‘Hells Bells’: The AC/DC song Malcolm Young called timeless
With their swaggering riffs, swinging hi-hats, and raucous lyrics, AC/DC are a band most fans associate with raw energy and good times, not darkness. However, the group has endured its fair share of shadows.
AC/DC is a singular outfit. Although they succeeded in returning rock to its energetic roots after being outraged at the pomposity of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and the prog bands, their sonic character is much different from their personal lives. Due to the frenetic nature of their music, you might expect the band to be hard-living rock stars, but they have never been, with guitar hero Angus Young preferring the sweet comfort of chocolate milk over an alcoholic beverage.
The only one who committed to the stereotypical rock star lifestyle was the band’s late frontman, Bon Scott. The perfect vocalist to top off their bluesy hard rock, he also typified the ostensible nature of their music, with him a heavy beer drinker. Tragically, though, his love of alcohol would culminate in his February 1980 death. He was found unconscious after going to sleep and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The coroner’s report concluded he died of “acute alcohol poisoning”.
While Scott will always be deemed AC/DC’s finest frontman by some fans, following his death, the band decided to carry on and hired Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson, who helped them reach new heights. They released their first album with the frontman, Back in Black, in July 1980, and it commenced a majorly successful run that would see them become one of the most influential groups ever.
It almost wasn’t that way, though. Roughly a month before Bon Scott’s passing, brothers Angus and Malcolm Young began working on ideas for a new album, with Scott sitting in on the drums. Some of these ideas would later make their way onto Back in Black. After his death, however, the band was unsure if they could continue without him. Under pressure from their label to make a decision—and with Brian Johnson recommended to them—they ultimately decided it was right to move forward.
It wasn’t straightforward, though. The music press were incessant with unfair comparisons between Scott and Johnson, and no matter how much the latter tried to ignore it, outsiders didn’t give him an easy ride. However, he remained unswayed and ultimately proved the doubters wrong. Malcolm Young told Metal CD in 1992: “He was the only guy we found who could sing loud enough to be heard over the racket the rest of us were making. He was always going to be our man, whether we liked it or not.”
During such a dark time, the band needed something to give, and due to their relentless effort, it eventually did. ‘Hells Bells’ became a key song in the making of Back in Black—their most successful album—and confirmed to them that they were on the right track.
Young explained: “So, looking back on it, an awful lot of sweat went into the making of Back In Black. Hells Bells was one of the key songs. It reminded us of Bon and I think a lot of our older fans still see it as a tribute to him. That one, the title track and Shoot To Thrill are still in the live show, and I think they’ve joined some of the early songs as timeless AC/DC. Whatever it was, we were doing it right, because it was the most successful album we’d made at the time.”
Not only is ‘Hells Bells’ a classic, but it symbolises AC/DC’s refusal to give in. It’s a timeless statement of intent.
