AC/ DC GO RETRO WITH NEW ALBUM RELEASE

AC/ DC were formed in 1973 in Sydney by Scots- born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, right. Their first album High Voltage was released in 1975. They got their name, which stands for Alternating Current/ Direct Current, when their sister Margaret saw the abbreviation on a sewing machine. The pair felt it summed up their raw energy. The band’s line- up has yo- yoed over the years. Singer Bon Scott, who had replaced Dave Evans, died in 1980 aged 33 from alcohol poisoning and was replaced by Brit Brian Johnson. Bassist Mark Evans was fired in 1977, while other members who have been in and out include drummers Phil Rudd, Simon Wright and Chris Slade, plus bass player Cliff Williams. Guitarist and songwriter Malcolm Young died aged 64 in 2017 after developing earlyonset dementia and was replaced by nephew Stevie Young. Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose briefly joined up after Johnson developed hearing problems, caused not by loud music but by sitting in his beloved noisy race cars too long without ear plugs. Johnson, Rudd, Williams, Angus and Stevie Young have reunited for Power Up, their 17th studio album, with first song

Shot In

The Dark released to rave reviews.

To date AC/ DC have sold more than 200million records, with hits that include Thunderstruck, Highway To Hell and

T. N. T. Their UK No1 album Back In Black has shifted 50million units alone.

They also wrote the soundtracks to Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive and Iron Man 2, as well as the hit Big Gun from Arnold Schwarzenegger flick Last Action Hero.

AT FULL POWER: Brian and Angus. Left, with Bon Scott in 1979. Right, with gold discs for 1988 album Blow Up Your Video

Guitarist Angus Young, 65, who dropped out of school at 15, is famed for his school- uniform stage outfit. A teetotaller, he has been known to play on while his amp is on fire.

In 2015 Rudd, inset above, was sentenced to eight months house detention for threats to kill and possessing drugs. He’s also recovered from a heart attack.

In 1989 US forces blared out AC/ DC’S music at General Manuel Noriega’s compound in Panama for two days. The dictator subsequently surrendered.

But experts have found that playing their music can improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments in patients. The band are mostly happily married – and now very wealthy. Brian Johnson alone is said to be worth £ 50million. He owns vintage cars at his Florida home and was once tipped as a replacement for Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. In Oz the band are known as

Acc Acca Dacca and in Melbourne there is a

street named ACDC Lane. AC/ DC describe themselves as a “rock and roll band, nothing more, nothing less”.