Malcolm Young was 20 when he and younger brother Angus formed AC/DC in 1973. Angus was on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess on drums, Larry Van Kriedt on bass guitar and Dave Evans on vocals. "Can I Sit Next To You Girl", their first single, was later re-recorded with Bon Scott as their vocalist. They decided upon the name AC/DC after seeing the letters "AC/DC" on the back of their sister Margaret's sewing machine.
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Vintage AC/DC!
AC/DC can thank Who legend Pete Townshend for helping to power up the next chapter of their career at the beginning of the '90s.
That's just one revelation that you'll find within the pages of the new memoir from Derek Shulman. The former Gentle Giant frontman is universally beloved by progressive rock fans. But for other music aficionados, it's very possible that they might have seen his name for the first time in the liner notes in a different way, thanks to a secondary career which found him discovering and/or signing bands like Cinderella and Bon Jovi to their major label deals.
His success on the industry side grew to the point that he got the keys to his own label, shepherding a new chapter at ATCO Records. He inked Dream Theater and Pantera and also helped Bad Company land their next big hit record. But how does the Gentle Giant guy end up going to the dark side?
"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next," he tells UCR, remembering the moment that he was mulling his future after Gentle Giant disbanded in 1980. As it happens, his former job would help him to get his next one. A friend who worked at Chrysalis, one of the label homes for the band's last five albums, phoned him to let him know there was an opportunity at Polygram. He urged Shulman to think about taking the meeting.
Eventually, he acquiesced. "I went over there and met with the team at Polygram," he recalls now. "The fact that I knew a lot of people out there, you know, there's a couple of major radio consultants who were big Gentle Giant fans. Being able to get to them, I got the job and I became Darth Vader.
How AC/DC Found a New Home
ATCO was an artist’s label, and the focus was primarily on music—or at least that was my goal—but since the label was an Atlantic imprint when I came on board, as opposed to an independent company, there was some carry-over from other parts of the Warner family, which is how we secured some of our acts. There was also a certain amount of bartering we had to do to secure the artists we wanted. At the time, AC/DC were on Atlantic and were on the verge of being dropped. They were in a downward tumble and hadn’t released a full-length original album since 1985’s Fly On The Wall, which tanked. They could still fill venues on tour, but it looked like their best days were behind them and they would soon become a legacy band playing package tours in summer sheds.
That would have been a shame, since they could still put on a great live show and were still talented artists who, I felt, still had plenty to offer. I thought they deserved a chance to redeem themselves, but the company was looking at paying them one million dollars for the next album they delivered. ‘Ah, you can’t drop AC/DC,’ I told Doug Morris, who I tried to be as civil with as possible, even though I knew he had argued against me running ATCO. ‘AC/DC has nothing left,’ he said. ‘And I don’t see it happening in this music climate.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ I said. ‘It’s AC/DC. They’re legends.’ ‘Well, if you want to take them over to ATCO and try to get them to do something real, maybe we could trade. If you give me Pete Townshend, I’ll give you AC/DC. Otherwise, I’m gonna drop them.’
‘It’s a deal,’ I said. Pete Townshend was in the grandiose concept solo album phase of his career. In 1989, he did Iron Man: The Musical, which featured Pete, John Entwistle, and Roger Daltrey on two songs, as well as special guests Nina Simone and John Lee Hooker, but it still flopped. No one wanted to hear Pete Townshend doing conceptual music outside of the Who.
By contrast, AC/DC were still gods of rock’n’roll. I thought that if they had the right support, they could write another hit album. It was about time. I made the trade with Doug, and I looked forward to the challenge of working with the band. AC/DC had never allowed anyone from Atlantic into the studio before, and they were reluctant to play the record-company game. I thought having a history as a recording and touring artist might encourage them to be more open with me than some of the pencil-pushing label guys they were used to. I wanted them to see me as someone who was on their side and had done what they’d done. I hoped my insider angle would pay off, and I had some connections to them that I thought might thaw the ice.
When I was in Simon Dupree & the Big Sound, we had played some festivals with the Easybeats, the band that featured Angus and Malcolm Young’s brother George as well as Harry Vanda, who co-produced AC/DC’s early albums. Plus, I had produced Gentle Giant albums, and I knew working closely with producers was important to AC/DC. I also knew their managers: Stewart Young, who also managed Emerson, Lake & Palmer; and Steve Barnett, who worked for Gerry Bron. I called Stewart to talk about AC/DC moving over to ATCO and said, ‘I’d love to work a little bit with Angus and Malcolm when they’re in the studio, if that’s okay with them.’ To my delight, they were fine with it. They were ecstatic about being off Atlantic as the guy who signed them had left the label and they no longer felt connected to the company. They were pleased that their new label head understood music—not just business—and were interested in working with me to help them revamp their sound. Knowing that a great producer could help put them back on track, I called Bruce Fairbairn, who was excited to be asked to work with the band. (I mean, really, Bob? Who doesn’t like AC/DC?)
They went out to Bruce’s place in Vancouver and felt invigorated working on a new record for a new label in a new environment. In a way, it was a rebirth, and suddenly they felt more inspired and creative than they had in ages. It’s so easy to be complacent about new AC/DC songs. Even the band members recognize that everything they do is going to sound inimitably like AC/DC. They’ll never branch off in a crazy art-rock direction or add samples and electronic beats to their music. At the same time, while there are bands that can approximate AC/DC’s bluesy hard-rock sound, no one can effectively imitate it in a meaningful way that stands the test of time. That said, it’s easy to listen to a new AC/DC riff and say, ‘Yeah, it sounds like AC/DC.’ But it’s harder to know right away if it’s going to be good AC/DC or classic AC/DC.
I went to Vancouver a number of times to check on the band’s progress and help with some of the song arrangements. Welshman Chris Slade was drumming for them at the time, on what would be his only record with the band. He replaced Simon Wright, who had left to join Dio. Angus Young told Chris not to play any drum fills or breaks whatsoever, just kick drum and snare. Unconventional as this was, it turned Chris into a metronome, and he kept perfect time. In most other bands, a drummer who doesn’t swing or play fills would make the music sound stagnant. But as I learned by watching them in action, the rhythmic surge and punch in AC/DC came from the rhythm guitarist, Malcolm Young, and he’s a large part of the reason why they were so incredible. You don’t realize it until you see the process unfolding, and it’s fascinating to watch. Everyone in the band understood that Malcolm was the anchor and root of every song, and he had such a great connection with his brother, Angus, that Angus could intuitively play leads and fills on top of Malcolm’s riffs and they always filled any gaps and perfectly complemented the rhythm parts.
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Kiss legend Paul Stanley has a theory about what makes great bands great
“There’s a great quote from Angus Young where somebody said to him: ‘This album sounds just like your last one’, and he goes: ‘No, it sounds like all of our albums!’ So I guess you could say it’s kind of hard to pick a favorite.
“There are certain songs that I love. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is amazing, and Highway To Hell is as nasty and glorious as you can get. But let’s be honest, Back In Black is on another level.
“When Brian Johnson joined AC/DC, I was curious – like everyone was – about how that would impact the band and the chemistry they had with Bon Scott. But what they created with Back In Black was just monumental. The way that album starts with Hells Bells, it hit me like the first time I heard Black Sabbath – like, ‘Holy shit!’
"With Back In Black the band’s sound was polished to some degree. They were building on what they’d done before, moving forward. That kind of bare-bones grit they had in the early days was replaced with this driving sonic overload. But it was so brilliant. I thought what was gained overrode what was lost."
“There’s another great song from the beginning of the Brian era. For Those About To Rock is as impressive and colossal as anything I’ve ever heard. The end of that song, with the cannons firing, it really is gladiator music!
“A lot of bands have tried to copy them, but AC/DC are the real deal, and I knew that from the first time I saw them. It was at the Whisky A Go Go in LA, sometime in the mid-seventies. They were so gritty, and the adrenaline level was just crazy. The amount of energy that Angus was expending on stage was mind boggling.
"I mean, the sweat was just flying off him. You’re standing there thinking this man is possessed – like a demonic possession! And Bon had a unique style. He was kind of like the charismatic troublemaker. The kind of guy that everybody would look at and think: ‘Boy, I wish I had a mate like that…’
“A little later we took AC/DC out as the opening act for Kiss, and again, they were fantastic. As Angus has said, we made sure they had the best sound, and we always had the same attitude with opening acts. It’s cheating to undermine them or sabotage them. If you’re the headliner you’re supposed to be the champ, but if the champ can only win by having the contender fight with one hand tied behind their back, then you don’t deserve to be champion. So that’s part of it.
"And being a huge rock’n’roll fan, I wanted those bands to go out there and be the best they can be. Not only for the audience’s sake, but because I want to see them kick ass. Then it’s our job to show everyone why we’re the headliner. And if we can’t do that, that’s on us, it’s not on them.
“I also think that what AC/DC have is something that’s in all the great classic bands, without any exception. It’s that chemistry between two people, that yin and yang and a sense of camaraderie that audiences can relate to. All the great bands have it. It’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend. It’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. It’s Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart. If you go down the line it’s me and Gene, it’s Axl and Slash. AC/DC had it with Bon and Angus, and it was the same with Brian and Angus.
"That yin and yang, it’s like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There’s a balance and a chemistry on stage that has a real connection with an audience. I’ve always said that the key to a great band is to make it a club that everyone wants to be a member of. That camaraderie is a big part of what makes AC/DC so great. And when you listen to Back In Black or Highway To Hell or any of those classic records, I think you can really feel that chemistry."
Paul Stanley was speaking with Paul Elliott.
AC/DC 'ROCK OR BUST' released on November 28, 2014.
11 Years ago from today!
A rare photo of Bon Scott during a break on the "Highway to Hell" tour in 1979. 🔥⚡🤟🏼
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