#84 AC/DC, 'Back in Black' (1980)

Previously #77

On the 19th February 1980, following a particularly heavy night of binge drinking in London, AC/DC vocalist, Bon Scott was pronounced dead. His death devastated his band, who, at the time, were poised to be the biggest band on earth. They considered breaking up but were convinced by friends and family to continue. They recruited Brian Johnson as their new vocalist and by 25 July 1980, they released this, their seventh album with its entirely black cover artwork as a sign of respect to Scott. Opening with the tolling of bells, it serves both as a symbol of the passing of Scott, as well as the harkening of a new era. It takes all but 20 seconds for the familiar sound of Angus young’s guitar to sound and from then, it’s game on. 42 minutes of relentless rock ‘n roll.

This record features not only some of AC/DC’s most iconic songs, but some of the most iconic Rock songs of all time; ‘Hells Bells,’ ‘Shoot To Thrill,’ ‘Let Me Put My Love Into You,’ ‘Back In Black,’ ‘You Shook Me All Night Long,’ amongst others. That’s half the songs, I could easily name the other half. AC/DC are often criticised for having released the same album 17 times, but this one is unique, it’s different and it’s a trailblazer in Rock, Hard Rock and Metal. Brothers Angus and Malcolm Young are amongst the great lead and rhythm guitar duo in music. This release was popular. How popular you might wonder? Well, it’s the second biggest-selling album of all time behind Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’ with more than 50 million copies sold worldwide. For a band on the brink of implosion, one that had faced disaster with the loss of their singer, this has surely got to be the biggest turnaround in the history of music. PLAY THIS LOUD!

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