A Classic AC/DC Interview: Sylvie Simmons Talks To The Rock Gods

Imaginary guitar soloists are standing on metal folding chairs, twitching. Imaginary guitar soloists who've had one too many Quaaludes have fallen off the chairs midway through a strenuous riff and are twitching on the floor. The floor's sticky. The air's sticky, a nice mix of Indianapolis pizza, beer and whiskey, most of it second hand. Headbangers never see their hair again when it sticks to the floor like flypaper. An exuberant bunch, half of them would be the spitting image of Angus Young if they rolled up their jeans and took off their shirts. Not such a bright idea on a night like tonight in Indianapolis, cold enough to freeze the balls off a wallaby. Then it wasn't such a bright idea to line up outside in Arctic weather to make sure of the best seats, but that's what 17,000 adolescents have done, with only a bottle or two to ward off frostbite. Inside there's so much 100% alcohol In the air you'd be scared to light match in case you put half of Indianapolis's young male population quickly out of their misery. But these madmen take the risk anyway, flicking their Bics the moment the bell starts toiling behind the black stage curtain.

The band goes on and all hell breaks loose. WHOAARGGH!! screams Brian Johnson, working-class rhino stomping the stage in his flat cap and beer belly, all charged and horned. "Whooaaargh" echoes Indianapolis in that HM concert way, as ‘Hells Bells’ starts over an hour of rock as subtle as the clap with a similar effect on the brain cells.

‘Sin City’, ‘Back In Black’, ‘Got The Jack’, ‘Highway To Hell’, ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’, ‘Let There Be Rock’ – sod the record company, they're not going to plug the new LP even if it's already umpteen platinum, when the old stuff gets better rabble-rousing effect. It's your basic Best of AC/DC set, differing from last year's Best of AC/DC set only in the cannons stuck at the side of the stage to go off during the encore (new anthem ‘For Those About To Rock We Salute You’). As if they didn't have balls enough. It's nice to know in this ever-changing world that there's something you can rely upon to stay the same.

AC/DC - You Shook me All night long

One thing AC/DC do so disgustingly badly is celebrity

EVEN if you don't own any of their albums and wouldn't recognise the members, you'll know the name AC/DC and the band's iconic lightning bolt logo.

They've sold more than 200MILLION albums, including 42million of the career-defining Back In Black making it the second biggest-selling album of all time behind Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Black Ice is the first new material from AC/DC since Stiff Upper Lip in 2000 and one of the most anticipated releases of the year.

SFTW is in Düsseldorf to meet the rock legends.

AC/DC - Back in Black

AC/DC

Biography

AC/DC is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in December 1973 by Angus and Malcom Young. Their albums have sold in colossal numbers; the total is now estimated at well over 200 million copies worldwide, with the 1980 album Back In Black selling over 21 million in the US alone and 40+ million worldwide, making it, according to statistics, the best selling album in the world ever to be released by a band. Their newest album released in 2008 entitled Black Ice is critically acclaimed even ahead of its release. The band has had two distinctive lead singers, and fans tend to divide its history into the “Bon Scott era (1974-80)” and the “Brian Johnson era (1980-present)”.

Most fans will agree that lead guitarist Angus Young (Now living In The Netherlands) is the face of AC/DC, appearing on the cover of most albums. His wild stage antics and schoolboy uniform have made him one of the most loved guitar players of all time. He has the unparalleled ability to captivate an audience of over 50,000 people with just the sounds of his guitar and his facial expressions. Most footage of Angus consists of him either doing Chuck Berry’s patented Duck Walk across the stage, or of his mop of hair flying around as he rocks through one of his famous solos. Aside from captivating solos, he has also created some of the most well-known riffs together with his brother Malcolm Young (who is the man behind the “Back In Black” riff, by the way).