AC/DC: The band that turned Dave Grohl into a punk
When you picture the archetypical image of rock and roll; devil horns raised above a wide-legged power stance and guitar down stroke, arguably only one artist comes to mind. Okay, maybe two, but we’re not counting Jack Black, as he qualifies as an actor in this instance. Of course, I am referring to his bushy-bearded, long-haired spiritual brother Dave Grohl.
Overlooking his most recent personal scandals, he’s always been branded the cool uncle of rock. Bridging the gap between the pit-dwellers of the 1970s and those educated on countless rewatchings of School of Rock in the 2000s, he’s kept the old-fashioned spirit of rock and roll alive through the eras.
Whether pounding the tubs in the early 1990s grunge scene with Nirvana or inciting emotional fans by singing choruses about heroes and memories with the Foos, he’s built a healthy back catalogue of monster rock tunes that have influenced artists thereafter.
But behind the pearly white smile of rock’s fun uncle beats the heart of a true punk, someone harbouring the sort of excessive rage necessary to hit the drums as hard as he does. In fact, amidst the Hollywood glow of his new lifestyle people forget that the artist we’ve come to know and love cut his teeth on the dingy scenes of Seattle’s grunge world in the early 1990s.
In an interview with The Guardian, he painted a picture of those times saying: “By the time I was 14, I was cutting and dyeing my hair and wearing leather jackets. All I wanted to do was leave school, jump in a van and tour shitty basement clubs with my punk band.”
It was a life Grohl actively pursued, dedicating his free time to sweaty clubs, dingy rehearsal studios and everywhere in between. While Grohl has made no secret of his admiration of bands such as Bad Brains and Naked Raygun, it was ultimately a titan of rock that got the wheels initially turning.
Speaking to Q magazine, Grohl recalled: “A big rock’n’roll moment for me as a teenager was going to see AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock movie. That was the first time I heard music that made me want to break shit. There were four people in the audience, me and my friend Larry Hinkle and two people smoking weed in the back. After the first number in that movie, that was maybe the first moment where I really felt like a punk. I just wanted to tear that movie theatre to shreds.”
While it’s a relatively un-punk platform, Dave Grohl got his full circle moment on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge in 2017 when he performed a not-so-stripped back cover. But in watching it, it becomes clear to understand why a headbanging Grohl would have adored the song and everything it stood for. It’s a pure rock and roll hit, ready-made for the sort wide leg power standing and wild inhibition tossing that has defined the counter-culture of rock.
Following the death of Malcolm Young in 2017, Grohl paid tribute to the late rhythm guitarist. “Thank you, Malcolm, for the songs, and the feel, and the cool, and the years of losing control to your rock and roll,” he posted.
