Why You Shouldn't Miss AC/DC Live

Fools who don’t know any better may be wondering why the announcement of the Australian leg of AC/DC’s Rock Or Bust Tour is causing so much excitement among heavy rock fans — apart from the obvious answer that they’re not only Australia’s biggest-ever rock band, but one of history’s biggest-ever rock bands, period.

The real reason, however, is mainly that Aussie visits by Acca Dacca have been few and far between since they left our shores back in the day to seek fame and fortune overseas. This is, in fact, only the seventh-ever proper Australian tour since the Brian Johnson era began back in 1980 following the tragic passing of legendary frontman Bon Scott, which is just not enough high-voltage rock’n’roll for diehard fans who reside in the band’s home country (which we recently proved to be the case beyond a shadow of a doubt). 

Here’s a quick rundown of the previous jaunts and what they had to offer:

BLACK ICE TOUR

13 Feb - 8 Mar 2010

10 dates in 5 cities

Their most recent tour was five years ago in support of 14th album Black Ice. Featured a life-size locomotive which appeared to crash into the stage (in tribute to track Rock N Roll Train) plus also the red devil-horn merch, which gave the crowd the appearance of their own satanic majesty. Part of the fourth-highest-grossing world tour in history.

STIFF UPPER LIP TOUR

19 Jan – 15 Feb 2001

17 dates in 8 cities

Touring in support of 13^th album Stiff Upper Lip, this tour featured a massive gold statue of Angus (from the album’s cover and nicknamed “Junior”, the statue featured fire coming from his guitar and smoke coming from his head).

BALLBREAKER TOUR

2 Nov – 24 Nov 1996

13 dates in 7 cities

Way ahead of Miley Cyrus, each show would start with a massive wrecking ball knocking down part of the stage, allowing the band to emerge through the gap and belt into Back In Black. The wrecking ball would return during Ballbreaker (with Brian on top for the ride) and also during Highway To Hell, where it would drop through the floor, and Angus would emerge in a cage (presumably from hell). Pre-show entertainment also featured a clip of Beavis & Butthead trying to get into their heroes’ dressing room.

RAZOR’S EDGE TOUR

14 Oct – 10 Nov 1991

18 dates in 5 cities

The massive stage featured a maze of ramps and stairs and was festooned with lights and, during then-current single Money Talks, huge blowers spewed AC/DC-themed dollar notes into the crowd. Tour recordings eventually released as 1992’s AC/DC Live double album, which hit #1 in Australia.

BLOW UP YOUR VIDEO TOUR

29 Jan – 22 Feb 1988

19 dates in 5 cities

This tour in support of their 10th album, Blow Up Your Video, was last to feature drummer Simon Wright. Shows on the US tour opened with Heatseeker, which featured a heat-seeking missile pod rising from the stage from which Angus would emerge to kick off the song, but one can only assume that this was too expensive back in the day to lug Down Under because Aussie shows opened with Who Made Who and featured no massive props.

BACK IN BLACK TOUR

13 Feb – 28 Feb 1981

7 dates in 5 cities

Featured the massive one-ton ‘Hell's Bell’, which would lower onto the stage and toll to announce the commencement of the titular Hell’s Bells, abetted by Brian Johnson, who would whack it with a huge hammer a few times to commence the rock’n’roll festivities.

So, given that most of the other tours have featured a huge prop associated with the then-current album’s single, and that the first two singles from new album Rock Or Bust were the title track and Play Ball, we’re predicting that either a massive ball of some variety will be involved or perhaps something will be broken beyond recognition (or perhaps a combination of the two). We cannot wait to find out (although we’ll probably get a glimpse when the world tour kicks off at Coachella this weekend) — let there be rock!