stop touring immediately; he risked complete deafness if he persisted. The ten&nbsp;cancelled dates were to be rescheduled, "likely with a guest vocalist" later in the year, leaving Johnson's future in touring with the group uncertain.<ref name="vhozI">{{cite magazine |last=Roffman |first=Michael |url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/acdc-frontman-brian-johnson-ordered-to-stop-touring-immediately-or-risk-total-hearing-loss/ |title=AC/DC Frontman Brian Johnson Ordered 'to Stop Touring Immediately or Risk Total Hearing Loss' |magazine=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]] |date=7 March 2016 |access-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315075949/http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/acdc-frontman-brian-johnson-ordered-to-stop-touring-immediately-or-risk-total-hearing-loss/ |archive-date=15 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 16 April 2016, [[Guns N' Roses]] frontman [[Axl Rose]] was announced as the lead vocalist for the remainder of their 2016 tour dates.<ref name="YMYPd">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ac-dc-confirm-axl-rose-is-new-lead-singer-joining-band-on-tour-20160416|title=AC/DC Confirm Axl Rose Is New Lead Singer, Joining Band on Tour|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=16 April 2016|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=17 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417151941/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ac-dc-confirm-axl-rose-is-new-lead-singer-joining-band-on-tour-20160416|archive-date=17 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Williams indicated he was leaving AC/DC during an interview with ''Gulfshore Life''{{'}}s Jonathan Foerste on 8 July 2016. "It's been what I've known for the past 40&nbsp;years, but after this tour I'm backing off of touring and recording. Losing Malcolm, the thing with [Rudd] and now with [Johnson], it's a changed animal. I feel in my gut it's the right thing."<ref name="onbvU">{{cite web|url=http://www.gulfshorelife.com/July-2016/Still-Rockin-in-Southwest-Florida-ACDC-Cliff-Williams-Brian-Howe-Steve-Luongo/|title=Still Rockin' in Southwest Florida|work=Gulfshore Life|first=Jonathan|last=Foerste|access-date=8 September 2016|date=July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612011918/http://www.gulfshorelife.com/July-2016/Still-Rockin-in-Southwest-Florida-ACDC-Cliff-Williams-Brian-Howe-Steve-Luongo/|archive-date=12 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the end of the Rock or Bust World Tour, he released a video statement confirming his departure.<ref name="WilliamsRetirementRS">{{cite magazine|last1=Blistein|first1=Jon|title=AC/DC Bassist Cliff Williams Confirms Retirement in Heartfelt Video|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/acdc-bassist-cliff-williams-confirms-retirement-w441119|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=20 September 2016|access-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829051136/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/acdc-bassist-cliff-williams-confirms-retirement-w441119|archive-date=29 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> His last show with AC/DC before the hiatus was in [[Philadelphia]] on 20 September 2016.<ref name="AutoJ4-39">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-ac-dc-salute-cliff-williams-at-bassists-final-show-121606/ |title=Watch AC/DC Salute Cliff Williams at Bassist's Final Show |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=21 September 2016 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204024/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-ac-dc-salute-cliff-williams-at-bassists-final-show-121606/ |archive-date=10 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> After completing the tour in 2016, AC/DC went on hiatus. George Young died on 22 October 2017, aged 70.<ref name="Carmody">{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-musician-george-young-dead-at-71-20171023-gz6f8n.html |title=AC/DC Producer and Easybeats Musician George Young Dead at 70 |last=Carmody |first=Broede |date=23 October 2017 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023174003/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/acdc-musician-george-young-dead-at-70-20171023-gz6f8n |archive-date=23 October 2017 |access-date=31 December 2023 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===2018–present: Reunion and ''Power Up''===
In August 2018, speculation grew that former members Johnson and Rudd were back working with the band. A fan living near The Warehouse Studio, Vancouver claimed to have observed them in the outdoor area of the studio from an apartment window.<ref name="AutoJ4-40">{{Cite web |date=8 August 2018 |title=Brian Johnson tilbake som vokalist i AC/DC |trans-title=Brian Johnson Back as Vocalist in AC/DC |url=https://www.nettavisen.no/meninger/rockman/siste-brian-johnson-tilbake-som-vokalist-i-acdc/3423522794.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808171356/https://www.nettavisen.no/meninger/rockman/siste-brian-johnson-tilbake-som-vokalist-i-acdc/3423522794.html |archive-date=8 August 2018 |access-date=8 August 2018 |language=no}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, a photograph of Johnson with Williams at the gymnasium of the [[Living Shangri-La]] hotel in Vancouver in December 2018 surfaced, indicating that Williams had also rejoined.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Spencer |date=11 February 2019 |title=Bassist Cliff Williams May Also Be Back in AC/DC: Report |url=https://consequence.net/2019/02/report-bassist-cliff-williams-back-in-ac-dc/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409112038/https://consequence.net/2019/02/report-bassist-cliff-williams-back-in-ac-dc/ |archive-date=9 April 2021 |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Heavy Consequence]]}}</ref> AC/DC then confirmed on 30 September 2020 the return of Johnson, Rudd and Williams to the line-up alongside Angus and Stevie, reuniting the ''Rock or Bust'' line-up.<ref name="AutoJ4-43">{{cite web |first1=Sam |last1=Moore |date=30 September 2020 |title=AC/DC Confirm Comeback and Return of Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ac-dc-confirm-comeback-and-return-of-brian-johnson-phil-rudd-cliff-williams-2765684 |website=[[NME]] |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008091336/https://www.nme.com/news/music/ac-dc-confirm-comeback-and-return-of-brian-johnson-phil-rudd-cliff-williams-2765684 |url-status=live |access-date=30 September 2020}}</ref>

On 28 September 2020, the band updated their social media accounts posting a teaser video, which led to speculation of their "comeback, possibly as early as this week or next week."<ref name="AutoJ4-42">{{cite web |title=AC/DC Drop Their Biggest Hint of a Comeback with New Social Media Video |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ac-dc-drop-their-biggest-hint-at-comeback-with-new-social-media-video-2763413 |website=[[NME]] |date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929032925/https://www.nme.com/news/music/ac-dc-drop-their-biggest-hint-at-comeback-with-new-social-media-video-2763413 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> On 1 October, AC/DC released a snippet of their new song "[[Shot in the Dark (AC/DC song)|Shot in the Dark]]".<ref name="AutoJ4-44">{{Cite web |first1=Richard |last1=Bienstock |date=2 October 2020 |title=The First Snippet of AC/DC's Very AC/DC-Sounding New Single, 'Shot in the Dark', Is Here |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/the-first-snippet-of-acdcs-very-acdc-sounding-new-single-shot-in-the-dark-is-here |website=[[Guitar World]] |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403062712/https://www.guitarworld.com/news/the-first-snippet-of-acdcs-very-acdc-sounding-new-single-shot-in-the-dark-is-here |url-status=live }}</ref> On 7 October, the band confirmed the upcoming release on 13 November of their next studio album, ''[[Power Up (album)|Power Up]]'' and issued "Shot in the Dark" as its lead single from the album.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Legaspi |first=Althea |date=7 October 2020 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-shot-in-the-dark-song-power-up-1072031/ |title=AC/DC Unleash 'Shot in the Dark', Announce ''Power Up'' LP Release Date |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=3 June 2024 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601000702/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-shot-in-the-dark-song-power-up-1072031/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The album's track listing was revealed on their website the same day.<ref name="AutoJ4-45">{{Cite web |last1=Lifton |first1=Dave |date=7 October 2020 |title=AC/DC's ''Power Up'': Track List, Release Date, Cover Art Revealed |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ac-dc-power-up-album-details/ |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007111358/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ac-dc-power-up-album-details/ |archive-date=7 October 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=23 September 2023}}</ref> They had recorded it in August–September 2018 with O'Brien producing at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, with some tweaking in Los Angeles in 2019.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/acdc-interview-brian-johnson-angus-young-power-up-1070834/ |title=Exclusive: Angus Young, Brian Johnson, and Cliff Williams on the Resurrection of AC/DC |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=6 October 2020 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=6 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006150324/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/acdc-interview-brian-johnson-angus-young-power-up-1070834/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118130632/https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=32 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Power Up'' |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=18 November 2023 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=32 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:TaylorHawkTributeWemb030922 (113 of 281) (52334846970)~2.jpg|thumb|alt=Chaney, aged 52, holds his guitar firmly. He wears a blue T-shirt and blue pants.|[[Chris Chaney]] (''pictured in 2022'') replaced Williams on bass guitar for the [[Power Up Tour]].<ref name="Kaufman 1" />]]
AC/DC launched a [[dive bar]] on 2 October 2023, located at Club 5 Bar in Indio, called the High Voltage Dive Bar.<ref name="AutoJ4-85">{{Cite web |last1=Hadusek |first1=Jon |date=2 October 2023 |title=AC/DC to Open Pop-Up Dive Bar in Celebration of Power Trip Gig |url=https://consequence.net/2023/10/ac-dc-dive-bar-power-trip/ |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Heavy Consequence]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015327/https://consequence.net/2023/10/ac-dc-dive-bar-power-trip/ |archive-date=3 October 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=4 October 2023}}</ref> AC/DC performed a co-headlining act for the [[Power Trip (music festival)|Power Trip]] music festival at the [[Empire Polo Club]] in [[Indio, California]], on 7 October, which was their first&nbsp;show in seven&nbsp;years,<ref name="AutoJ4-86">{{Cite magazine |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=8 October 2023 |title='How Cool Is This? Lovely to See You!': AC/DC Have Completed Their First Show in Seven Years at the Power Trip Festival |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-power-trip-setlist |magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008093405/https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-power-trip-setlist |archive-date=8 October 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023}}</ref> with Williams being part of the line-up after coming out of retirement,<ref name="AutoJ4-47">{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=9 September 2023 |title=AC/DC Reveal Retired Bassist Cliff Williams Will Return for Power Trip Fest |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-bassist-cliff-williams-return-power-trip-fest-1234821635/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910060817/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ac-dc-bassist-cliff-williams-return-power-trip-fest-1234821635/ |archive-date=10 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=10 September 2023}}</ref> and American drummer [[Matt Laug]], who had previously played for [[Slash's Snakepit]] and [[Alice Cooper]], replacing Rudd.<ref name="AutoJ4-48">{{Cite web |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=9 September 2023 |title=AC/DC Share Rehearsal Clip Ahead of Power Trip – and It's Not Phil Rudd in the Drum Seat |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-share-rehearsal-clip-ahead-of-power-trip |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910060840/https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-share-rehearsal-clip-ahead-of-power-trip |archive-date=10 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=10 September 2023}}</ref> The band hinted at another tour to occur in 2024;<ref name="AutoJ4-49">{{Cite web |last1=Potter |first1=Jordan |date=12 September 2023 |title=Are AC/DC Plotting a World Tour for 'Next Year'? |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ac-dc-plotting-world-tour-next-year/ |website=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915153855/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ac-dc-plotting-world-tour-next-year/ |archive-date=15 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=15 September 2023}}</ref> the [[List of mayors of Munich|mayor of Munich]], [[Dieter Reiter]], confirmed that they had booked a show in the [[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympic Stadium]] for 12 June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diallo |first=Nehne |date=10 November 2023 |title=AC/DC: Gerüchte über Tour 2024, München-Konzert soll feststehen |url=https://www.musikexpress.de/acdd-geruechte-ueber-tour-muenchen-konzert-soll-geplant-sein-2453309/ |trans-title=AC/DC: Rumors About Tour 2024, Munich Concert Should Be Confirmed |language=de |website=[[Musikexpress]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110233200/https://www.musikexpress.de/acdd-geruechte-ueber-tour-muenchen-konzert-soll-geplant-sein-2453309/ |archive-date=10 November 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref> Founding drummer Colin Burgess died on 16 December 2023, aged 78.<ref name="Kreps">{{Cite magazine |first=Daniel |last=Kreps |date=16 December 2023 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/colin-burgess-ac-dc-original-drummer-dead-obit-1234931220/ |title=Colin Burgess, AC/DC's Original Drummer, Dead at 77 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216160225/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/colin-burgess-ac-dc-original-drummer-dead-obit-1234931220/ |archive-date=16 December 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="The Ryerson Index">{{cite web | url = http://ryersonindex.net/search.php | title = The Ryerson Index | publisher = [[Ryerson Index|Ryerson Index Inc]] | access-date = 21 March 2025 }}. Note: User must add 'Burgess' into the Surname search parameter and 'Colin John' into the Any Given Name(s) parameter. Then press 'Search Ryerson' button.</ref>

On 6 February 2024, the band published a teaser on their social media accounts, showing the band's lightning bolt symbol flickering before the words "Are You Ready" appear and their [[Are You Ready (AC/DC song)|song of the same name]] plays.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunworth |first=Liberty |date=6 February 2024 |title=AC/DC Tease Their Return to Touring: 'Are You Ready?' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ac-dc-tease-their-return-to-touring-are-you-ready-3583196 |website=[[NME]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206121242/https://www.nme.com/news/music/ac-dc-tease-their-return-to-touring-are-you-ready-3583196 |archive-date=6 February 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=6 February 2024}}</ref> This led to fans speculating that they would come back to touring after eight years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robets |first=Rachael |date=10 February 2024 |title='Are You Ready?': AC/DC Are Teasing Something, and It Looks Like an Announcement Is Coming Very Soon |url=https://guitar.com/news/music-news/acdc-teasing-tour-announcement/ |website=[[BandLab Technologies|Guitar.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225110808/https://guitar.com/news/music-news/acdc-teasing-tour-announcement/ |archive-date=25 February 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> On 12 February, the [[Power Up Tour]] was announced, with former [[Jane's Addiction]] bass guitarist [[Chris Chaney]] replacing Williams.<ref name="PWRUP Tour">{{Cite news |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=12 February 2024 |title=AC/DC Announce 21-Date Power Up Tour – and a New Bass Player |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-announce-2024-tour-dates |work=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212090258/https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-announce-2024-tour-dates |archive-date=12 February 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref> The European leg of the tour began on 17 May and concluded on 17 August, with American band [[the Pretty Reckless]] as their support act for all twenty-four performances.<ref name="Kaufman 1">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/pretty-reckless-opening-act-ac-dc-2024-european-tour-1235640377/ |title=Pretty Reckless to Support AC/DC on 2024 PWR Up European Tour |first=Gil |last=Kaufman |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=25 March 2024 |access-date=1 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325141427/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/pretty-reckless-opening-act-ac-dc-2024-european-tour-1235640377/ |archive-date=25 March 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> AC/DC reissued their entire catalogue on gold [[Phonograph record|vinyl]] for their 50th&nbsp;anniversary on 15 March 21 June and 27 September 2024, as part of the ''AC/DC 50'' series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hadusek |first=Jon |date=20 February 2024 |title=AC/DC Reissuing Classic Albums on Gold Vinyl for 50th Anniversary |url=https://consequence.net/2024/02/ac-dc-gold-vinyl-50th-anniversary-reissues/ |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Heavy Consequence]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220212550/https://consequence.net/2024/02/ac-dc-gold-vinyl-50th-anniversary-reissues/amp/ |archive-date=20 February 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AC/DC – Next Wave of 50th Anniversary Gold Vinyl Editions Available for Pre-Order |url=https://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-next-wave-of-50th-anniversary-gold-vinyl-editions-available-for-pre-order |website=[[Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles]] |date=8 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509043756/https://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-next-wave-of-50th-anniversary-gold-vinyl-editions-available-for-pre-order |archive-date=9 May 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Iahn |first=Buddy |date=12 August 2024 |title=AC/DC Announces Final Wave of Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Vinyl Reissues |url=https://themusicuniverse.com/ac-dc-announces-final-wave-of-limited-edition-50th-anniversary-vinyl-reissues/ |website=The Music Universe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815004413/https://themusicuniverse.com/ac-dc-announces-final-wave-of-limited-edition-50th-anniversary-vinyl-reissues/ |archive-date=15 August 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=15 August 2024}}</ref> They have also reissued two Australasia-only albums – ''High Voltage'' and ''T.N.T.'' (both 1975), only available at the High Voltage Dive Bar.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=15 May 2024 |title=AC/DC to Reissue Original Australian Versions of ''High Voltage'' and ''T.N.T.'', But There's a Catch |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-high-voltage-tnt-reissues |work=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515073545/https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-high-voltage-tnt-reissues |archive-date=15 May 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> On 2 December 2024, the band announced a second leg of the Power Up Tour in North America for thirteen shows, with the Pretty Reckless as their support act.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rolli |first1=Bryan |date=2 December 2024 |title=AC/DC Announces 2025 North American Stadium Tour |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ac-dc-2025-north-american-tour/ |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]] |access-date=2 December 2024 |language=en}}</ref> On 23 June, the band announced an Australian leg for five shows, including a show for the [[Adelaide 500|BP Adelaide Grand Final]], with [[Amyl and the Sniffers]] as the opening act.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McCabe |first1=Kathy |date=23 June 2025 |title=Stadium slayers AC/DC to carve up Aussie stadiums in November and December |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tours/stadium-slayers-acdc-to-carve-up-aussie-stadiums-in-november-and-december/news-story/b7de7dedd4a79817b9560a33de9ed9a7 |newspaper=[[News.com.au]] |access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref>

==Musical style==
Aside from an early flirtation with glam rock, the group's sound and performance style are based on [[Pub rock (Australia)|Australian pub rock]].<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="McFarlane" />{{sfn|Cockington|2001|pp=189–190}} That style was pioneered by [[Lobby Loyde]] of [[Billy Thorpe]]'s early 1970s group, [[Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs|the Aztecs]].<ref name="Donovan 2006">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619044522/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/lobby-just-wants-to-play-a-couple-more-times-with-mates/2006/06/09/1149815316635.html |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/lobby-just-wants-to-play-a-couple-more-times-with-mates/2006/06/09/1149815316635.html |title=Lobby Just Wants 'to Play a Couple More Times with Mates' – National |first=Patrick |last=Donovan |newspaper=[[The Age]] |date=10 June 2006 |access-date=25 September 2023 |archive-date=19 June 2006 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live }}</ref> Vanda noted "the pub crowd as an audience demanded blood—'or else'." He described wanting to "recreate the real Australian pub sound—'not like that American sound, smooth and creamy, nicey, nicey.'"{{sfn|Cockington|2001}} [[Glenn A. Baker]] felt they played "rib-crushing, blood-curdling, brain damaging, no bullshit, thunder rock".{{sfn|Baker|2010|p=22}}

''[[The Canberra Times]]''{{'}} Tony Catterall reviewed ''T.N.T.'', in which "[they] wallow in the lumpen proletarianism that's the home of punk rock" while comparing them with rivals Buster Brown, which are "more imaginative and musically better".<ref name="Catterall">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110801728 |title=Rock Music – AC/DC: Australia's Best Punk-Rockers |first1=Tony |last1=Catterall |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=50 |issue=14,296 |date=9 February 1976 |access-date=25 September 2023 |page=13 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref> Music journalist [[Ed Nimmervoll]] summarised, "If we tried to isolate what has characterised Australian rock and roll from the rest of the world's it would be music that's made to be played live, and gets right down to basics with a minimum of distraction. [...] AC/DC captured that essence not long after it crystallised, and they have continued to carry that creed around the world as their own."<ref name="Nimmervoll" />

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of [[AllMusic]] said AC/DC utilizes "dirty" [[guitar riffs]], "snarling" singing, and "catchy, [[wikt:anthemic|anthemic]]" [[Hook (music)|hooks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}} All... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ac-dc-mn0000574772#biography |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> According to ''[[Vulture.com|Vulture]]'' music journalist [[David Marchese]], the instrumental foundation of the band's simple sound was the drummer—Rudd, Wright, or Slade—striking the [[kick drum]] on the first&nbsp;and third&nbsp;[[beat (music)|beat]] of every [[measure (music)|measure]] and the [[snare drum]] on the second&nbsp;and fourth&nbsp;beat; bass guitarist Williams consistently [[downpicking|down-picking]] an [[eighth note]]; Angus performing lead parts that possessed "a clear architecture and even sort of swing, in a frenzied, half-demented way"; and Malcolm's "propulsive" yet nuanced rhythm guitar featuring "little ''chuks'', stutters, and silences that give the monstrous riffs life."<ref name="Marchese">{{cite magazine|last=Marchese|first=David|author-link=David Marchese|date=16 September 2016|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/09/acdc-axl-rose-tour-retire.html|title=AC/DC Has Improbably Become the Most Poignant Story in Rock|magazine=[[Vulture.com|Vulture]]|access-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810205129/http://www.vulture.com/2016/09/acdc-axl-rose-tour-retire.html|archive-date=10 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

For the majority of Malcolm's tenure in AC/DC, he used a [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] [[JMP Super Bass|Super Bass]] head to amplify his rhythm guitar while recording in the studio. According to Chris Gill of ''[[Guitar World]]'', this amplifier helped define his signature guitar tone: "clean but as loud as possible to ride on the razor's edge of power amp distortion and deliver the ideal combination of grind, twang, clang and crunch, with no distorted preamp 'hair,' fizz or compression", as heard on songs such as "Let There Be Rock", "Dirty Deeds", "For Those About to Rock" and "Thunderstruck". During 1978 to 1980, Malcolm used a Marshall 2203 100-watt master volume head, which Gill speculates may have contributed to a "slightly more distorted and dark" guitar tone on the albums from that period, including ''Powerage'' and ''Back in Black''.<ref name="AutoJ4-50">{{cite magazine|last=Gill|first=Chris|date=2 January 2018|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/acdc-thunderstruck-secrets-behind-malcolm-young-guitar-sound-tonal-recall|title=The Secrets Behind Malcolm Young's Guitar Sound on AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck'|magazine=[[Guitar World]]|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810072525/https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/acdc-thunderstruck-secrets-behind-malcolm-young-guitar-sound-tonal-recall|archive-date=10 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a comparison of AC/DC's vocalists, [[Robert Christgau]] said Scott exhibited a "blokelike croak" and "charm", often singing about sexual aggression under the guise of fun: "Like [[Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter]] or [[Roger Chapman]] though without their panache, he has fun being a dirty young man".{{sfn|Christgau|1990}} Johnson, in his opinion, possessed "three times the range and wattage" of a vocalist while projecting the character of a "[[bloke]] as fantasy-fiction demigod".{{sfn|Christgau|1990}} By the time Johnson had fully acclimated himself to 1981's ''For Those About to Rock We Salute You'', Christgau said he defined "an anthemic grandiosity more suitable to [the band's] precious-metal status than [Scott]'s old-fashioned raunch", albeit in a less intelligent manner.{{sfn|Christgau|1990}}

===Influences===
AC/DC's influences include the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Billy Thorpe, the Easybeats and Vanda & Young.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="McFarlane" /><ref name="Torres News">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255509185 |title=ABC TV - ''A Long Way to the Top'' |newspaper=[[Torres News]] |issue=460 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=24 August 2001 |access-date=25 September 2023 |page=28 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref> The impact of Australian pub rock on AC/DC was documented on ABC's ''[[Long Way to the Top]]'' (2001).<ref name="LWttT 4">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021015221720/http://www.abc.net.au/longway/episode_4/ |url=http://www.abc.net.au/longway/episode_4/ |title=''Long Way to the Top'', Episode 4: 'Berserk Warriors' |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC) |access-date=25 September 2023 |archive-date=15 October 2002 }}</ref> Angus reflected on his playing style: "A lot of it was nerves at first. It was George that told me if you get on stage and play guitar you want to let people know you are doing something. When I started in the band I was shy and had to push myself forward. [...] [Patrons] would be throwing beer cans and I thought 'just keep moving' and that's how it all started."<ref name="LWttT 4" /> George had taught both Malcolm and Angus "how to play guitar, and playing them classic rock and roll and blues records until that music was like blood in their veins."<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> According to ''Long Way to the Top''{{'}}s writers, "[t]he hardships of the Australian road would complete AC/DC's training. [Scott] revelled in the lifestyle. Somehow he rose above all the substance abuse to become the ultimate rock and roll front man."<ref name="LWttT 4" />

===Genres===
AC/DC's music has been variously described as [[hard rock]],<ref name="Baker History of">{{cite journal |first1=Glenn A. |last1=Baker |author-link1=Glenn A. Baker |editor-last=Heatley |editor-first=Michael |editor-link=Michael Heatley |year=1984 |journal=[[The History of Rock (magazine)|The History of Rock]] |title=''High Voltage'': The Positive Charge of AC/DC |publisher=Orbis Publishing |location=London |volume=10 |page=2227}}</ref> [[blues rock]],{{sfn|McParland|2018|pp=57–58}} and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]],<ref name="Morse">{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Morse |date=6 January 1982 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126869893 |title=AC-DC, the Biggest Seller |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=56 |issue=16,902 |page=11 |access-date=6 February 2024 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> but they have referred to themselves as "a [[rock and roll]] band, nothing more, nothing less".{{sfn|Engleheart|1997}} Malcolm recalled honing their craft. "We'd been playing up to four gigs a day. That really shaped the band... It was a mix of screw you, Jack, and having a good time and all being pretty tough guys... The training ground was Melbourne."{{sfn|Jenkins|Meldrum|2007}} In the opinion of [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]], they are "one of the defining acts of '70s hard rock" and reactionary to the period's [[art rock]] and [[arena rock]] excesses. "AC/DC's rock was minimalist – no matter how huge and bludgeoning their guitar chords were, there was a clear sense of space and restraint."<ref name="AutoJ4-66">{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|date=n.d.|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ac-dc-mn0000574772/biography|title=AC/DC|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619163125/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ac-dc-mn0000574772/biography|archive-date=19 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Alexis Petridis]], their music is "hard-edged, wilfully basic blues-rock," featuring humorous sexual innuendo and lyrics about rock and roll.<ref name="AutoJ4-67">{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=26 October 2008|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/27/acdc-music-recession|title=Things Really Must Be Bad – AC/DC Are No 1 Again|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116093704/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/27/acdc-music-recession|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Music academic Robert McParland described the band's sound as being defined by the heavy rock guitar of the Young brothers, layered [[power chord]]s and forceful vocals.{{sfn|McParland|2018|pp=57–58}} "For some, AC/DC are the ultimate heavy metal act," [[Tim Jonze]] wrote in ''[[The Guardian]]'', "but for others, AC/DC aren't a heavy metal act at all, they're a classic rock band – and calling them heavy metal is an act of treachery."<ref name="AutoJ4-68">{{cite news|last=Jonze|first=Tim|author-link=Tim Jonze|date=14 April 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/15/heavy-metal-music|title=A Handy Guide to Heavy Metal|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808051647/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/15/heavy-metal-music|archive-date=8 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On the controversy of categorising their music, McParland wrote:{{sfn|McParland|2018|pp=57–58}}

{{blockquote|AC/DC will assert that they are not specifically a metal band. Their music—loud, hard, and guitar-driven—may best be described as hard rock. However, there are people who will say that they are indisputably metal. Therein lies the ongoing problem of categorisation. While AC/DC has referenced the underworld and they have given their listeners 'Highway to Hell' and 'Hell's Bells,' their songs are constructed on straightforward major and minor power chords. They are not modally developed as are a good deal of heavy metal compositions. Their sound is loud and crisp, not muddy or down-tuned.}}

With the recording of ''Back in Black'' in 1980, rock journalist Joe S. Harrington believed the band had departed further from the blues-oriented rock of their previous albums and toward a more dynamic attack that adopted punk rock's "high-energy implications" and transmuted their hard rock/heavy metal songs into "more pop-oriented blasts". The band would remain faithful to this "impeccably ham-handed" musical style for the remainder of their career: "the guitars were compacted into a singular statement of rhythmic efficiency, the rhythm section provided the thunderhorse overdrive and vocalist Johnson bellowed and brayed like the most unhinged practitioner of bluesy top-man dynamics since vintage [[Robert Plant]]."{{sfn|Harrington|2003}}

==Legacy==
[[File:ACDC Pinball Machine With 'Helen' Adaptation - Seattle.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|alt=Pinball machine in the style of AC/DC. The artwork shows the AC/DC logo in between the words "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" with the logo's high voltage symbol at the beginning and end of the words, and a hand-drawn woman with black hair, devil horns and a black bikini, standing in lava with fire in the background.|AC/DC themed pinball machine, pictured in [[Seattle]] in 2024]]

Several musicians have credited AC/DC for reasserting hard rock's popularity after it had ceded mainstream attention to other musical genres in the late 1970s.<ref name="AutoJ4-51">{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Phil |date=22 July 2020 |title=How AC/DC's ''Back in Black'' Changed Rock Music Forever |url=https://www.kerrang.com/how-ac-dcs-back-in-black-changed-rock-music-forever |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710132811/https://www.kerrang.com/how-ac-dcs-back-in-black-changed-rock-music-forever |archive-date=10 July 2023 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=[[Kerrang!]]}}</ref><ref name="Elliott">{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Paul |date=22 July 2020 |title=The Inside Story of AC/DC's ''Back in Black'', the Biggest-Selling Rock Album of all Time |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-inside-story-of-acdcs-back-in-black |work=[[Guitar World]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104055/https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-inside-story-of-acdcs-back-in-black |archive-date=4 September 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref> [[Tom Morello]] of [[Rage Against the Machine]] and [[Audioslave]] noted of ''Back in Black''{{'}}s release: "Disco was huge and punk and new wave were ascendant, and along came this AC/DC record which just destroyed everybody. It put hard rock music back on the throne, where it belongs!"<ref name="Elliott" />

AC/DC's music was a formative influence on the [[new wave of British heavy metal]] bands that emerged in the late 1970s, such as [[Saxon (band)|Saxon]] and [[Def Leppard]], in part as a reaction to the decline of traditional early 1970s hard rock bands. In 2007, critics noted that AC/DC, along with [[Thin Lizzy]], UFO, [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]] and [[Judas Priest]], were among "the second&nbsp;generation of rising stars ready to step into the breach as the old guard waned."<ref name="ZiNzy">{{Cite magazine |last=Elliott |first=Paul |date=February 2007 |title=Never Mind the Bollocks |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]}}</ref> Over the years, many prominent rock musicians have cited AC/DC as an influence, including [[Dave Mustaine]] of Megadeth,<ref name="AutoJ4-52">{{cite news |last=Mustaine |first=Dave |date=14 January 2014 |title=The Record that Changed My Life: Dave Mustaine Discusses AC/DC's ''Let There Be Rock'' |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/album-changed-my-life-dave-mustaine-discusses-acdcs-let-there-be-rock |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710163925/https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/album-changed-my-life-dave-mustaine-discusses-acdcs-let-there-be-rock |archive-date=10 July 2023 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=[[Guitar World]]}}</ref> [[Josh Homme]] of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss,<ref name="AutoJ4-53">{{cite news |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |date=21 November 2017 |title=Josh Homme on How AC/DC's Malcolm Young Inspired the Start of Queens of the Stone Age |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/josh-homme-acdcs-malcolm-young-inspired-start-queens-stone-age-2161987 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710022656/https://www.nme.com/news/music/josh-homme-acdcs-malcolm-young-inspired-start-queens-stone-age-2161987 |archive-date=10 July 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023 |work=[[NME]]}}</ref> [[Dave Grohl]] of Nirvana and Foo Fighters,<ref name="AutoJ4-54">{{cite news |last=Young |first=Alex |date=18 November 2017 |title=Dave Grohl Pays Tribute to AC/DC's Malcolm Young, Who Inspired Him to Start a Band |url=https://consequence.net/2017/11/dave-grohl-pays-tribute-to-ac-dcs-malcolm-young-who-inspired-him-to-start-a-band/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710022656/https://consequence.net/2017/11/dave-grohl-pays-tribute-to-ac-dcs-malcolm-young-who-inspired-him-to-start-a-band/ |archive-date=10 July 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023 |work=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]]}}</ref> [[Scott Ian]] of Anthrax,<ref name="AutoJ4-55">{{cite news |date=23 July 2020 |title=Anthrax's Scott Ian: AC/DC's ''Back in Black'' 'Fucking Blew My Mind' |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/anthraxs-scott-ian-acdcs-back-black-fucking-blew-my-mind |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104630/https://www.revolvermag.com/music/anthraxs-scott-ian-acdcs-back-black-fucking-blew-my-mind |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023 |work=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]}}</ref> [[Eric Peterson (musician)|Eric Peterson]] of Testament,<ref name="AutoJ4-56">{{cite news |date=14 October 2013 |title=Interview: Testament's Eric Peterson |url=https://spotlightreport.net/on-the-spot-2/interview-testaments-eric-peterson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104520/https://spotlightreport.net/on-the-spot-2/interview-testaments-eric-peterson |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=Spotlight Report}}</ref> [[Dexter Holland]] of the Offspring;<ref name="AutoJ4-57">{{cite news |date=8 March 2014 |title=Celebrating the Offspring's Enduring Impact |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2014/03/08/celebrating-the-offsprings-enduring-impact/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104519/https://www.ocregister.com/2014/03/08/celebrating-the-offsprings-enduring-impact/ |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=[[The Orange County Register]]}}</ref> [[Brian Baker (musician)|Brian Baker]] of Bad Religion, Minor Threat, Dag Nasty and Junkyard,<ref name="AutoJ4-58">{{cite news |last=Mullins |first=Dave |date=7 March 2023 |title=Brian Baker - Fake Names Interview |url=https://wallofsoundau.com/2023/03/07/brian-baker-one-of-the-missions-of-fake-names-is-to-have-the-entire-world-understand-how-important-michael-hampton-is/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104521/https://wallofsoundau.com/2023/03/07/brian-baker-one-of-the-missions-of-fake-names-is-to-have-the-entire-world-understand-how-important-michael-hampton-is/ |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=Wall of Sound}}</ref> and bands such as [[Airbourne (band)|Airbourne]],<ref name="Standard">{{cite web |title=Brothers Airborne |url=http://www.swtafe.edu.au/lrc/music/okeefair.htm |website=The Standard |publisher=[[South West Institute of TAFE]] |location=[[Warrnambool|Warrnambool, VIC]] |date=13 March 2003 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20030730003850/http://www.swtafe.vic.edu.au/lrc/music/okeefair.htm |archive-date=30 July 2003 |url-status=dead |access-date=16 July 2024 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} '''n.b.''' Band name is known as "Airborne".</ref> [[Metallica]],<ref name="AutoJ4-59">{{cite news |last=Kennelty |first=Greg |date=10 November 2020 |title=AC/DC's ''Back in Black'' Inspired Metallica's ''Black Album'' Not Just in Color |url=https://loudwire.com/metallica-black-album-acdc-back-in-black-inspiration/ |website=[[Loudwire]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827102650/https://loudwire.com/metallica-black-album-acdc-back-in-black-inspiration/ |archive-date=27 August 2021 |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> [[Slayer]],<ref name="Slayer">{{cite web |author=Full Metal Jackie |date=26 May 2015 |title=Kerry King Talk New Slayer Album, Fans + More |url=https://loudwire.com/kerry-king-talks-new-slayer-album-fans-more/ |website=[[Loudwire]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405011951/https://loudwire.com/kerry-king-talks-new-slayer-album-fans-more/ |archive-date=5 April 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]],<ref name="AutoJ4-60">{{cite news |last=Stefanis |first=Josh |year=2004 |title=Get Ready to Rock! Interview with Tom Hunting and Gary Holt of Thrash Metal Rock Band |url=https://www.getreadytorock.com/pure_metal/exodus.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904104518/https://www.getreadytorock.com/pure_metal/exodus.htm |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023 |work=Get Ready to Rock}}</ref> [[the Cult]],<ref name="thecult">{{Cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |date=6 April 2017 |title=How the Cult Reinvented Themselves on ''Electric'' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-cult-electric/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112192347/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-cult-electric/ |archive-date=12 January 2024 |access-date=27 December 2023 |website=[[Townsquare Media|Ultimate Classic Rock]]}}</ref> and [[the Living End]].<ref name="AutoJ4-61">{{cite news |date=14 September 2021 |title=Australian Guitar x Bluesfest 2022: The Living End |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/australian-guitar-x-bluesfest-2021-the-living-end |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810115901/https://www.guitarworld.com/features/australian-guitar-x-bluesfest-2021-the-living-end |archive-date=10 August 2022 |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=[[Guitar World]]}}</ref> Australian acts formed in AC/DC's footsteps are [[Rose Tattoo]] and [[the Angels (Australian band)|the Angels]].<ref name="LWttT 4" /> [[Chrissy Amphlett]] of Australian rockers [[Divinyls]] acknowledged Angus' schoolboy outfit as the inspiration for her performing in a schoolgirl's uniform.<ref name="Laffan">{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/lists/a-history-of-australian-music-in-6-objects/10343512 |title=A History of Australian Music in 6 Objects |first=Carolyn |last=Laffan |author-link=Carolyn Laffan |publisher=[[Double J (radio station)|Double J]] ([[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC)) |date=19 December 2017 |access-date=14 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109194454/https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/lists/a-history-of-australian-music-in-6-objects/10343512 |archive-date=9 November 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Gene Simmons]] of hard rock contemporaries Kiss remarked, "a lot of people look the same and act the same and do the same thing. Every once in a while you see a band like AC/DC. Nobody's like them. We'd like to think we're unique in that way too."<ref name="AutoJ4-62">{{cite news |last=Monroe |first=Scott |date=9 November 2018 |title=Gene Simmons: There's Nobody Like AC/DC |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/gene-simmons-theres-nobody-like-acdc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105021/https://www.loudersound.com/news/gene-simmons-theres-nobody-like-acdc |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023 |work=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Louder Sound]]}}</ref> [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] of Guns N' Roses called them "with the exception of the [Rolling] Stones, the greatest rock 'n' roll band ever."<ref name="AutoJ4-63">{{cite news |last=Aubrey |first=Elizabeth |date=20 April 2019 |title='Where Do I Start?' Guns N' Roses' Slash Responds to Reports of a New AC/DC Album |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/start-guns-n-roses-slash-responds-reports-ac-dc-reunion-2479035 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904105028/https://www.nme.com/news/music/start-guns-n-roses-slash-responds-reports-ac-dc-reunion-2479035 |archive-date=4 September 2023 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=[[NME]]}}</ref> "I always liked them," said Australian compatriot and singer-songwriter [[Nick Cave]]. "We had this TV show called ''Countdown'' and they were often on and they were always a riot and absolutely unique. They were a heavy rock band, but Bon Scott would go on ''Countdown'' dressed as a schoolgirl and stuff like that. They were always very anarchic and never took the thing too seriously."<ref name="AutoJ4-64">{{cite podcast |host=[[Marc Maron]] |title=Episode 403 - Nick Cave |url=http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_403_-_nick_cave |date=4 July 2013 |access-date=9 July 2023 |website=[[WTF with Marc Maron]] |time=15:10}}</ref>

AC/DC and other artists (see [[Parents Music Resource Center#Filthy Fifteen|Filthy Fifteen]]) ran afoul of the [[Satanic panic]] of the 1980s. This general fear of modern hard rock and heavy metal was greatly increased in the band's case when serial killer [[Richard Ramirez]] was arrested. Ramirez, nicknamed the "Night Stalker" by the press, told police that "[[Night Prowler (song)|Night Prowler]]" from ''Highway to Hell'' had driven him to commit murder.<ref name="AutoJ4-69">{{Cite web |last=Snyder |first=Russell |date=31 August 1985 |title=Police Saturday Arrested the Aalleged Night Stalker, Accused of... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/08/31/Police-Saturday-arrested-the-alleged-Night-Stalker-accused-of/5705494308800/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029232411/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/08/31/Police-Saturday-arrested-the-alleged-Night-Stalker-accused-of/5705494308800/ |archive-date=29 October 2018 |access-date=29 October 2018 |publisher=[[United Press International]] (UPI)}}</ref> Police also claimed that Ramirez was wearing an AC/DC shirt and left an AC/DC hat at one of the crime scenes.<ref name="AutoJ4-70">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Bob |date=2 September 1985 |title=Other Serial Slayings Tinged by Satanism: Elements of Devil Worship in Stalker Case May Not Be Factors in Motivation, Experts Caution |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-02-mn-22957-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124175840/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-09-02/news/mn-22957_1_satanic-ritual |archive-date=24 November 2018 |access-date=29 October 2018 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Accusations that AC/DC were devil worshippers were made, the lyrics of "Night Prowler" were analysed and some newspapers attempted to link Ramirez's Satanism with AC/DC's name,<ref name="Can Times Prowler">{{cite news |date=3 September 1985 |title=Suspected Killer 'Obsessed by Devil' |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128253062 |access-date=29 December 2023 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |page=5 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] |volume=60 |issue=18,235 |agency=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> concluding that AC/DC stood for Anti-Christ/Devil's Child or Devil's Children.<ref name="AutoJ4-72">{{Cite web |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |date=8 September 1985 |title=The Devil, You Say? No Way: AC/DC's Message: Rebellion, Not Satan Worship |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-08-ca-2746-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003065213/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-09-08/entertainment/ca-2746_1_heavy-metal |archive-date=3 October 2018 |access-date=29 October 2018 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

===Lyrics assessment===
Throughout the band's career, their songs have been criticised as simplistic,<ref name="Donoughue">{{Cite web |first=Paul |last=Donoughue |date=22 November 2017 |title=What Learning 70 AC/DC Riffs Taught Lindsay McDougall About Malcolm Young |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-20/malcolm-young-lindsay-mcdougall-guitar-riffs-legacy/9167796 |publisher=[[Double J (radio station)|Double J]] ([[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC)) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325040049/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-20/malcolm-young-lindsay-mcdougall-guitar-riffs-legacy/9167796 |archive-date=25 March 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=27 January 2024}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> monotonous,<ref name="Diepstraten">{{Cite magazine |last=Mitchell |first=Matt |date=2 March 2024 |title=Time Capsule: AC/DC: Highway to Hell |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/ac-dc/time-capsule-ac-dc-highway-to-hell |magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323172936/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/ac-dc/time-capsule-ac-dc-highway-to-hell |archive-date=23 March 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref> deliberately lowbrow and sexist.<ref name="McCabe">{{Cite web |first=Kathy |last=McCabe |date=12 November 2014 |title=New AC/DC Music Video for 'Play Ball' Is Big on Sports and Sexist Shots. And Minus Phil Rudd |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/new-acdc-music-video-for-play-ball-is-big-on-sports-and-sexist-shots-and-minus-phil-rudd/news-story/90a1351915fc582c46df631552119317 |publisher=[[news.com.au]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127085004/https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/new-acdc-music-video-for-play-ball-is-big-on-sports-and-sexist-shots-and-minus-phil-rudd/news-story/90a1351915fc582c46df631552119317 |archive-date=27 January 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=27 January 2024}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> David Marchese from ''Vulture'' wrote that "regardless of the lyricist, whether it was Scott (who was capable of real wit and colour), Johnson, or the Young brothers, there's a deep strain of [[misogyny]] in the band's output that veers from feeling terribly dated to straight-up reprehensible."<ref name="Marchese" /> According to Christgau in 1988, "the brutal truth is that sexism has never kept a great rock-and-roller down—from [[Muddy Waters|Muddy]] to [[Lemmy]], lots of dynamite music has objectified women in objectionable ways. But rotely is not among those ways", in regards to AC/DC.{{sfn|Christgau|1990}}

Fans of the band have defended their music by highlighting its "bawdy humour",<ref name="Sturges">{{cite news|last=Sturges|first=Fiona|date=2 October 2017|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/02/songs-that-hate-women-and-the-women-who-love-them-why-im-still-a-fan-of-acdc|title=Songs that Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them: Why I'm Still a Fan of AC/DC|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810210457/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/02/songs-that-hate-women-and-the-women-who-love-them-why-im-still-a-fan-of-acdc|archive-date=10 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> while members of the group have generally been dismissive of claims that their songs are sexist, arguing that they are meant to be in jest.<ref name="Marchese" /> In an interview with [[Sylvie Simmons]] for ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'', Angus called the band "pranksters more than anything else," while Malcolm said, "We're not like some macho band. We take the music far more seriously than we take the lyrics, which are just throwaway lines."<ref name="Sturges" /> Marchese regarded the musical aspect of the Youngs' songs as "strong enough to render the words a functional afterthought" as well as "deceptively plain, devastatingly effective, and extremely lucrative."<ref name="Marchese" />

For the book ''Under My Thumb: Songs That Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them'', ''The Guardian'' arts critic Fiona Sturges contributed an essay evaluating her love for AC/DC. While acknowledging she is a feminist and that the band's music is problematic for her, she believed it would be "daft as opposed to damaging" for female listeners if they could understand the band to be "a bunch of archly sex-obsessed idiots with sharp tunes and some seriously killer riffs". Despite the "unpleasant sneering quality" of "Carry Me Home"{{'}}s claims about a woman who "ain't no lady", the "rape fantasy" of "Let Me Put My Love into You" and the generally one-dimensional portrayals of women, Sturges said songs such as "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" demonstrated that the female characters "are also having a good time and are, more often than not, in the driving seat in sexual terms. [...] [I]t's the men who come over as passive and hopeless, awestruck in the presence of sexual partners more experienced and adept than them."<ref name="Sturges" />

==Awards and achievements==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by AC/DC}}
[[File:ACDC Lane-240823248.jpg|thumb|alt=All caps "ACDC" (no dash, no space) followed by "Lane" are seen in off-white lettering on midnight blue background. They are preceded by an off-white stylised M and a feather. Above and below the sign is a mid-blue lightning bolt bordered in white. Both are attached to a brick wall with visible, security head screws. The wall has partly torn, unrelated promotional posters.|The street sign for [[ACDC Lane]], [[Melbourne]]]]

The band's first&nbsp;ever nomination at an award show was from the [[American Music Awards of 1982]] for [[American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group|Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group]].<ref name="AutoJ4-74">{{cite web|access-date=7 October 2023|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1982/amas.htm|title=9th American Music Awards|publisher=Rock on the Net|archive-date=23 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923001151/http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1982/amas.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1988, AC/DC were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.<ref name="Middleton" /> The municipality of [[Leganés]], near [[Madrid]], named a street in honour of the band "Calle de AC/DC" (English: "AC/DC Street") on 22 March 2000. Malcolm and Angus attended the inauguration with many fans.<ref name="TGAM">{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Gets Street Name |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/acdc-gets-street-name/article4162056/ |date=24 March 2000 |website=[[The Globe and Mail]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828110715/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/acdc-gets-street-name/article4162056/ |archive-date=28 August 2023 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> The plaque had since been stolen numerous times, forcing the municipality of Leganés to begin selling replicas of the official street plaque.<ref name="El Mundo venta">{{cite news |last1=S. Valera |first1=Ana |url=http://www.elmundo.es/2000/04/05/madrid/05N0046.html |title=Las placas de la 'calle AC/DC' se pondrán a la venta a partir del próximo lunes |language=es |trans-title=The 'AC/DC Street' Plates Will Go on Sale from Next Monday |work=El Mundo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114214011/http://www.elmundo.es/2000/04/05/madrid/05N0046.html |archive-date=14 November 2007 |url-status=dead |date=5 April 2000 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

On 1 October 2004, a central Melbourne thoroughfare, Corporation Lane, was renamed [[ACDC Lane]] in honour of the band. The [[City of Melbourne]] forbade the use of the [[slash (punctuation)|slash]] character in street names, so the four letters were combined.<ref name="efstC">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=228&pg=715&st=191 |title=Next Stage in AC/DC Lane Proposal Wins in-Principle Support |access-date=2 August 2008 |date=8 July 2004 |publisher=[[City of Melbourne]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016110316/http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=228&pg=715&st=191 |archive-date=16 October 2008}}</ref> The lane is near [[Swanston Street]], where, on the back of a truck, the band recorded their video for "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".<ref name="acdclane">{{cite news | first = Martin | last = Boulton | title = Laneway to the Top for AC/DC | url = http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/09/1094530766163.html | work = [[The Age]] | date = 10 September 2004 | access-date = 2 August 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080522085904/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/09/1094530766163.html | archive-date = 22 May 2008 | url-status = live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003.<ref name="BB RnRHoF">{{Cite magazine |last=Wes |first=Orshoski |date=22 March 2003 |title=U.K. '70s Punk Prevails at 18th Hall of Fame |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2003/BB-2003-03-22.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=115 |issue=12 |page=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121044827/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2003/BB-2003-03-22.pdf |archive-date=21 January 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=18 June 2024}}</ref> During the ceremony, the band performed "[[Highway to Hell (song)|Highway to Hell]]" and "You Shook Me All Night Long", with guest vocals provided by host [[Steven Tyler]] of Aerosmith. He described the band's power chords as "the thunder from down under that gives you the second&nbsp;most powerful surge that can flow through your body."<ref name="DCiA3">{{cite news | title = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Opens Doors to Clash, Police, Costello, AC/DC |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=11 March 2003 |access-date=2 August 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/11/rock.hall.fame.ap/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031003075850/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/11/rock.hall.fame.ap/index.html |archive-date=3 October 2003}}</ref> During the acceptance speech, Johnson quoted their 1977 song "Let There Be Rock".<ref name="gZ0YU">{{cite web|url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12027761 |title=AC/DC, the Clash, the Police and Others Inducted into Hall of Fame |access-date=2 August 2008 |last=Johnson Jr. |first=Billy |date=11 March 2003 |publisher=[[LAUNCHcast|Yahoo! Music]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704170535/http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12027761 |archive-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> In May 2003, the Young brothers accepted a [[Ted Albert]] Award for Outstanding Service to Australian Music at the [[APRA Music Awards of 2003]], during which Malcolm paid special tribute to Scott, who was also a recipient of the award.<ref name="aNUQH">{{cite web | url = http://www.apra.com.au/awards/music/media_releases/03-music_award_winners_announced.asp | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080723033156/http://apra.com.au/awards/music/media_releases/03-music_award_winners_announced.asp | archive-date = 23 July 2008 | title = 2003 Music Winners Awards Announced | publisher=[[APRA AMCOS|Australasian Performing Right Association]] (APRA) | access-date = 2 August 2008}}</ref>

In 2003, ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] list included ''Back in Black'' at number&nbsp;73,<ref name="AutoJ4-77">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/back-in-black-ac-dc-19691231|title=''Back in Black'' Ranked No. 73|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902124015/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/back-in-black-ac-dc-19691231 |access-date=4 May 2022|archive-date=2 September 2011 }}</ref> and ''Highway to Hell'' at number&nbsp;199.<ref name="AutoJ4-78">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/highway-to-hell-ac-dc-19691231|title=Highway Ranked No. 199|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902081102/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/highway-to-hell-ac-dc-19691231 |access-date=4 May 2022|archive-date=2 September 2011 }}</ref> They also ranked number&nbsp;72 on the [[Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time|100 Greatest Artists of All Time]], as American record producer [[Rick Rubin]] wrote an essay calling them the "greatest rock & roll band of all time."<ref name="thegreatest">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/ac-dc-20110420 |title=AC/DC – 100 Greatest Artists |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=6 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008151937/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/ac-dc-20110420 |archive-date=8 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, on their [[The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]] list, ''Rolling Stone'' included "Back in Black" at number&nbsp;187<ref name="AutoJ4-79">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2|title=''Rolling Stone'': 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 101-200|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620035744/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2 |access-date=4 May 2022|archive-date=20 June 2008 }}</ref> and "Highway to Hell" at number&nbsp;254.<ref name="AutoJ4-80">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/3|title=''Rolling Stone'': 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 201-300|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619105433/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/3 |access-date=4 May 2022|archive-date=19 June 2008 }}</ref> They ranked number&nbsp;four on ''[[VH1]]''{{'}}s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock,<ref name="ncQS2">{{cite web|title=100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock |work=[[VH1]] |url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62188/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/hardrock_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862769&start=81 |access-date=2 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913223620/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62188/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=%2Fshows%2Fdynamic%2Fincludes%2Fwildcards%2Fthe_greatest%2Fhardrock_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862769&start=81 |archive-date=13 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and number&nbsp;seven on [[MTV]]'s Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time.<ref name="eVbFY">{{cite web|title=The Greatest Metal Bands of All Time |publisher=MTV |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/index8.jhtml |access-date=2 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726214945/http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/index8.jhtml |archive-date=26 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They ranked number&nbsp;23 on ''VH1''{{'}}s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2010.<ref name="ODQCW">{{cite web |url=https://stereogum.com/495331/vh1-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time/list/ |title=The Greatest Artists of All Time |date=3 September 2010 |work=[[VH1]] |access-date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917145032/http://stereogum.com/495331/vh1-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time/list/ |archive-date=17 September 2011 |url-status=live |via=[[Stereogum]]}}</ref> On 20 November 2015, the band were inducted into the [[Music Victoria Awards]] 10th&nbsp;Anniversary Hall of Fame. Angus offered a statement, in which he declared it was "an absolute honour" to be recognised in the tenth&nbsp;year of the Hall of Fame.<ref name="AutoJ4-82">{{Cite web |last=Childers |first=Chad |date=20 November 2015 |title=AC/DC Inducted into ''The Age'' Music Victoria Awards Hall of Fame |url=https://loudwire.com/acdc-inducted-the-age-music-victoria-awards-hall-of-fame/ |website=[[Loudwire]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829104942/https://loudwire.com/acdc-inducted-the-age-music-victoria-awards-hall-of-fame/ |archive-date=29 August 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

They sold over 1.3&nbsp;million CDs in the US during 2007.<ref name="53cw7">{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Robert |date=10 October 2008 |title=Ageless and Defiant, AC/DC Stays on Top Without Going Digital |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/arts/music/12levi.html |url-access=subscription |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=19 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102213918/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/arts/music/12levi.html |archive-date=2 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 50 years of the band's career, they have sold over 200&nbsp;million albums worldwide,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AC/DC: Rock's 'Kick in the Guts' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29932369 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=6 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821235126/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29932369 |archive-date=21 August 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=10 September 2024}}</ref> and 84&nbsp;million in the US, according to the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA),<!-- Updated on 10 September 2024 --> which AC/DC the fourth&nbsp;best-selling band in US history and the eighth&nbsp;best-selling artist, selling more albums than [[Elton John]] and [[Mariah Carey]].<ref name="riaa1">{{cite web |title = Top Selling Artists |publisher = [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) |url = https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=TAA#search_section |access-date = 2 August 2008}}</ref> The RIAA also certified ''Back in Black'' as 27× Platinum, for 27&nbsp;million in US sales, which made it the fourth&nbsp;best-selling album of all time in the US.<ref name="AutoJ4-81">{{Cite web|title=Gold & Platinum|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=T1A&col=certified_units&ord=desc#search_section|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913200358/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=T1A&col=certified_units&ord=desc#search_section|archive-date=13 September 2021|access-date=1 December 2021|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) }}</ref>

==Band members==<!-- Do not add Mike Sheffzick to this section without reaching a consensus on the talk page first. -->
{{main|List of AC/DC members}}

===Current===
* [[Angus Young]] – lead guitar, occasional backing vocals (1973–present)
* [[Phil Rudd]] – drums (1975–1983, 1994–2015, 2018–present; {{small|not touring since 2023}})
* [[Cliff Williams]] – bass guitar, backing vocals (1977–2016, 2018–present; {{small|not touring since 2024}})
* [[Brian Johnson]] – lead vocals (1980–2016, 2018–present)
* [[Stevie Young]] – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2014–present; {{small|touring 1988}})

;Current touring musicians
* [[Matt Laug]] – drums (2023–present)
* [[Chris Chaney]] – bass guitar, backing vocals (2024–present)

===Former===
* [[Malcolm Young]] – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1973–2014; {{small|died 2017}})
* [[Colin Burgess (musician)|Colin Burgess]] – drums (1973–1974; {{small|substituted 1975; died 2023}})
* [[Larry Van Kriedt]] – bass guitar (1973–1974, 1975)
* [[Dave Evans (singer)|Dave Evans]] – lead vocals (1973–1974)
* Neil Smith – bass guitar (1974; {{small|died 2013}})
* Ron Carpenter – drums (1974)
* Russell Coleman – drums (1974)
* Noel Taylor – drums (1974)
* [[Rob Bailey (musician)|Rob Bailey]] – bass (1974–1975)
* [[Peter Clack]] – drums (1974–1975)
* [[Bon Scott]] – lead vocals (1974–1980; {{small|his death}})
* [[Paul Matters]] – bass guitar (1975; {{small|died 2020}})
* [[Mark Evans (musician)|Mark Evans]] – bass guitar (1975–1977)
* [[Simon Wright (musician)|Simon Wright]] – drums (1983–1989)
* [[Chris Slade]] – drums (1989–1994, 2015–2016)

;Former touring musicians
* [[George Young (rock musician)|George Young]] – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, drums, backing vocals (1974–1975; {{small|died 2017}})
* Denis Loughlin – lead vocals (1974; {{small|died 2019}})
* Bruce Howe – bass guitar (1975){{sfn|Wall|2012}}
* Paul Greg – bass guitar (1991){{sfn|Masino|2009|p=150}}
* [[Axl Rose]] – lead vocals (2016)

==Discography==
{{main|AC/DC discography|List of songs recorded by AC/DC}}
<!-- ONLY studio albums belong here. See AC/DC's full discography at its own article. -->

'''Studio albums'''
* ''[[High Voltage (1975 album)|High Voltage]]'' (1975) ([[Australasia]] only)
* ''[[T.N.T. (album)|T.N.T.]]'' (1975) (Australasia only)
* ''[[High Voltage (1976 album)|High Voltage]]'' (1976) (international version)
* ''[[Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Let There Be Rock]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Powerage]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Highway to Hell]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Back in Black]]'' (1980)
* ''[[For Those About to Rock We Salute You]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Flick of the Switch]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Fly on the Wall (AC/DC album)|Fly on the Wall]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Blow Up Your Video]]'' (1988)
* ''[[The Razors Edge (AC/DC album)|The Razors Edge]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Ballbreaker]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Stiff Upper Lip (album)|Stiff Upper Lip]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Black Ice (album)|Black Ice]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Rock or Bust]]'' (2014)
* ''[[Power Up (album)|Power Up]]'' (2020)

==Concert tours==
* T.N.T./Lock Up Your Daughters Summer Vacation Tour (1975–1976)<ref name="Fricke 2" /><ref name="boweber">{{Cite web |last=Weber |first=Bo |date=11 November 2022 |title=Success, Death and Rock & Roll: Facts About the Legendary Australian Band, AC/DC |url=https://www.musicinminnesota.com/success-death-and-rock-roll-facts-about-the-legendary-australian-band-ac-dc/ |website=Music in Minnesota |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117053245/https://www.musicinminnesota.com/success-death-and-rock-roll-facts-about-the-legendary-australian-band-ac-dc/ |archive-date=17 January 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=27 January 2024}}</ref>
* Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap/Giant Dose of Rock 'n' Roll Tour (1976–1977)<ref name="boweber" />
* Let There Be Rock Tour (1977)<ref name="boweber" />
* Powerage Tour (1978)<ref name="boweber" />
* If You Want Blood Tour (1978–1979)<ref name="boweber" />
* [[Highway to Hell Tour]] (1979–1980)
* [[Back in Black Tour]] (1980–1981)
* [[For Those About to Rock Tour]] (1981–1982)
* [[Flick of the Switch Tour]] (1983–1985)
* [[Fly on the Wall Tour]] (1985–1986)
* [[Who Made Who World Tour|Who Made Who Tour]] (1986)
* [[Blow Up Your Video World Tour]] (1988)
* [[Razors Edge World Tour]] (1990–1991)
* [[Ballbreaker World Tour]] (1996)
* [[Stiff Upper Lip World Tour]] (2000–2001)
* [[Black Ice World Tour]] (2008–2010)
* [[Rock or Bust World Tour]] (2015–2016)
* [[Power Up Tour]] (2024–2025)

==See also==
{{Portal|Australia|Biography|Rock music}}
* [[List of best-selling music artists]]
* [[List of blues rock musicians]]
* [[List of hard rock bands (A–M)]]
* [[List of heavy metal bands]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |author1=[[Albert Productions]] |author2=[[Epic Records]] |date=25 March 2003 |title=[[Let There Be Rock]] |others=AC/DC |type=liner notes |id=5-099751-076124 |ref={{harvid|Albert Productions|Epic Records|2003}}}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |author1=[[Atlantic Records]] |date=30 April 1976 |title=[[High Voltage (1976 album)|High Voltage]] |others=AC/DC |type=liner notes |id=K 50257 |ref={{harvid|Atlantic Records|1976a}}}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |author1=[[Atlantic Records]] |date=12 November 1976 |title=[[Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap]] |others=AC/DC |type=liner notes |id=K 50323 |ref={{harvid|Atlantic Records|1976b}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |author-link=Glenn A. Baker |year=2010 |title=Best of Baker: Music |chapter=1988: No Ballads, or Anything Stupid Like That |publisher=[[New Holland Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-74257-058-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Browning |first=Michael |year=2014 |title=Dog Eat Dog |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgEVBAAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |isbn=978-1-74343-900-5 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |year=1990 |chapter=AC/DC |chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=AC/DC |title=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s |title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s |publisher=[[Pantheon Books]] |isbn=067973015X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729171335/https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=AC%2FDC |archive-date=29 July 2018 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cockington |first=James |year=2001 |title=Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll |publisher=ABC Books for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |isbn=978-0-7333-0750-8}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |author1=[[Columbia Records]] |title=[[Rock or Bust]] |others=AC/DC |type=LP booklet |date=28 November 2014 |id=8-88750-34841 |ref={{harvid|Columbia Records|2014}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Paul |year=2018 |title=AC/DC: For Those About to Rock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Nq4tAEACAAJ |edition=hardcover |publisher=Hardie Grant Books |isbn=978-174379488-3 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |last=Engleheart |first=Murray |title=Bonfire |title-link=Bonfire (album) |type=booklet |date=18 November 1997 |publisher=[[East West Records]]}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Engleheart |first1=Murray |last2=Durieux |first2=Arnaud |title=AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll |url=https://archive.org/details/acdcmaximumrockr0000engl |url-access=registration |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-06-113391-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fink |first=Jesse |author-link=Jesse Fink |year=2013 |title=The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC |publisher=[[Ebury Publishing|Ebury Australia]] |isbn=978-1-74275-979-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fink |first=Jesse |author-link=Jesse Fink |year=2017 |title=Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC's ''Back in Black'' |publisher=[[ECW Press]] |isbn=978-1-77305-113-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harrington |first=Joe S. |year=2003 |chapter=''Back in Black'' |title=VH-1's 100 Greatest Albums |editor-last=Hoye |editor-first=Jacob |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=0743448766}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Jenkins |first1=Jeff |last2=Meldrum |first2=Ian |author-link2=Molly Meldrum |year=2007 |chapter=AC/DC |title=Molly Meldrum Presents 50 Years of Rock in Australia |pages=140–142 |publisher=Wilkinson Publishing |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-1-921332-11-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |year=1993 |title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]] |edition=illustrated |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives, NSW]] |isbn=0-646-11917-6}} '''n.b.''' The Kent Report chart was licensed by [[Australian Recording Industry Association]] (ARIA) from mid-1983 until 19 June 1988.
* {{Cite book |last=Masino |first=Susan |year=2009 |orig-date=2006 |title=Let There Be Rock: The Story of AC/DC |url=https://archive.org/details/letthereberockst0000masi |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=978-0-8256-3701-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Masino |first=Susan |year=2015 |title=AC/DC FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's True Rock 'n' Roll Band |url=https://archive.org/details/acdcfaqallthatsl0000masi |url-access=registration |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=978-1-4803-9450-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=McFarlane |first=Ian |author-link1=Ian McFarlane |title=[[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop]] |year=1999 |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |location=[[St Leonards, New South Wales|St Leonards, NSW]] |isbn=1-86508-072-1}}
* {{Cite book |last1=McFarlane |first1=Ian |author-link1=Ian McFarlane |last2=Jenkins |first2=Jeff (Foreword) |title=[[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop]] |year=2017 |location=[[Gisborne, Victoria|Gisborne, VIC]] |publisher=Third Stone Press |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-9953856-0-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=McParland |first=Robert |year=2018 |title=Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1476673356}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Stenning |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Stenning |first2=Rob |last2=Johnstone |year=2005 |title=AC/DC&nbsp;– Two Sides to Every Glory |url=https://archive.org/details/acdctwosidestoev0000sten |url-access=registration |publisher=Chrome Dreams |isbn=1-84240-308-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Clinton |author-link=Clinton Walker |year=2006 |orig-date=1994 |title=Highway to Hell: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott |url=https://archive.org/details/highwaytohelllif0000walk |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Pan Books]] |isbn=978-0-330-44913-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wall |first=Mick |author-link=Mick Wall |year=2012 |title=AC/DC: Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be |url=https://archive.org/details/acdchellaintbadp0000wall/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-4091-1535-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Popoff |first1=Martin |title=AC/DC at 50 |date=2023 |publisher=Motorbooks |isbn=978-0-7603-7741-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nLujEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Bunton |first=Richard |year=1983 |title=AC/DC: Hell Ain't No Bad Place to Be |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=0-7119-0082-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Dome |first=Malcolm |year=1982 |title=AC/DC |publisher=Proteus Books |isbn=0-86276-011-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Tim |year=1986 |title=AC/DC (Monsters of Metal) |publisher=Ballantine |isbn=0-345-33239-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Huxley |first=Martin |year=1996 |title=AC/DC: The World's Heaviest Rock |publisher=[[Lightning Source]] |isbn=0-312-30220-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lageat |first1=Philippe |last2=Brelet |first2=Baptiste |title=AC/DC Tours De France 1976–2014 |url=http://acdclelivre.fr/en |date=2014 |publisher=Éditions Point Barre |isbn=978-2-7466-7071-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Marshall |first=Victor |title=Fraternity: Pub Rock Pioneers |publisher=Brolga |year=2021 |isbn=978-1920785109 |edition=1st |location=Melbourne, Australia |pages=443–458 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Prato |first=Greg |year=2020 |title=A Rockin' Rollin' Man: Bon Scott Remembered |publisher=[[Self-publishing|Self-published]] |isbn=978-1-65198-063-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Putterford |first=Mark |year=1992 |title=AC/DC: Shock to the System |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=978-0-71192-823-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Sutcliffe |first=Phil |year=2010 |title=AC/DC High-Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History |publisher=[[The Quarto Group#Imprints|Voyageur Press]] |isbn=978-0-7603-3832-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/acdchighvoltager0000sutc}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=yes |c=yes |n=no |q=yes |s=no |b=no |v=no |d=Q27593}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{AllMusic}}
* {{Discogs artist}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{MusicBrainz artist}}

{{AC/DC|state=uncollapsed}}
{{2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ac Dc}}
[[Category:AC/DC| ]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Albert Productions artists]]
[[Category:APRA Award winners]]
[[Category:ARIA Award winners]]
[[Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Atco Records artists]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Australian blues rock groups]]
[[Category:Australian hard rock musical groups]]
[[Category:Australian heavy metal musical groups]]
[[Category:Australian musical quintets]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Culture of Australia]]
[[Category:East West Records artists]]
[[Category:Echo (music award) winners]]
[[Category:Elektra Records artists]]
[[Category:Epic Records artists]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1973]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Sydney]]
[[Category:Sibling musical groups]]