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ACDC Lane
“When I’m on stage the savage in me is released. It’s like going back to being a cave man. It takes me six hours to come down after a show.”
Angus Young, AC/DC guitarist
It’s a Long Way to the Top tells the story of all the hardships endured by a rock band and reminds us that in this world, things of value are earned through hard work. Recorded at Albert Studios and released on December 8, 1975, the song was filmed in Melbourne.
Invited by the television show Countdown, the musicians took advantage of the opportunity to film this beautiful promotional object, which has proved to be very persistent, remaining unaffected by fashion and the passage of time. When they arrive in Melbourne, Angus and his brother Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Phil Rudd and Mark Evans are sitting on the trailer of a truck. Bon Scott appears with a bagpipe in hand. After all, before joining AC/DC, the singer was in a band that used this instrument. It was because of this that the band’s producer, a certain George Young, Angus and Malcolm’s older brother, suggested that he play the instrument a little on It’s a Long Way to the Top.
The problem is that in the bagpipe band in question, Bon Scott was actually the drummer. But in the end, nothing is impossible, the singer practices and manages to play his instrument without too much trouble. Including on this trailer, in the middle of Melbourne’s city centre, when AC/DC marches down Swanston Street to an enthusiastic crowd.
Directed by Paul Drane, the clip helps to establish the image of a combo ready to take the world by the throat. In the midst of conquering crowds, AC/DC seems unstoppable. Later, It’s a Long Way to the Top is listed as one of the best Australian songs of all time and is also included in the National Film and Sound Archive in Australia. Pat Boone, the Dropkick Murphys, Billy Corgan and Motörhead have all made it their own, making it a cult song. In 2003, Jack Black, accompanied by a band formed by children, proposed a cover for the needs of the film Rock Academy; one year before the inauguration in Melbourne of the ACDC Lane, not far from the place where the video of the song was shot.
AC/DC recorded with Bon Scott, its first singer, eight albums between 1975 and 1979.
ACDC Lane
The pride of Australia, AC/DC even had its own street, like the Ramones in New York. ACDC Lane, one of the most rock and roll streets in the world!
On October 1, 2004, 31 years after the band’s debut, the city of Melbourne renamed Corporation Lane to ACDC Lane. The slash separating AC and DC disappeared due to a local law prohibiting this character in the name of streets and avenues.
Nevertheless, a lightning bolt soon appeared on the sign to do full justice to the band’s name as street art, much of it in its glory, multiplied. Located in the business district, ACDC Lane inspired the city’s mayor to say these words: “Like the song says, there’s a highway to hell but this alley, it leads to heaven.”
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Cult! music: 100 mythical music places [French Edition]
Embark immediately on an exhilarating world tour with some of music’s most iconic bands and artists!
Head to Melbourne, Australia for a stroll along AC/DC Lane before crossing the iconic Abbey Road pedestrian crossing in the company of The Beatles. Visit Janis Joplin‘s home in San Francisco and find out how Johnny Cash ended up playing his greatest hits to a crowd of prisoners in San Quentin. Travel the winding roads of Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and stop in Japan to catch up with Deep Purple, Phil Collins and Daft Punk. Drive down the Tina Turner Highway before entering some of the most legendary studios in music history. Go back to the troubled origins of Billie Holiday and make a pact with Robert Johnson at the famous crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Embark immediately on an exhilarating world tour with some of music’s most iconic bands and artists! Relive the Jimi Hendrix concert on the Isle of Wight before paying tribute to Bob Marley in Jamaica.
Produced by a team of pop-culture specialists and enhanced by numerous anecdotes, Cult! musictells the secrets of the places that made the history of music.
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Discover all the places It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) on our map
By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.