AC/DC Biography
Source: acdc.com
Chequers, the subterranean nightclub in Sydney had hosted anyone who was anyone in the international entertainment world, but there was something particularly special about the band that took the stage for the first time on New Year's Eve 1974.
Their name was AC/DC.
Rock and roll was dying and Malcolm Young wanted to recreate the sort of excitement his heroes like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Fats Domino, The Who and The Stones had generated.
The band's secret weapon was Malcolm's young brother, a tiny manic guitarist by the name of Angus who looked like he was still at school but who had obviously been taking advanced levels in his guitar classes.
With their name taken from the power outlet on the family vacuum cleaner, some wrongly assumed it to be a reference to the bisexuality of the band members, a situation that saw them play a number of gay bars where they won over the patrons with their sheer energy.
Their electrifying live show saw Angus not just in a schoolboy uniform but also occasionally dressed as Zorro and even Spiderman.
In July 1974, the band's first single, "Can I Sit Next To You Girl" backed with "Rockin In The Parlour," was released in Australia.
The single, which was produced by Harry Vanda and George Young, was well received.
Later, when the band were in Adelaide as part of their relentless touring schedule, they met up with Bon Scott who, at the time, was recovering from a near fatal motorbike accident.
Bon immediately and not too surprisingly fell in love with AC/DC. He knew he could do better than their singer at the time and proved it beyond any reasonable doubt one night while still in Adelaide when he took total command of the microphone.
The band officially united with Bon for the first time back in Sydney at Rockdale Masonic Hall in early October 1974.