The night AC/DC “blew The Stones” away, according to Malcolm Young
Few bands have harboured the rock and roll ethos quite like The Rolling Stones did. Led by legendary vocalist and sex symbol Mick Jagger, the London-born outfit lived and breathed the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. With a career spanning well over a century, they penned some of the most iconic riffs of all time and played them to millions.
Their rocking live show required an equally rocking support band, and AC/DC believed they were up to the challenge. In 2003, AC/DC took on the mammoth task of preceding The Stones on-stage at Toronto’s Downsview Park. Hurt by the fact that few people had taken notice of their name on the bill, their appearance eclipsed by the headliners, they set out to deliver a blistering support slot that would blow their stage successors away.
The set included all of their biggest hits, from the iconic ‘Back in Black’ to ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’; they set out to prove their rightful place on the bill. Even in footage of the show decades later, the intensity of their performance can be felt as they somehow capture a crowd that seems to go on forever.
As Angus Young nails every electric note to ‘Thunderstruck’, Brian Johnson stalks around the stage, raising his hands up to the thousands that watch. “I want to hear the loudest, nastiest noise in all the country,” he urges the crowds. Both the band and their audience deliver on that promise.
The never-ending crowd is just as enthusiastic as Young is about the set, their energy palpable even through a screen. If AC/DC’s name was left out of the press surrounding the event, it doesn’t matter now. Thousands join in with Johnson as he leads them through repeated declarations of “thunder” and eerie “ahh”s. They worship AC/DC like rock gods backlit by the sunset.
It was entirely AC/DC’s intention to deliver such a standout live set, to stun audiences and show up The Stones, as Malcolm Young recalled during an interview. “We thought, ‘We’ll fucking show them!’” he exclaimed.
Young went on to state that AC/DC “went for the throat” with their animalistic performance, something you can certainly see in footage of it. “We definitely blew The Stones away that night,” he stated, “The next day, all the press were talking about us. More importantly, the punters knew. That’s what matters.”
Undeterred by the mammoth reputation held by The Stones, AC/DC certainly had taken away some of their spotlight and proven their place on the lineup. Audiences were left stunned as Jagger and his bandmates took to the stage to perform a setlist of their own classics, ranging from ‘Start Me Up’ to ‘Satisfaction’.
While The Stones certainly delivered their own scorching set of rock, AC/DC had done what they set out to achieve. Even those audience members who came solely for The Stones will have been left dazed by the Aussie rockers. Decades on, both AC/DC and The Rolling Stones remain two of the most important bands ever to grace the realm of rock. To see them both take to the stage on the same night was a magical experience for those who attended.
Watch AC/DC perform ‘Thunderstruck’ while supporting The Rolling Stones in 2003 below.
