Back on the “Highway To Hell”: AC/DC come to Europe
Published: Monday, Feb 12th 2024, 10:40
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The legendary hard rock band AC/DC will be going on tour again this summer for the first time in almost eight years. The Australians, who are famous for rock anthems such as "Highway To Hell", "Back In Black" and "Thunderstruck", announced a European tour from May to August on Monday, confirming months of speculation.
On their "Power Up" tour, the group led by cult guitarist Angus Young will play nine concerts in Germany. AC/DC also want to play in Vienna and Zurich. Tickets go on sale on February 16.
Band founder Angus Young (68), who always performs in school uniform, and singer Brian Johnson (76) are the last remaining members of the AC/DC line-up that recorded "Back In Black" in 1980, one of the most successful albums in music history. Rhythm guitarist Stevie Young succeeded band founder Malcolm Young, who fell ill in 2014 and died in 2017. New to the band is drummer Matt Laug (55), who performed with the group for the first time last year at the "Power Trip" festival. Former Jane's Addiction bassist Chris Chaney (53) also replaces Cliff Williams, who has retired.
AC/DC made their live comeback last October at the "Powertrip" festival in California after a seven-year break. There had already been rumors about a tour beforehand. Last week, AC/DC further fueled speculation with a countdown on their website.
Just a few years ago, it looked as though AC/DC would be saying goodbye to the big stage. The main reason for this was that singer Brian Johnson had to leave the band in 2016 on the "Rock Or Bust" tour due to hearing problems. He was replaced by Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose for the last 22 concerts. However, with the help of a specialist, the problems were resolved to such an extent that Johnson was able to return to music.
AC/DC recorded the album "Power Up" in 2020. In addition to Johnson and Williams, who had actually already announced his retirement in 2016, long-time drummer Phil Rudd also returned. The band parted ways with Rudd in 2014 after he came into conflict with the law and was even temporarily under house arrest in his native New Zealand. It is not known why Rudd (69) is on the album but not on the tour.
AC/DC had initially put their 2020 tour plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. "We were already preparing, actually wanted to play a few live concerts", said Angus Young in an interview with the German Press Agency in London, "and then this virus came along". Singer Johnson also expressed the hope that the band would make up for it. "We would love to give concerts again," he said in the dpa interview. "I hope so."
AC/DC rose to fame in the 1970s with their hard rock and energetic live shows. Songs such as "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Let There Be Rock" are considered classics today. Singer Bon Scott died in 1980 shortly after the release of the successful album "Highway To Hell", which brought AC/DC their international breakthrough. In the same year, the band released the cult album "Back In Black" with Scott's successor Brian Johnson, which even topped their success.
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