Tag Archives: AC/DC

Music Video of the Day: Hells Bells by AC/DC (1980, directed by Eric Dionysius and Eric Mistler)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Widely considered to be one of AC/DC’s best songs, none other than horror author Stephen King has cited the song as a personal favorite.  He even included it on the soundtrack for his directorial debut (and farewell), Maximum Overdrive.

Like most of AC/DC’s videos, the video for Hells Bells keeps things simple by focusing on the band rocking out on stage.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Jailbreak by AC/DC (1977, directed by Paul Drane)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The music video for AC/DC’s Jailbreak was filmed for the Australian musical program, Countdown.  This was in the years before MTV, when music videos were still a rare thing and there certainly weren’t any channels or streaming sites dedicated to showing them.  The video was filmed in Albion, a suburb of Melbourne.  Bon Scott, Phil Rudd, and Angus Young all played prisoners.  Malcolm Young and Mark Evans played the guards who, during the attempted jailbreak, shoot Bon Scott dead.

At the time, this video was controversial for its use of violent imagery.  It is considered to be the first music video to make use of fake blood and explosions.

The video’s director, Paul Drane, was also the director of Countdown.  In the United States, his best known work is a television special that he directed about Nostradamus which was re-edited and released theatrically as The Man Who Saw Tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (1980, directed by Eric Dionysius and Eric Mistler)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“We were in London at the time and there were all those problems with the old Marquee Club because it was in a built-up area and there was this whole thing about noise pollution in the news, the environmental health thing that you couldn’t have your stereo up loud after 11 at night, it all came from that.”

— Malcolm Young

Angus and Malcolm Young reportedly wrote this song in just 15 minutes, after they were asked to come up with one more track for the Back in Black album.  Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution became the 10th and final track on Back in Black.  It was also the fourth and final single to be released from the album.  The song reached number 15 on the UK charts, the highest of any of the singles that were released off of Back in Black.

As was always the case with AC/DC, the music video for Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution is simple and to the point.  AC/DC was never a band that needed gimmicks to make itself heard.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Guns for Hire by AC/DC (1983, directed by Paul Becher)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

One thing that you could always count on with AC/DC is that their music videos would be direct and to the point.  While other bands tried to come up with elaborate storylines or gimmicks for their videos, AC/DC was content to just rock.

Guns For Hire was the first single and video to be released off of their 1983 album, Flick of the Switch.  While the band was touring to support the album, Guns for Hire was the song that they opened with.  It’s also a song that they apparently stopped playing after the tour ended.  Though Flick of the Switch has its fans (and has been the subject of much positive reappraisal in recent years), it was a commercial disappointment when it was first released.  It was also during the recording of Flick of the Switch that drummer Phil Rudd left the band for the first time.  Malcolm Young later described the album as being a disappointment, saying that it was “thrown together real quick.”  Personally, I think Guns for Hire is a perfectly good AC/DC song but it’s understandable why the band may not have wanted to revisited the turmoil that was going on when it was recorded.

Because Phil Rudd either left the band or was fired during the recording of Flick of the Switch (it depends on who you ask), Guns For Hire was the first AC/DC music video to feature Simon Wright on drums.  Wright stayed with the band until 1989, when he left to join Dio.  He was replaced by Chris Slade, who was subsequently replaced in 1993 by …. Phil Rudd.  Time is a flat circle.

This video was directed by Paul Becher, who directed two other videos for AC/DC and one for Prince.

Enjoy!

 

Music Video of the Day: Nervous Shakedown by AC/DC (1983, directed by Paul Belcher)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

One thing you can say about AC/DC: they’ve never been afraid to let the music speak for itself.  At a time when other bands were creating increasingly elaborate music videos and worrying more about how they would look on MTV than how they would sound while performing, AC/DC simply went out on stage and rocked while the cameras were rolling.  AC/DC’s videos are direct and make no excuses, much like the band itself.

This is the video for Nervous Shakedown.  Just like all of AC/DC’s other music videos, this video is about the performance and nothing else.  Nervous Shakedown is the fourth song off of AC/DC’s album, Flick of the Switch.  The song peaked at #35 on the UK charts, while reaching #20 in Ireland.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) by AC/DC (1982, directed by Derek Burbridge)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

AC/DC was always a no frills/no bullshit/hard-rocking band and the same is true of their music videos.  While other bands of the period were using elaborate videos to covers for their deficiencies as musicians, AC/DC used videos to show off what they could do on stage.  AC/DC always respected their fans enough to let the music speak for itself and that’s what they did in the video for For Those About To Rock (We Salute You).

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Problem Child by AC↯DC (1976, directed by Russell Mulcahy)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Here’s the thing about AC/DC.

When it came to music videos, they’ve never needed to do anything fancy.  They’re not one of those bands that needs a bunch of bells and whistles to look impressive.  All they have to do is come out on stage and rock.  Their best music videos are usually very simple performance clips, like this one.

This video was filmed at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Australia.  If it looks rough, that’s because it was supposed to be a part of a large concert film but the film’s backers ran out of money before any major post-production work could be done.  The rough look, however, works for AC/DC.  They are a band that could handle looking rough.

Russell Mulchay, of course, went on to direct multiple videos for Duran Duran, along with Highlander.

Enjoy!