AC/DC Concert Tours Over the Years
After more than forty years of traveling and performance, the Australian rock band AC/DC is still memorable. Two brothers, Angus and Malcolm Young, started AC/DC in 1973; the band's explosive performances helped them attract a quickly expanding fan base in Australia. Following the singles "Highway to Hell" and "TNT," the band became well-known all over by the late 1970s.
With their sixth studio album Highway to Hell, released in 1979, AC/DC at last experienced success. To help the album in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe, the band started a somewhat rigorous touring effort. Lead vocalist Bon Scott passed away in February 1980, hence there were doubts over the band's destiny. Later in the same year, the Young Brothers developed their most well-known album Back in Black, and convinced fresh singer Brian Johnson. Starting a highly successful worldwide tour in 1980-1981, AC/DC pushed their raw new sound to even larger audiences than before. Among the highlights of this tour include many appearances in the UK and as an opening act for groups such as Aerosmith, Rush, and Journey in North America throughout 1981.
Following their early 80's shows, which set amazing record sales, the band kept on even more long-distance travels in the next years. To promote their albums Flick of the Switch published in 1983 and Fly on the Wall released in 1985, the band toured venues throughout Europe. They also performed many gigs in towns they had visited previously, therefore gathering a constant audience of supporters. The band originally opened shows in Moscow, USSR in 1986. These events were important as AC/DC was playing in a communist nation for the first time.
Thus 1988 proved to be a year in which AC/DC undertook the most demanding tour program to date. Their appropriately named Blow Up Your Video World Tour included shows across Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia. They performed a lot of venues that they maybe had never been to before and at the same time, they were able to return to markets that previously they had dominated. The string of shows presented the fans’ base as expanding, which was showcased by the band’s performance. More than 50 concerts were performed in slightly more than half a year of performances.
The touring profile of AC/DC also remained consistent with more frequent visits well into the 1990s. Tours behind albums such as The Razors Edge, Ballbreaker, and Stiff Upper Lip saw them tour over six continents. In 2003 and 2008, they once again limited themselves to arenas and stadiums for two more successful world tours in support of new music. 2008, they played big shows at the big stages such as Wembley Stadium in London to new fans.
The popularity of the band just kept increasing throughout the 2000s and beyond. They continued to have chart activity internationally and remained regular on music television channels including MTV. After they resumed touring in 2016 for their Rock or Bust, their music was more popular than ever before. AC/DC was eventually forced to cancel several of the planned European shows that year after frontman Brian Johnson experienced hearing problems. However, having invited Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose as a stand-in, AC/DC went on the Rock or Bust tour with North American and European dates in 2016-2017.
Since their formation in 1973 AC/DC have consistently proved to be one of the finest live bands in rock history. They have set their songs as rock music standards. Whenever the band has arranged for a show or a festival now, tickets are often sold out in a matter of hours or days depending on the country. There are probably very few bands whose fans are as dedicated and passionate as AC/DC’s fans are when it comes to concerts. Audiences at their concerts are always guaranteed long performances, special obscure songs, and of course Angus Young’s uniform complete with his youthful mohair and energetic guitar solos. In other words, an AC/DC gig is the ultimate chance to create an intimate link between the performer and the spectators. The band interacts with the audience and at the same time provides them with the purest form of rock and roll.
Although AC/DC started getting renowned globally over four decades ago, they still enjoy massive support from their fans and even other musicians. As for every successive tour, the band goes on to break records in terms of live audience turnout and merchandise sales. There have been some challenges such as lineup changes or health issues, but the Young brothers have always guided AC/DC through storms. Fortunately, even the COVID-19 virus could not stop AC/DC for a long time. They are now ready for more shows very soon after being off the road for only a few years. The rock and roll institution that is AC/DC does not lose its ability to dominate any stage the band steps on thanks to those timeless songs and the ability to deliver unforgettable concerts which no other genre can boast about.
