AC/DC had a lot riding on its first Edmonton concert in 1980.
The Aussie rockers were still reeling from the death of their lead singer, which threatened the band’s momentum in cracking the lucrative North American market. AC/DC had managed to regroup and record a new album, and the July 13, 1980 concert at Northlands Coliseum would serve as an introduction of the band’s new vocalist to audiences on this side of the Atlantic.
Little did the band members know they would become global rock megastars shortly after that Edmonton concert.
In the lead-up to AC/DC’s return to Edmonton with a concert at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday, Rick Dinnin, 64, fondly remembered that 1980 show. Dinnin considers himself to be an early AC/DC admirer in Edmonton, in part thanks to a friend who was a radio DJ at CJSR giving him the 1978 live album If You Want Blood You’ve Got It, with its gruesome front cover of guitarist Angus Young being impaled by his own guitar.
“He said, ‘These guys are way too heavy for me. I think you’d like them,'” Dinnin said. “I became one of the first AC/DC fans here in Edmonton. So, when they came to town, I had to make sure and go and see them.”
The hard-rockers had steadily built a following in the ’70s through their spartan songs and charged-up concerts, culminating in 1979’s Highway to Hell, which finally saw them make a dent in American music charts. Tragedy struck shortly after when lead singer Bon Scott died Feb. 19, 1980, after a night of heavy drinking. The band, which had begun writing songs with Scott for a follow-up to Highway to Hell, decided to carry on with new singer Brian Johnson at the helm. The resulting album, Back in Black, was released on July 25, 1980. Those who attended the 1980 Edmonton concert would be among the first to hear songs such as Hells Bells and the album title track that would catapult the band into stardom.
“When they came out, they had lowered the bell down in the dark,” Dinnin said about the band hitting the Coliseum stage that night. “So all of a sudden (Johnson’s) hitting the bell with the baby sledgehammer, ‘bong, bong, bong.’ Everyone’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ Then the lights came up, and (the band starts performing.) Yeah, it was a pretty magical night.”
Dinnin, along with the thousands of other fans packed into the Coliseum, witnessed an electrifying rock concert complete with Young riding on the shoulders of a security guard. Graham Hicks reviewed the concert for the Edmonton Journal, declaring AC/DC as “the most exciting and visually inventive rock band ever to hit the Coliseum.” He described Young as “an epileptic in convulsion” and a “naughty school boy” who also performed a mock striptease ending in him mooning the audience.
The 1980 concert cemented Edmonton’s AC/DC adoration, leading to eight more concerts in Alberta’s capital city, eventually graduating to Commonwealth Stadium shows to accommodate the growing legion of fans. For those about to rock, the Starlite Room is hosting an AC/DC pop-up on Saturday and Sunday with props, photo opportunities and exclusive merchandise. The free event tours cities along with the band and contains pieces showcasing AC/DC’s long way to the top.
Whole lotta Edmonton: Past AC/DC concerts
AC/DC singer Brian Johnson on stage in Vancouver in 1980. AC/DC kicked off its Back in Black tour in Edmonton on July 13, 1980.
July 13, 1980 at Northlands Coliseum
Review excerpt: “The band plays exhilarating hard, fast rock while 23-year-old Young pushes his inventiveness to the limit, and then keeps on going. The stage persona he’s adopted is that of a no-holds naughty school boy who plays guitar.” – Graham Hicks
Aug. 23, 1986 at Northlands Coliseum
AC/DC on stage at B.C. Place, June 13, 1988.
June 10, 1988 at Northlands Coliseum
Review excerpt: “… Where’s the beauty and originality in a catalogue of songs like Heat-Seeker, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Who Made Who, and Jailbreak, each of which place equal emphasis on each syllable and repeat said phrase to the exclusion of everything else, oh, 20 or 30 times in three minutes? All of this is done in close, sweaty quarters with peers who are totally fixated on those fist thrusts so vital to this form.” – Helen Metella
AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young on stage in Vancouver, Jan. 11, 1991.
June 21-22, 1991 at Northlands Coliseum
Review excerpt: “While Young’s obviously the main focus, singer Brian Johnson also casts an imposing shadow over the proceedings. Johnson’s voice sounds like a 50-cigarette-a-day man who puts away a bottle of Jack Daniel’s for a nightcap. He’s definitely from the Rod Stewart school of tormented tonsils. But rather than pose like a clothes horse, Johnson simply gets on with his job, entertaining.” – Rod Campbell
AC/DC performs at the Calgary Saddledome in 1996.
Aug. 8, 1996 at Edmonton Coliseum
Review excerpt: “In front of a nearly sold-out Edmonton Coliseum crowd of 12,500, the veteran Aussie five-piece delivered a concert with no frills, a few thrills and enough volume to generate more than a few ear-doctor bills.” – Shawn Owler
AC/DC seen performing at Edmonton’s Skyreach Centre, April 25, 2001.
April 25, 2001 at Skyreach Centre
Review excerpt: “But what about Johnson? I’m surprised his ‘dog’s balls’ vocals, as he put it so delicately, didn’t actually bust the monitors. Even at 53, he can still howl without too much trouble — although it seems he needs to distort his face into a lewd Joker-like sneer to help push the high notes out …” – Sandra Sperounes
AC/DC perform at Commonwealth Stadium as part of the Black Ice tour, Aug. 26, 2009.
Aug. 26, 2009 at Commonwealth Stadium
Review excerpt: “It was intermittent drizzle, and then it was practically a downpour at the start of Dog Eat Dog. Still, the over 50,000 crammed into Commonwealth refused to budge. AC/DC moved on remorselessly, knowing they had the crowd. Johnson and Young embraced the elements — there were puddles forming at the front, wet guitars, lightning, a chill wind.” – Tom Murray
AC/DC battle the elements while performing at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Sept. 20, 2015.
Sept. 20, 2015 at Commonwealth Stadium
Review excerpt: “We’ll have to cut him some slack here; with a chill rain falling and temperatures dropping, it’s amazing that the band, which is partially made up of men who can now apply for senior’s discounts, could slam through such an energetic performance, much less keep from slightly faltering on those croaked high notes. Not even nature could keep these men from their appointed duties. By the halfway point, Angus Young was soaked and hatless, marching around with bedraggled hair like an inexorable force of nature, a demented wind-up toy delivering raunchy riffs. It was almost like he welcomed the elements. ” – Tom Murray
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