Some bands feel like they were always there. Like the music just showed up one day, loud and fully formed, and the rest of us spent decades trying to keep up. AC/DC is one of those bands. Their songs feel permanent. Their riffs sound older than time. But they had to start somewhere, and that beginning matters more than people think.
AC/DC were formed in 1973, in Sydney, Australia. That was not a glamorous place to start a rock band, and it definitely was not a shortcut to anything. This was a working-class city full of noise, sweat, and people who did not have time for nonsense. Which makes it the perfect place for AC/DC to be born.
The band was put together by brothers Malcolm Young and Angus Young. Malcolm had the vision. Angus had the spark. Together they had something very rare, which was absolute clarity about what they did not want. They did not want trends. They did not want complexity for the sake of sounding clever. They wanted power, groove, and songs that hit you right in the chest.
At the time, rock was getting bloated. Bands were stretching songs past ten minutes, layering concepts on top of concepts, and drifting further away from the barrooms and dance floors where rock originally lived. Malcolm saw that happening and went the opposite direction. Strip it down. Make it tighter. Make it louder. Make it swing.
The name AC/DC came from a sewing machine. Their sister Margaret saw the letters on the back and liked how it sounded. Alternating current. Direct current. Power that moves both ways. It fit perfectly. Short. Sharp. Impossible to forget. That name alone told you everything you needed to know about the band before you ever heard a note.
The early lineup shifted around, like most new bands trying to find their footing. What stayed consistent was the approach. Malcolm locking in those brutal, precise rhythm parts. Angus in a schoolboy uniform because it felt right, not because it was clever marketing. That uniform came from Angus still being young enough to wear it, and once it stuck, it never left. AC/DC never pretended to be anything else.
Their first shows were raw and loud and chaotic in the best way. They played pubs. They played wherever they could plug in. This was not about chasing fame. It was about building something that worked night after night. If a song did not move the room, it did not survive. That trial by fire shaped everything they became.
In 1974, Bon Scott joined the band, and that is when things truly locked into place. Bon was not polished. He was not pretty. He was funny, dangerous, and completely believable. He sang like someone who had lived the stories he was telling, because he had. His voice turned AC/DC from a loud band into a force.
By the mid 1970s, AC/DC were already doing what they would do for the rest of their career. They were writing songs about life, excess, trouble, and fun, without apology and without irony. They did not explain themselves. They did not soften the edges. They trusted the audience to meet them where they stood.
That trust paid off. Albums like High Voltage, T.N.T., and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap built their reputation brick by brick. No reinvention. No phase changes. Just refinement. Every record made the machine tighter.
What matters about AC/DC being formed in 1973 is not the date itself. It is the timing. They arrived right before rock lost its grip on simplicity, and they refused to let go. They became the anchor. The reminder. The band you could point to and say, this is what it is supposed to sound like.
Even after tragedy hit and Bon Scott passed away in 1980, the band kept moving. They brought in Brian Johnson, recorded Back in Black, and somehow became even bigger without changing who they were. That does not happen by accident. That happens because the foundation was solid from day one.
AC/DC did not start as legends. They started as brothers with a clear idea and no interest in compromise. They formed in a place that demanded honesty, in a time that needed correction, and with a sound that refused to bend.
That is why, decades later, their songs still sound right. Not old. Not dated. Just right.
And that all traces back to 1973, when AC/DC plugged in for the first time and decided they were going to keep it loud forever.
Rock on
CBGB was never about polish. It was loud, cramped, messy, and honest. It was the kind of place where the music mattered more than how things looked. That spirit is exactly why CBGB shirts still mean something, and why the fit should actually work for the people wearing them.
Bon Jovi’s music has always been built around connection. Big choruses, recognizable hooks, and songs that people carried with them through different stages of life. That same familiarity shows up in the visuals tied to the band.
Bon Jovi’s image has always been closely tied to the music. From album artwork to tour visuals, the look evolved alongside the sound without ever losing its identity. That consistency is part of why the band’s imagery is still instantly recognizable.
