Back In Black: Looking back – 41 years ago

Above all not many bands bounce back well when they lose their iconic lead singer. The exception is AC/DC, after the sad loss of legendary singer Bon Scott AC/DC came back with Back in Black. It became their most popular album ever and one of the best selling albums in the world.

Back in Black released on 25th July 1980. Dedicated to the late singer Bon Scott. Bon died in February of that year of a night of heavy drinking. Devastated by the late singer and their mate, They even considered breaking up AC/DC however, they decided to carry on with a new singer. A couple of days after Bon Scott’s funeral Angus and Malcolm young got together and worked on some new riffs. Angus said getting back to work helped distract from the grief. They started auditioning for a new singer some of who attended were Gary Pickford Hopkins, Stevie Wright of The Easybeats and Allan Fryer of Fat Lips.

Brian Johnson was invited to audition but at first he wasn’t overly enthused. “Someone phoned up and asked me to join this thing, and I just said, ‘Nah, I’ve been bitten before” He said. He had been burnt and ripped off my the record label of his band Gordie. But he changed his mind “Well, what’s the harm in trying out?’ So I went down, sang with the boys and…. Boing!”

AC/DC – Back in Black

Most of the singers who came in auditioned with Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Brian Johnson auditioned with the soulful song of Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits” which got approval right away from the group. They got a bit tired of playing Smoke on the Water, as you could expect. Not sure why they all just didn’t audition already written AC/DC songs, maybe it was too close to then heart. After a couple of auditions Johnson signed a six-month contract with AC/DC. It would be evaluated after the six months by both parties. Just like a normal job with most of us. This one was loved by both parties, and it went on for years.

AC/DC then went to the studio to smash out Back in Black with Brian Johnson on the vox. Angus and Malcolm wrote most of the riffs and Johnson wrote the lyrics. The band smashed through six songs including the legendary comeback title track.

One of the worlds highest selling albums

After seven weeks in the studio the album was complete. Young said “We just started writing and everything poured out of us, “I don’t even remember specifics for a lot of the songs”. “We had almost nothing in front of us one day, and then the next there they were with a finished record.”

In tribute to Bon Scott AC/DC released Back In Black in an all black album cover with the AC/DC logo. As known the album smashed success straight away, it hit no.1 in Australia, UK, France and No.4 in the US.

Back in Black is one of the worlds highest selling albums of all time. The album has sold over 22 million copies in the United States alone, and over 50 million in the world. The title track ‘Black in Black’ has had over 800 million plays on Spotify.