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The mad scramble for AC/DC tickets has continued on the internet, with passionate fans paying scalpers hundreds of dollars for the chance to attend!
Two tickets, which this morning sold for $150 each through Ticketmaster, attracted bids of $850 only hours after they went on sale this morning. READ MORE
AC/DC's "Black Ice" was among the top-selling albums of 2008 globally, according to new figures from the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the recording industry worldwide.
Two AC/DC tracks, "Shoot To Thrill" and "War Machine", are being used as theme songs for WrestleMania XXV, which takes place on April 5 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Over the weekend AC/DC performed in Munich, Germany.
Live video footage of the concert can be viewed below.
AC/DC: Hells Bells
AC/DC: Shoot to Thrill
Billboard.com reports that AC/DC and METALLICA's latest releases were among the Top 10 best-selling albums of 2008! While the album sales may surprise me, the fact that it's AC/DC on top doesn't surprise me at all. After-all AC/DC was said to be the best band for autograph signing, hanging out with fans and meeting and greeting the fans.
AC/DC is 100% dedicated to their fans and after all these years, they're just as dedicated as they were from day one!
According to Nielsen SoundScan, AC/DC's Wal-Mart-exclusive release, "Black Ice" (Columbia), sold 1.92 million copies to rank at No. 5 for the year. It was also held back from digital retailers. METALLICA's "Death Magnetic" (Warner Bros.) came in at No. 7 selling 1.57 million! In the new millenium when you can practically downlodad any song you want for free it's pretty much unheard of to sell that many albums, but don't say it's impossible because if AC/DC did it, so can you!
In 2008, there were 428.4 million albums sold, down 14.4% compared to 2007's 500.5 million. Digital downloads of albums accounted for 65.79 million albums this year, or 15.4% of the overall album market. In 2007, digital albums sold 50.01 million and represented 10% of the album market. Way to go AC/DC!
Back in the '70s, before the Crocodile Dundee franchise and Outback Steakhouse were capitalizing on the idea of Aussies as fun-loving partiers, AC/DC was rocking the house with its blues-based, balls-to-the-wall hard rock. Formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young back in 1973, the band gained popularity and released two albums in their native Australia before being picked up by Atlantic Records and unleashing their sonic assault on the world. Famously fronted by the hard-drinking Bon Scott, AC/DC embraced the wackier side of rock n' roll with gusto. Guitarist Angus Young became known for his on-stage getup of a schoolboy's uniform, and for mooning the audience. AC/DC racked up hits TKTK After original singer Bon Scott died from alcohol poisoning in 1980, fans generally assumed the gravel-voiced vocals that defined the band had been buried with him. But AC/DC rallied with new singer Brian Johnson and went on to release their best-selling album to date, Back In Black, later that year. A brief separation from long-time drummer Phil Rudd led to a creative trough; however, upon reuniting in 1994, the band got its collective groove back and released the album Ballbreaker to critical and commercial success. Although less active in recent years, AC/DC's label has released numerous compilations and remastered editions, and the band is said to be working on material for a new - possibly double - album.
With a guitarist that moons the audience and a knack for writing lyrics that become part of the cultural lexicon, these down and dirty blokes from Sydney under have been cranky out out ditties about dirty deeds and American thighs since decades before the dudes from Wolfmother were a glimmer in anybody's eye. AC/DC's distinctive sound and embrace of a working-class aesthetic were a major influence on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that emerged in the late 70s and spawned such acts as Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon. Their songs hit a sweet spot between heavy and pop, and manage to nail down a trademark sound without being repetitious. If your familiarity with AC/DC is limited to what the DJs stuck working over the holidays play during their inevitable "top rock songs of all time" roundups, check out Who Made Who. This 1986 record is a sort of hybrid between greatest hits album and new release. It contains most of the band's top singles up until that point along some new eardrum-rattlers like the title track and "Sink the Pink." Want more? 1990's hit The Razor's Edge is a terrific example of how the band sounds at their mind-blowing best!
