Dread Down Under: Angus Young on the scariest AC/DC gig of his life
AC/DC have a number of defining characteristics. Their hard rocking, riff-driven sound. Those consistently raucous vocals. The iconic lightning bolt logo. But perhaps the most striking stylistic choice, particularly if you have ever seen the rockers live or watched a performance online, is their fashion. They don’t exactly conform to the image that pops into your head when you think of the word “rock star”.
Rather than donning decidedly cool outfits, decking themselves out in slick leather jackets and even slicker hairstyles, AC/DC went for a much nerdier route. Or at least, guitarist Angus Young did. He has become known for his distinctive on-stage outfits, which replicate the stuffy look of a school boy through flat caps, striped ties, and shorts. It’s not exactly cool, so it’s easy to see why Young was initially a little nervous about stepping out on stage in uniform.
Young is now as associated with this outfit as he is with the sound of AC/DC, but it wasn’t always that way. He spent his first year with the band trying out different looks, donning everything from a gorilla costume to superhero suits. But nothing quite stuck until one fateful day in the band’s home country of Australia in the spring of 1974.
On the suggestion of his sister, Margaret, Young decided to dress up in a school uniform and took to the stage at Victoria Park in Sydney. Understandably, he had some doubts about his outfit of choice. In fact, he once admitted to Guitar World that it was the “most frightened [he’s] ever been on stage,” an impressive claim given the scale of some of the shows AC/DC have played.
But even playing stadiums and headlining festivals couldn’t come close to the fear that Young felt when he debuted those oversized shorts and button-up shirt. Instead of ruminating on the nerves, the guitarist threw himself into the performance. “Thank God, I had no time to think,” he remembered, “I just went straight out there.”
“I had just one thing on my mind,” he admitted, “I didn’t want to be a target for blokes throwing bottles. I thought if I stand still I’m a target. So I never stopped moving. I reckoned if I stood still I’d be dead.” Perhaps they were entranced by his constant movement, but the audience reaction wasn’t quite as bad as Young had anticipated.
He wasn’t the target of flying bottles pelted at him from rockers in the front row, but he did leave the audience stunned at first. “The crowd’s first reaction to the shorts and stuff was like a bunch of fish at feeding time,” he explained, “All mouths open.” It’s easy to see why — it’s a strange fashion choice, but it has since become a trademark of Young’s.
The fear and the fish-like gawks couldn’t put the guitarist off. He had finally found the outfit that worked for him on stage, and he’s still committed to it 50 years later. Even now, while AC/DC are out on the road for their ‘Power Up’ tour, Young is still dressing up in boyish caps and shorts while he rocks out on stage.
The outfit is, admittedly, still not cool, but maybe that was never the goal. It certainly is distinctive — few other rockers have become as associated with their clothing as Young. Each to their own.
