According to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), AC/DC's Back In Black is now the world's second best selling album, with sales of 42 million copies. The only album to sell more is MICHAEL JACKSON's Thriller, which has sold 56 million copies worldwide.

Source: soundbuzz.com

According to highwaytoacdc.com the October 21th show at the Hammersmith in London was close to being cancelled! Brian Johnson was suddenly ill (infection in the lung) and the AC/DC front man was obliged to have a short medical stay in a hospital just before the show. On Monday afternoon, for the soundcheck, the band didn't really know if the doctors would allow Jonna to perform or not! On Tuesday evening, the Boys played only 16 tracks and Brian didn't give any sign about his problems.

Set-list from the soundcheck:
Rock&Roll damnation, What's next to the moon, Gone shootin', Hard as a rock, & TNT

Set-list from the 21 October show:
Hell ain't a bad lace to be, Back in Black, Stiff upper lip, Dirty deeds done dirt cheap, Thunderstruck, Rock&Roll damnation, The Jack (Angus's strip), Hell's Bells, If you want blood, TNT, Whole lotta Rosie, Let there be rock, Highway to Hell & For those about to rock.

Check out some pics of the gig: carlinglive.com and manulu.de/stonebreaker

Don't miss True Spin on VH1 featuring the tune Back in Black! The show premieres Tuesday 10/21 at 11:00 PM.

Repeats: 10/21 @ 12:30 AM, 10/23 @ 1:30 PM, 10/24 @ 11:30 PM, 10/27 @ 9:00 PM, 10/28 @ 6:00 PM.

AC/DC have sold more than 4,000 tickets in just four minutes for a one-off UK show!

The rock icons - Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams are playing their smallest British gig for 17 years with a show at London's Carling Apollo in Hammersmith on October 21.

The show - for which all the theatre's seats will be removed, has been organised by Carlinglive, the live music wing of the drinks firm.

"We were stunned they all went so quickly," a Carlinglive spokeswoman said.

Source: itv.com

You can hear the entire soundtrack to School of Rock including "It's A Long Way To The Top" at schoolofrockmovie.com.

Once you click on ENTER WEBSITE the page plays Back In Black! Once you're in, click on Menu on the bottom right corner then choose, "The Music". Rock on!

Thanks Rangus for the link!

AC/DC will play the Carling Apollo Hammersmith in London on Tuesday October 21st! The venue is the original world-famous Hammersmith Odeon where the band performed at regularly between 1976 and 1982.

One of my favorite comedian/actors, Jack Black stars in a film titled "School of Rock" which is coming out in October. In the film, Black stars as a substitute teacher who imparts rock'n'roll wisdom to his pre-teen students. One scene in the film features the students performing a rendition of AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll)"!!

The soundtrack to the film "School of Rock" is being released on September 30th and it includes a cover version of "It's a long way to the top" as well as tracks by Led Zeppelin, the Who, and the Doors!

Buy it here: amazon.com

While AC/DC gets down to business on its next studio album, its new label has set a Nov. 11 release date for "Live at Donington," a two-hour DVD chronicling an Aug. 17, 1991, show at the famed outdoor U.K. venue.

Originally issued on VHS in 1992, the DVD will be packaged by Epic Records in a deluxe digi-pack with a 12-page color booklet.

At the time of the performance, AC/DC was touring in support of its 1990 album "The Razor's Edge." Opening cut "Thunderstruck" and "Moneytalks" are represented from that set, as are such classics as "Back in Black," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "You Shook Me All Night Long," and the show-closing "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)."

The DVD is packed with extra features, including a director's cut by original filmmaker David Mallet, a remastered stereo audio track and 5.1 Surround mix, and the option to view several songs with a close-up view of guitarist Angus Young.

Epic continues to trot out reissues of the group's back catalog, continuing on Oct. 7 with a vinyl boxed set collecting all 15 albums in the series. The albums will also be available individually on remastered 180 gram vinyl. The 1997 AC/DC boxed set "Bonfire" has also been remastered and will be released Sept. 9.

Source: www.reuters.com

AC/DC still plan on releasing an album by the end of the year.

Source: www.billboard.com

In front of 450,000 fans, AC/DC came away on top! It was a rockin' show with a 70 min set stripped down and as raw as the boys could be.

Setlist:
Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be
Back In Black
Dirty Deeds
Thunderstruck
If You Want Blood
Hells Bells
The Jack
T.N.T.
You Shook Me
Rosie
Let There be Rock
Highway to Hell

Check out some reviews at: www.ac-dc.net in the online section.

According to ctv.ca, AC/DC will support The Roling Stones once more in Toronto on July 30th for a SARS benefit.

Official Site: www.iam.ca/rollingstones
For related news: www.prnewswire.com

It's complete. AC/DC have finished their mini tour and no longer have any dates lined up for the rest of this year. Let's hope that they take this momentum into the studio and begin working on their next studio album very soon.

There were no surprises regarding the setlist but as with the other Stones gig, there were no gimmicks, no cannon, no Rosie doll, and no light show.

Here's the setlist:

1. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
2. Back In Black
3. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
4. Thunderstruck
5. If You Want Blood - you've got it
6. Hells Bells
7. Bad Boy Boogie
8. The Jack
9. T.N.T.
10. Highway To Hell
11. Whole Lotta Rosie
12. You Shook Me All Night Long
13. Let There Be Rock

Encore:
14. Rock'n'Roll Damnation (fuck yeah!)
15. For Those About To Rock - we salute you

And yes....Angus and Mal rocked together with the Stones for Rock Me Baby once again.

According to the German fanzine Dailydirt, the concert in munich was filmed profesional to release a DVD around October. But I have also heard from someone that asked AC/DC in person after this show that it was filmed for a Pay Per View special to air in Europe in the coming months. We'll have to wait and see.

The show was professionally filmed with a lot of cameras and a "louma" (you know, the suspended camera on the LTBR live in Paris 79' video!) so maybe we'll get to see a future DVD release....let's keep our fingers crossed!

They didn't play Gone Shootin and Shook Me, but finished the set with a second encore even AFTER they took Mal's amp away and started breaking down Phil's drum kit. The lights were on but the fans would not stop screaming. So the boys came back out and gave the fans what they wanted!

1. Hell ain't a bad place to be
2. Back in Black
3. Stiff Upper Lip
4. Shoot To Thrill
5. Thunderstruck
6. Rock n roll damnation
7. What's next to the moon
8. Hard as a rock
9. Bad boy boogie
10. The Jack
11. If you want blood
12. Hells Bells
13. Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap
14. Rock n roll ain't noise pollution
15. TNT

1st Encore
16 Highway to hell
17 Let there be rock
18 For those about to rock

2nd Encore
19 Whole lotta rosie

(thanks Gui)

Check out a short clip of Angus and Mal on stage with the Stones in Oberhausen!

Rock Me Baby

Guitar One are celebrating the awesome AC/DC in their August issue!

Forever Young! AC/DC: 30 Years on the Highway to Hell
PLUS! A Private Lesson With Angus and Malcolm!

On newsstands everywhere June 24, 2003

Well it was a hot sunny day in Oberhausen as the Irish band "The Cranberries" took to the stage at 6:15pm, their energetic performance would prove to be a teaser for the acts to follow.

Then at approximately 7:25pm the crowd of 70 thousand people erupted to the opening chords of "Hell aint a bad place to be". Despite a scaled down stage show for AC/DC the band were tighter than ever, and Brian was in great voice. AC/DC played for roughly an hour and a half and quite simply were superb. Even after the final firing of two small cannons either side of the stage at the end of "For those about to Rock", AC/DC fans were to be treated to an extra special treat later in the evening. The crowd went absolutely crazy when Angus and Malcolm Young joined the Rolling Stones on stage for a rendition of the Blues song "Rock me Baby", and to cap events off the Stones rattled off all their classics hits. In short What a day, What a gig.

Here is the AC/DC set list:
1. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
2. Back in Black
3. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
4. Thunderstruck
5. Bad Boy Boogie
6. If You Want Blood
7. Hells Bells
8. The Jack
9. T.N.T.
10. Highway To Hell
11. You Shook Me All Night Long
12. Whole Lotta Rosie
13. Let There Be Rock
Encore:
14. For Those About To Rock

Related Links
www.iorr.org
www.stonesdoug.com

Source: www.crabsodyinblue.com

Here's the killer setlist the boys threw out on Monday the ninth at the ColumbiaHalle in Berlin!

1. Hell ain't a bad place to be
2. Back in Black
3. Stiff Upper Lip
4. Gone Shootin
5. Thunderstruck
6. Rock n roll damnation
7. What's next to the moon
8. Hard as a rock
9. Bad boy boogie
10. The Jack
11. If you want blood
12. Hells Bells
13. Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap
14. Rock n roll ain't noise pollution
15. Shoot to thrill
16. TNT
17. Highway to hell
18. Whole lotta rosie
19. You shook me all night long
20 Let there be rock (short version and oxygen mask for angus)
Encore:
21 For those about to rock (with 4 cannons)

Check out some pics of the gig here: douwalis.bei.t-online.de

If you want to check out some reviews, read the fan reveiws at Rising Power. Those are the only ones worth reading in my opinion.

VH1's "Ultimate Albums" program will feature a one hour special on Back In Black on June 4th in the US. Interviews with the band were conducted last March in New York specially for the program, which reportedly also includes rare footage.

The second small-venue date of next month's German tour is now confirmed for June 9th at Berlin's 3,500-seater ColumbiaHalle. Tickets will be available on May 25th at Osttor des Olympiastadions.

The Ted Albert Award For Outstanding Service To Australian Music went to legendary AC/DC brothers Angus and Malcolm Young and the band's now-deceased founding frontman, Bon Scott. Although the band didn't attend the ceremony, Malcolm made a statement via satellite from London paying a special tribute to Bon. "On behalf of AC/DC and Bon Scott, especially Bon as he's a big part of this, we're proud of the honour of receiving this award," he said.

For full details: accadacca.net

In addition to their 3 Stadium dates supporting the Rolling Stones in Germany next month, AC/DC will play at least one small-key concert similar to their recent New York Roseland gig. They will play Munich's 3,000 seater Circus Krone on June 17th (the very same venue they played at in 1976 while supporting Rainbow), and a second gig in Berlin for June 9th will most certainly take place although not officially confirmed as of yet.

Tickets for Munich can only be obtained in person at the venue on May 23rd. For further info call the Circus Krone at +49 (89) 545 8000.

Source: Electric Shock

AC/DC will play as Special Guests to the Rolling Stones in Germany for three dates in June! These extraordinary concerts won't be part of a full-scale worldwide tour, they are billed to play these three dates only. This marks the first time the boys are not billed as headliners since 1980.

Dates are as follows:
-June 13th: Oberhausen (O-Vision Zukunftspark)
-June 20th: Leipzig (Festweise)
-June 22nd: Hockenheim (Hockenheimring)
Tickets can be purchased online at www.rollingstones2003.de

The "Rock Master" DVD/Video of AC/DC's 1977 London concert which was originally scheduled to be issued in the States on February 18 has been postponed indefinitely and may in fact not be cleared legally for a US release. The DVD has been available only in Japan as "AC/DC Live '77" on VAP Video since January 22nd.

Source: ac-dc.net

The Australian film "Thunderstruck" is set for a 3 week shoot in Perth and Fremantle starting on March 24, 2003 with 150 extras to be used to re-create a scene from AC/DC's 1991 Razor's edge tour.

For further details on the movie go to crabsodyinblue.com and thunderstruckthemovie.com

Guitarist brothers Angus and Malcolm Young and "the new guy" Johnson stopped by VH1 Classic, where they’re hosting a full day of rock videos on Sunday, March 30th, as part of Metal Mania Weekend.

See further details at VH1.com

You can check out a portion of the boys performing Highway To Hell at the induction ceremony at VH1.com

AC/DC rocked New York's Roseland Ballroom on Tuesday March 11, marking another memorable moment in Rock History. It was an unforgettable show for anyone that was lucky enough to be there. That magical night will be embedded in my memory forever!

Check out their setlist!
1. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
2. Back in Black
3. Stiff Upper Lip
4. Gone Shootin (only done two other times with Brian)
5. Thunderstruck
6. Rock And Roll Damnation (never done with Brian)
7. What's Next To The Moon (never performed live before)
8. Hard As A Rock
9. The Jack
10. If You Want Blood (never done with Brian)
11. Hells Bells
12. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
13. Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution
14. Shoot To Thrill
15. T.N.T.
16. Highway To Hell
17. Whole Lotta Rosie
18. You Shook Me All Night Long

Check out a couple reviews of this spectacular show!
VH1.com
New York Daily News

IN RECOGNITION FOR THEIR MOMENTOUS ACHIEVEMENTS, AC/DC WAS INDUCTED INTO AND ALSO PERFORMED AT THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF SHAME ON MARCH 10! AC/DC performed "Highway To Hell" and "You Shook Me All Night Long. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler inducted AC/DC during the eighteenth annual ceremony held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Tyler also joined the boys on stage during You Shook Me all Night Long! Bon Scott's nephews Daniel & Paul Scott received the awards on behalf of Bon. The event will air on VH1 on March 16 at 9PM ET.

Check various stories and photos at the following sites:
-New York Daily News
-New York Post
-Reuters.com (Photos)
-Yahoo News
-MTV
-VH1
-WireImage.com (Photos)
-WireImage.com (Backstage Photos)

Brian, Angus and Mal appeared on the Howard Stern show this morning. The boys were their typical selves, not taking any question seriously and joking the entire time. They even played The Jack (with the lyrics switched to refelct Howard Stern's name) and Shook Me acoustically. Shook Me was Howard's idea. The boys wanted to do something more on the lines of She's Got Balls or Big Balls!

I for one, can't wait until the Roseland show this Tuesday. The boys seem primed and ready to rock! I got my tickets, hope you got yours!

IN RECOGNITION FOR THEIR MOMENTOUS ACHIEVEMENTS, AC/DC WILL BE INDUCTED INTO AND ALSO PERFORM AT THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF SHAME CEREMONY ON MARCH 10!

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler will induct AC/DC.
The eighteenth annual ceremony will be held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Other presenters include Elton John who will introduce Elvis Costello And The Attractions; No Doubt's Gwen Stefani who will induct the Police; Billy Joel who will induct the Righteous Brothers; and Neil Young and Paul Simon who will induct former Warner Bros. head Mo Ostin.
The event will air on VH1 on March 16 at 9PM ET.

In a rare guest appearance, Angus & Malcolm jammed with the Rolling Stones on Feb. 18th at the band's club gig in Sydney's Enmore Theatre, during BB King's 'Rock Me Baby.'

The boys will do a special show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on March, 11th 2003! Tickets are for competition winners only at acdcrocks.com/tix

According to some online reports, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is to induct AC/DC into the Rock Hall of Shame on the 10th March 2003.
Source theksbwchannel.com

Also, the induction ceremony will air on VH1 on March 19th.

knac.com has reported that AC/DC will perform at the RR Hall Of Shame induction ceremony.

If this is true, personally I can't say I am happy about it, but I'll still have the VCR set to tape the performance. I'm just surprised because we know how they view these type of awards.

Brain Johnson made a special guest appearance with the Scorpions on their current tour in Tampa, FL on February 3rd, 2003! He helped guest sing on "Rock You Like A Hurricane"! You can read the concert review at the-scorpions.com. Click on the Link at the bottom of the page to go to the Review Forum, then click on "North America Tour 2003", then click on "Tampa Show 2/2/03".

You can read an interview with Mark Evans and get his take on the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame's shameless act on classicrockrevisited.com

AC/DC Live At The Hippodrome, Golders Green, London '77 DVD has been released in Japan on January 22.

Spanish production company Lolafilms are apparently working on a Spanish film called "Isi-Disi", a comedy about the amorous foils of two university-aged brothers named AC and DC by their rocker dad, is set to feature cameos by AC/DC and Ricky Martin. The script is being written by Joaquin Gorriz and Miguel Angel Fernandez (Tiempo De Tormenta).
Source: screendaily.com

It looks like Epic Records has the bands' new website up and running! There's not much there now, but you can check it out at acdcrocks.com

Let me say first off, what makes this a real tragedy in my eyes is that they announced he WOULD be inducted! How do you take that back? Just another slap in the face from the media to our boys. Fuckin' fuckers!

Sydney's 'Sunday Sun-Herald' newspaper reported on January 20, 2003 an unprecedented backflip by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame......

It was proudly announced by the Hall of Fame on November 7, 2002 that all current members of seminal blues-rock outfit 'AC/DC' plus foundation members Mark Evans (bass) and Bon Scott (vocals) would be inducted in March 2003. It was revealed today by 'Sunday Sun-Herald' journalist Peter Holmes that in an unprecedented move the Hall of Fame has now retracted the nomination of Mark Evans.

Despite his work featured on four classic albums released by the band ('TNT', 'Dirty Deeds', 'Let there be Rock' and 'High Voltage' US release) that have amassed an amazing 30 million sales worldwide, Mark was offered no explanation for this astonishing turn around.

Suzan Evans, Executive Director of the Hall of Fame, stated just prior to Xmas that Mark's inclusion, and the fact that this was widely publicized by the Hall of Fame since early November, was 'an error'. Many requests for clarification of this statement and an explanation of the extraordinary actions by the Hall of Fame have met with no success.

The extreme embarrassment and personal hurt that this has caused Mark is obvious. We urge any admirers of the band to implore industry and media contacts to lobby the Hall of Fame in an attempt to have this situation rectified.

Further, anyone in direct contact with the band should make them aware of this erroneous decision. They should be encouraged to bring pressure to bare on the board of the Hall of Fame so that Mark's nomination can be reinstated and he can take his rightful position alongside Bon & the current members.

For further information or updates please feel free to contact:

Suzan Evans
Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame
Ph: 212 484 1755
Email

Roland McAdam
Constructive Ideas
Ph: 0403 328 924
Email

Contrary to what had been announced previously, the next studio album WILL NOT be released in March 2003.

The band will meet in New York in March, for the first time since the end of the SUL tour, and talk about the new album. Then Angus, Malcolm & Brian will join in London to rehearse the new songs.

At this moment we can't say when the band will enter in the studio and when the album will be released. Most likely, we will have to wait until the end of the year to listen to any new material.

Brian was on the Mancow show last week from the Hard Rock in Orlando, and confirmed that the boys are meeting in London to pick the songs for the new album.

Source: Rising Power

Check out this cool interview with Brian and Jesse Dupree of Jackyl on knac.com

1/9/03 - Catalogue Reissue Update

According to the Rising Power website, more details have been revealed about the forthcoming AC/DC reissues that commence the band's new deal with Epic/Sony Music.

Cd's: The first three waves of CDs are confirmed as follows.....

February 18th: High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Highway To Hell, Back In Black, and Live.

March 25th: Let There Be Rock, Powerage, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You), The Razor's Edge, and Who Made Who.

May 20th: If You Want Blood (You've Got It), Flick Of The Switch, Fly On The Wall, '74 Jailbreak, and Blow Up Your Video.

The release of the Bonfire Box Set is yet to be confirmed. All reissues are remastered (again!) and will be released in deluxe digi-packs and utilize Sony's proprietary ConnecteD technology to unlock special online content created for each release which will soon be available at the website acdcrocks.com.

Vinyls:
Each album will be issued on deluxe 180 gram vinyl.

DVD's: (Here's the best news of them all!)
AC/DC's visual catalogue will be available for the first time on DVD! Titles tentatively scheduled for May 20 are the following: Let There Be Rock (1979), Fly On The Wall (1985), Who Made Who (1986), Clipped (1991), and Live At Donington (1991)!

That's right folks, Mal turns 50 today!