A CIGARETTE WITH ANGUS YOUNG - London 2014

Matteo Abruzzo and Angus with AC/DC Fantography

If you are a reader of the AC/DC Abruzzo blog you know that we managed to meet Angus many times in the last few years. And for each time we have special and unique memories, which we tried to describe in our blog posts. 

Well, we had the privilege to meet Angus again during the Rock or Bust promotional tour in London. And this time we spent about 20 minutes with Angus, namely the time for two cigarettes and a long chat about a variety of topics... From the London Hammersmith 2003 show to the Abruzzo 2009 earthquake. And of course we talked about the new Rock or Bust album and next tour.

We also managed to finally show the second photobook published by AC/DC Abruzzo on the Black Ice Tour (with German fan Stonebreaker): AC/DC FANTOGRAPHY "From Hammersmith to Bilbao 2003-2010".

A CIGARETTE WITH ANGUS - LONDON 2014
 

Angus' cigarette

Matteo Abruzzo: Hey Angus! Thank you very much. We missed you a lot in the last years. It means a lot to us that you came back with an album. It must have been tough without Malcolm but we fans really appreciate it...

Angus: Thank you!

Matteo Abruzzo: Last time we met with you was here in London in 2011, for the launch of the Live at River Plate DVD.

Angus: Yes, I remember... 

Matteo Abruzzo: But the last time we had a cigarette together was in Australia... In Sydney...

Angus: Mhm ... (Angus thinks...) Not in Perth? Outside the hotel...

Matteo Abruzzo: Oh yes, it was in Perth! Wow! You remember better than us. But now I moved to Dubai.

Angus: Dubai?!? (puzzled Angus)

Matteo Abruzzo: Yes, Angus. I need to make the money to afford the next tour especially now that the situation is so bad in Italy.

Angus: I remember you are from Abruzzo. How is it going there? I remember there was an earthquake some time ago. Did they fix everything?

Matteo Abruzzo: Well, not really. It was a catastrophe for the area. They are rebuilding it slowly. Of course there were some corruption and some mafias involved, as usual... 

Angus: Mafias? (Angus giggles)

Matteo Abruzzo: Typical of Italy... But in the end both of us don't live there anymore. I live in Dubai and Stefano lives here. He works in that restaurant over there.

Angus: Oh really? (interested Angus). You work as a chef?

Stefano D'Abruzzo: No... I work with wines...

Angus: You work with wines? ... Like you are a somm... A wine taster!

Stefano D'Abruzzo: A sommelier...

Angus: yes yes... I can't never pronounce it correctly... a wine taster... They pay you to drink expensive wine (Angus laughs)

Everybody laughs - First cigarette almost finished

Matteo Abruzzo: Hey Angus, can we show you our second book about the Black Ice tour. We did over 85 shows, we travelled all over the world and we told the story in a book...

SHOWING THE BOOK TO ANGUS - Second cigarette is lighted

Showing the Hammersmith 2003 photos to Angus

Rock and Roll selfie

Angus: Oh there is a section on Hammersmith show... I remember that one...

Matteo Abruzzo: Yes, that was an incredible show...

Matteo Abruzzo: We are looking forward to the next tour. According to some rumours it will start in March.

Angus: March?!? That's a bit too early. We need more time to plan and organize everything... No, not March...

Matteo Abruzzo: Will it be a long tour like Black Ice? Brian said it will be only 40 shows, or so...

Angus: He said that? Well it all depends on how strong is the album etc. Then Brian also won't be able to do a long tour like Black Ice... I have my guitar, but with his voice is different...

Matteo Abruzzo: Yes, he told us several time during the Black Ice tour that it will be tough for him. But we are glad that you came back. By the way you are in a fantastic shape Angus!

Angus: Me, I wish... (Angus giggling)

Matteo Abruzzo: Will you start in May?

Angus: Well, it all depends. But we'll be on tour soon. For all the fans... 

Matteo Abruzzo: Thank you Angus, always a honor!

http://www.acdcphotobook.com/abruzzostonebreaker/

Last cigarette of the legendary Australian tour with Angus in Perth, February 2010

NEWS ABOUT THE TOUR:

The following cities in Germany seem to be confirmed: 

Munich, Hockenheim, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Hannover and Berlin.

Paris, Wien, Italy, Spain and some cities in the UK and Northern Europe should follow. This at least for the European leg this summer. We still believe it will be a much shorter tour than the Black Ice one. Still no news about the new drummer.

ROCK OR BUST OFFICIAL VIDEO + The Phil Rudd Mystery (Part 5)

The long awaited new AC/DC Rock or Bust video is finally out! And what a MASTERPIECE! This time Dave Mallet really delivered a great piece of work. Maybe we are partial considering that 2/3 of the AC/DC Abruzzo staff are in it but, we have to say that after the "green screen debacle" of the Play Ball video we finally get to watch a really good old school AC/DC rock'n'roll video which captures the full essence of AC/DC and it's in line with the "live performance" videoclip tradition of the band. Happy!

AC/DC and some of their hard core fans

We love every bit of it, from the brown cap of Angus to the circular stage which, in fact, might also confirm the rumors that the layout of the AC/DC concerts of the forthcoming tour will be different. Yes, we know that Malcolm and Phil were not there, but AC/DC were and they are ready for another world tour!

As for us fans it was incredible to see the band so close perform the new song 6 times. We already watched the video about 100 times focusing not only the band members but also on the crowd, very attentively. ;D We are now part of the videography history of the band.

And this is just the beginning: the official come back of the greatest rock band in the world...


The Phil Rudd Mystery (Part 5)

Phil Rudd: Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap...

The first statements by Angus &co on the Phil Rudd situation during the interviews for the promotional tour clearly confirm that there will be another drummer for the next AC/DC tour.

It's not easy to imagine AC/DC having to wait for Phil to come to Vancouver to complete the recording of the new album or even worse Angus falling off the bed when hearing about Phil's...

Apparently the drummer going on tour with the band won't be Bob Richards, who, however, did a very good job on the Play Ball and Rock or Bust videos. Who is it going to be? Maybe another drummer from previous line-ups? Time will tell, soon.

Anyway Phil will appear in court in three days. In the mean time he was spotted playing guitar for about an hour with a fan in front of his house in Tauranga, New Zealand. (?!?!?!?)

Phil Rudd: once a rocker, always a rocker.

PLAY BALL VIDEO - THE CRAZIEST AC/DC FANS

The new AC/DC video for Play Ball has been out for a few days and we are still trying to understand this "original and artistic" use of the green screens by Dave Mallet... Some websites and blogs were not that kind and talked about "the worst use of green screen in a music video ever". Well, the video is not the best video of AC/DC but we wouldn't go that far. Anyways, the boys are in great shape and this is what really counts. What we really liked of the video were Brian Johnson with all his classic moves, and Angus, especially when he throws away the cap before the duckwalking. We just loved it.

We are sure the second video will be completely different thanks to the presence of the fans.

Talking about the AC/DC fans, after AC/DC Abruzzo's post on the craziest fans who came to London for the video shoot Sony published a short "Making of" for the video Rock or Bust. We can see some familiar faces in it...

We wonder who was that crazy guy who came all the way from Dubai... :)

The infamous London green screens

Meet and Greet with Angus

The Phil Rudd Mystery - Part 4 - Rock or Busted

Phil and his genuine rockstar attitude

As you know charges against Phil Rudd have been dropped according to a press release from his lawyer. You can read the full details on ac-dc.net:

http://www.ac-dc.net/news/news.php?news_id=382

However,  probably this will not change the decision of leaving the drummer out of the band for the AC/DC 2015 World Tour which was hinted by the official note made by the band yesterday on their official website:

We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment. Phil’s absence will not affect the release of our new album Rock or Bust and upcoming tour next year.

We've always loved Phil but the truth of the matter is that such unstable and umpredictable behavior will not be compatible with the professionalism required for a huge world tour like the coming one. And Malcolm Young, who appeared to be the only one who could make "Hard Core Genuine Rocker Phil Rudd" behave, is no longer there, unfortunately. Phil will be a liability and this is the last thing AC/DC need at the present time.

AC/DC yesterday on BBC news yesterday

The Phil Rudd Mystery Part 3 - The End

Phil Rudd in court

Well, it has now became evident that Phil Rudd will not be on tour with AC/DC next year. Being charged with attempt to procure murder and possession of drugs (again) he appeared before a New Zealand court. Of course he will not be able to travel abroad very easily after this...

The reason to leave Phil out of the video shoot and of the first official band picture for the Rock Or Bust album now seems to have been a calculated choice by the band. Probably because of Phil's recent unstable and umpredicatable behavior...

Who will be the next AC/DC drummer? Most probably Bob Richards, who took part in the Rock or Bust video shoot in London. Other come backs such as Chris Slade seem to be unlikely to happen.

We are going to miss Phil during this tour...

NEW AC/DC VIDEO TO BE RELEASED NEXT WEEK

According to rumors the new AC/DC promotional video will be released next week. In the meantime here's a clip of the making of...

AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!! AC/DC!!

THE PHILL RUDD MYSTERY - Part 2

First Rock or Bust Promotional Photo - Fans Edited Version, the way it SHOULD be!

As you all know Phil Rudd didn't show up in London for the AC/DC Rock or Bust video shoot. Officially he had to go back to New Zealand due to some undisclosed family matters... Well, apparently, Phil was not in London for the first day of the video shoot either.

Is Phil really out of the band and some historic/hard core fans think? We don't know. A source inside Sony says he will be back for the tour but, unfortunately, for obvious reasons, Sony cannot be trusted on this.

These are the facts:

1- Phil was in Vancouver for the recording of the "Rock or Bust" album. (He was seen in the hotel)
2- Phil was not in London for the video shoot.
3- Bob Richards, his "substitute", didn't use a SONOR drum kit which proves that in the video editing process they will not try to include him "digitally", most probably.
4-The first official new AC/DC promotional photo does not include any drummer

After Malcolm's retirement, losing another pillar such as Phil Rudd will not make fans happy, especially those who have been following the band for decades. But we must be realistic. There majority of the fans will go to concerts to see Angus and Brian and listen to Highway to Hell or Thunderstruck. And let's not forget there is a new generation of fans ready to buy concert tickets anyway... Lots of concert tickets...

THE CRAZIEST AC/DC FANS IN LONDON - TOUR WARM UP

AC/DC Pre Tour Warm up Party in London 4 October 2014 (courtesy of Christian Rnafg Spurk and Atze Datze

If you've been following the AC/DC Abruzzo blog in the last few years you had a taste of the excesses that AC/DC fans can reach.

During our 20 month trip around the world following AC/DC we've told you lots of stories about fans,  each one with a different story and each one with his/her own peculiar way to show their love for AC/DC. Some of these hard core fans of course were in London for the Rock or Bust video shoot on the 4 October 2014.

Now, you know the AC/DC Abruzzo philosophy and attitude and you know that we've travelled the world sleeping in airports, train stations, cheap hostels, cars, most of the times without a ticket to the concert (because the shows were sold out) etc. But we were not the only ones! Also in London... And we have decided to create a top 5 list of the "Craziest AC/DC fans" of the London 2014 video shoot and pre-tour warm up party.

So with this post we don't intend to say that crazy fans are better fans than "normal". They are just "crazier" and, generally speaking, it's a lot fun to hang around them. ;)

So here we go.

#5 The German Fans

The German fans show up everywhere there is an AC/DC show/event. You will recognize them immediately thanks to their blue jeans jackets covered with AC/DC patches, autographs and "live memorabilia"...

They bring their AC/DC passion around the world and combine it with their love for beer and stadiums chanting. Great company and great fun! A large group of German fans corageously came to the London shoot without ticket and their faith was rewarded as they all managed to get in. Hat's off.

Some of the ticketless German fans

#4 Carole from Canada

Carole was spotted at many AC/DC shows during the Black Ice Tour: from Dublin 2009 to Sydney 2010 and all around Europe. Originally from Canada AC/DC is her number one priority. And she's got lots of AC/DC stories to tell... Apparently, she also came to London without a ticket but managed to find one.

Carole

#3 Jean Philippe and Vincent "Dirty Shoes"

These two characters from France have proven their loyalty to AC/DC in the most hard core way during the Black Ice Tour and they rank, with only a few others, in the +50 Black Ice concerts league. From waiting outside the Stockholm hotel of the band at - 10 °C in February 2009 to coming to London in 2014 for the video shoot 3 days before, just to have chance to meet again the band. From what we witnessed during the Black Ice World Tour, taking a photo with Jean Philippe outside the band's hotel was one of Angus' daily routines... No joke. Of course they were in London, apparently without Sony invitation either (but this was not officially confirmed)...

Dirty Shoes in London with Cliff

Angus super-happy to meet Jean Philippe again after 3 years

#2 Matthew Nagra (representing the Nagra clan from Vancouver)

We met Matthew and his dad Mark for the first time in Wilkes Barres for the Dress Rehearsals private show in 2008. Since then we have been meeting them all around the globe, from Glasgow, Scotland to Perth, Australia. Matthew bought his flight from Vancouver to London 48 hours before the video shoot and, of course, he came to London ticketless.

Matthew Nagra, Brian Johnson and Mark Nagra in Vancouver

#1 Christian from Buenos Aires, Argentina

The first time we met Christian was in Sofia, Bulgaria the day before the show. He told us that he had gotten a loan from his bank in order to follow the band in Europe. He came with us to Bucharest, Romania (by night train) and then we helped him with tickets in Udine, Italy. Hard core stuff. He also ended up in the official AC/DC DVD Live at River Plate.

For the video shoot in London he came directly from Buenos Aires, Argentina, booking a very expensive flight, of course without any ticket/invitation for the shoot (but he managed to get in anyway). A real lesson of Rock'n'Roll attitude and unconditional love for AC/DC!

Christian and Matthew in London just after receiving the confirmation there were extra tickets for the video shoot

Pre-order 'Rock or Bust'

ROCK OR BUST - 1ST DECEMBER

AC/DC fans - Rock or Bust, the highly anticipated new studio album hits shops 1st December, featuring 11 brand new songs.

1. Rock or Bust
2. Play Ball
3. Rock The Blues Away
4. Miss Adventure
5. Dogs of War
6. Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder
7. Hard Times
8. Baptism By Fire
9. Rock the House
10. Sweet Candy
11. Emission Control

CD and LP versions of Rock or Bust are packaged in a limited 3D animated cover. All digital pre-orders of Rock or Bust come with an instant download of Play Ball.

Pre-order:

CD LP Digital

Listen to AC/DC NEW SONGS: "ROCK OR BUST" and "PLAY BALL"

The two new AC/DC songs were released today. "Play Ball" was released officially while "Rock or Bust" was posted on AC/DC Vevo Youtube channel, apparently by mistake.

Anyway, you can listen to them on YouTube and elsewhere. Enjoy "Rock or Bust" before it is taken down... ;)

PLAY BALL

ROCK OR BUST

AC/DC - ROCK OR BUST - NEW ALBUM ARTWORK Revealed today

Here's the official artwork for the AC/DC Rock or Bust album. The cover will be in 3D and it will have this explosion effect just like you can see in the gif below.

ROCK OR BUST ARTWORK - ANIMATED GIF

AC/DC Rock or Bust Video Shoot - London 4 October 2014 REPORT Part 2 - THE SONG and PHIL RUDD

AC/DC Abruzzo wine tasting

Great AC/DC Abruzzo aftershow party at the Little Social by Jason Atherton, with Gourmet food and some of the best wines on the menu, thanks to Secretary General Stefano.


The Song: "Rock or Bust"

As we said there were six takes so we managed to get an overall impression of the song. It's about 3 minutes long and it has two choruses and two short Angus' solos (Angus was duckwalking close to the edge of the short circular stage with the cameras following him during the solos). The chorus is "In Rock we Trust, it's Rock or Bust". It sound a bit "heavier" than Black Ice/Rock'n'Roll Train with some influence from older albums such as Ballbreaker. Brian's voice seemed very similar to Black Ice. At least this was the impression.

Italian fans

The Phil Rudd Mystery

According to some rumours Phil was not in London the day before the shoot. Now, we can't say if this rumor is true or not. The official version of the story is that Phil flew back home the day of the shoot for some family problem, nothing serious. In any case everything is possible with Phil, considering his rock'n'roll attitude and character but we sincerely hope he's back soon. We got to say that Bob Richards was quite cool. Very approachable and extremely kind to all fans. He took pictures with most of the fans and gave away the drumsticks he used during the shoot.

With Bob Richards

Happy Nonno Alan

Angus signing autographs to all the fans, TRUE ROCKSTAR

AC/DC Rock or Bust Video Shoot - London 4 October 2014 REPORT Part 1

Report from London Part 1 by AC/DC Abruzzo

The fans waiting for the buses in Victoria

We're just back from memorable video shoot of AC/DC at the Black Island Studios of London. What a fantastic day! We saw the boys in great shape, especially Brian who seems to be really ready for the tour (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BTW!). We loved the new song "Rock or Bust". It reminded us of Black Ice album combined with some old school AC/DC sound.

Matteo, Cristian and Matthew

The audience was made up of approximately 400 people, who got to the studios on 8 buses. The first bus left around 1pm and the last around 2.30. All the band was there except Phil Rudd, who apparently had to fly back home in the morning due to some family problem. A cool drummer named Bob Richards stepped in to replace Phil. Nice bloke. From what we heard the whole band was there the previous day for the filming of the Play Ball video (all on green screen).

Entering the studios

As we mentioned in our previous post the stage was circular and the audience was standing around it on 5 different levels. We had the impression that more people were expected as the director's assistant kept telling to "shuffle" and fill empty spaces as much as possible.

There were 6 different takes (5 takes with all the members and 1 with the audience only plus Cliff, Stevie and Bob on stage).

Inside the studios

As we said, Brian was really on fire. Angus was wearing a green uniform and a brown hat. He did his duckwalk and all his moves. Cliff seemed he was having a good time on stage. Stevie, you can say he's been working hard to become an active part of the band.

After the the six takes the audience went back to the entrance where free food was handed over. Angus came out of his black van a few minutes after, before leaving the venue and, patiently, met most of the fans and signed autographs. Hat's off to Angus and to his respect for fans...

It was also great to see all the familiar faces from the Black Ice Tour. Some crazy fans came all the way from Canada (Carole and Matthew) or Argentina (Cristian). We met the Scottish fans from the Bon era, Nonno Alan, Uncle Michel, the French duo JP and Dirtyshoes, the Germans and many more... The farawell drink was at The Shakespeare pub.

Stay tuned for more exclusive material from the London video shoot.

Malcolm Young - AC/DC

AC/DC Rock or Bust Video Shoot - London 4 October 2014

News from the road

During our first day in London we managed to get some exclusive information and credible rumors from reliable sources about the new AC/DC video shoot.

1) AC/DC already shot some video footage yesterday at the same studios where they filmed the Rock'n'Roll Train video in 2008. Yesterday they mainly used green screens.

2) All the band members are in London including Stevie Young

3) The director is Dave Mullet as in the last videos and dvd's

4) The song which was played during the shoot was "Play Ball" (reportedly 2 min 40 sec with "very repetitive" lyrics)

5) Today another song will be used for filming (probably "Rock or Bust")

6) From what we heard, the stage will be at the centre of the venue and the fans will be around it

7) Lyrics and music for the new songs might be all by Angus Young (!)

8) Angus is in fantastic shape and can't wait to go on tour!

AC/DC Fan Gathering for the Video Shoot in London!! - UPDATE

At the moment some of the most hard core AC/DC fans are traveling to London, UK to take part in the the new AC/DC Video shoot tomorrow for the forthcoming album "Rock or Bust".

From Argentina to Canada, from Germany to Belgium, from Spain to Sweden, from France to Italy some of the familiar faces we have been seeing around the world during the Black Ice Tour, and before, are gathering in London for AC/DC's official come-back tomorrow!

Rock'n'Roll!

Secretary General Stefano already in London

President Matteo coming from Dubai

AC/DC ABRUZZO IN LONDON FOR THE NEW AC/DC VIDEO SHOOT!

AC/DC Abruzzo has been invited by Columbia Records to attend the video shoot of the new AC/DC video this Saturday, 4th October 2014 in London.

Stay tuned for exclusive reports from London!

AC/DC to play Stade de France in Paris on 23 May 2015

Francis Zegut AC/DC, historic fan of AC/DC from France, revealed through his blog that AC/DC will be playing on May 23, 2015 at Stade de France in Paris for the Rock or Bust World Tour. And apparently, it might be just the first concert of two...

Let's wait for the official confirmation...

Rumored Tracklisting for Rock or Bust - the NEW AC/DC Album

According to the Highway to AC/DC website the new AC/DC album Rock or Bust will have the following setlist.

ROCK OR BUST

1. Play Ball
2. Sign of Times
3. Ain’t the way
4. Rock or Bust
5. Done Her Good
6. Steal my Meal
7. Watching Games
8. Cardhourse Blues
9. Bulletride
10. Rumble
11. Back in the Zone

NEW AC/DC "PLAY BALL" VIDEO WILL BE SHOT IN LONDON ON 4 OCTOBER

The new AC/DC Video for the album Rock or Bust will be shot in London on 4 October. Fans are invited to sign up to participate in the video shoot, just like 6 years...

And as we did for the Rock'n'Roll train video shoot in 2008, AC/DC ABRUZZO will cover the event from London again! STAY TUNED

AC/DC ARE BACK!

http://sweeps.acdc.com

ANOTHER CLIP OF AC/DC NEW SINGLE "PLAY BALL" FROM THE NEW ALBUL "ROCK OR BUST"

Here's another clip of the new AC/DC single "PLAY BALL"...

We can't wait for the entire song!!!

NEW AC/DC SINGLE "PLAY BALL" TO DEBUT THIS WEEKEND + WORLD TOUR

As reported by Blabbermouth the new AC/DC single "PLAY BALL" will debut this weekend.

In relation to the new AC/DC Album, Turner Sports announced the following:

"Starting September 27, Turner Sports will provide fans a sneak peek of the new track ‘Play Ball’ as part of the 2014 Major League Baseball Postseason campaign. The content will run for several weeks across TBS, the exclusive home to this year’s American League Postseason coverage, as well as leading media brands within the Turner portfolio."

Here's a clip in which you can listen to a few seconds of the new AC/DC song "Play Ball".

According to rumors, the new AC/DC world tour will start in January/February 2015 and Stevie Young will fill in for Malcolm Young who, unfortunately, is not able to join back the band due to his condition.

AC/DC NEW ALBUM - ROCK OR BUST - Out 28th November 2014

At last! The release date of the new AC/DC album is now official: 28th November 2014! ARE YOU READY!

From: Alberts Music http://albertmusic.com/news/ac-dc-rock-or-bust

AC/DC ‘ROCK OR BUST’

Posted on 23 Sep 2014

Alberts and Sony Music Entertainment Australia proudly announce the November 28th release of ‘Rock or Bust,’ the highly anticipated new studio album from AC/DC.

September 24, 2014, Sydney, Australia – Alberts and Sony Music Entertainment Australia proudly announce the release of ‘Rock or Bust,’ the highly anticipated new studio album from AC/DC, available in Australia November 28, 2014.  ‘Rock or Bust’ is the band’s first studio album in six years and features 11 new tracks.
‘Rock or Bust’ follows the immensely successful ‘Black Ice’ album, which debuted at #1 in 31 countries upon its release in 2008 and has gone on to sell nearly 8 million copies worldwide. The album was recorded at Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, Canada and finds AC/DC once again working with producer Brendan O’Brien and mixer Mike Fraser.

“Rock or Bust” is the first AC/DC album in the band’s history without founding member Malcolm Young on the recordings.  Earlier this year AC/DC released a statement explaining that due to illness, Malcolm would be taking a break from the band.  Unfortunately, due to the nature of Malcolm's illness, he will not be re-joining the band.  AC/DC will undertake a world tour in support of ‘Rock or Bust’ in 2015.  Steve Young, nephew of founding members Angus and Malcolm Young, plays guitar on 'Rock or Bust' and will accompany the band on tour.

http://albertmusic.com/news/ac-dc-rock-or-bust

20% DISCOUNT ON FANTOGRAPHY!

20% DISCOUNT ON FANTOGRAPHY! (Valid only for a limited time) AC/DC FANTOGRAPHY Photobook + Shipping

Photobook + S/H European Union €47,20 EUR Photobook + S/H Rest of Europe, USA & Canada €51,20 EUR Photobook + S/H Rest of World €55,20 EUR

CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR ALL THE DETAILS ON OUR PHOTOBOOKS

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URGENT MEETING CALLED IN ABRUZZO

The AC/DC Abruzzo founding members, gathering from Dubai and London, have decided to hold an urgent meeting in the AC/DC Abruzzo Headquarters yesterday...

Matteo, Stefano and Andrea in Abruzzo, 4 years after the last AC/DC concert in Bilbao 

The Archive

 Rosie

December 2008 - The Creation of AC/DC Abruzzo

AC/DC in Vancouver for the new album!

Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams reaching Vancouver for the recording of the new AC/DC album

As we kept saying through our Facebook page, rumors that spread out virally over the internet and all other media about AC/DC officially retiring due to the bad health conditions of Malcolm proved to be wrong. Although AC/DC confirmed through their Facebook page what all fans had feared about Malcolm it was officially announced that AC/DC will "continue to make music".

AC/DC official announcement

From the photos that have been circulating over the internet in the last few hours AC/DC appear to have gathered in Vancouver for the recording of the new album, as announced by Brian Johnson earlier.

Stevie Young apparently will replace Malcolm for the recording. This is what most hard core fans thought would happen, knowing the history of the band and their determination to go on despite difficulties and challenges. At the moment we don't know if Stevie will also join the band on the road like he did in the Blow Up Your Video tour...

Of course we wish Malcolm and his family all the best hoping that he can get better and come back soon.

ROCK'N'ROLL WILL NEVER DIE!

Angus Young and Stevie Young together for the recording of the new album in Vancouver

AC/DC NEW ALBUM AND NEW TOUR IN 2014!

"I think we’ll be going into the studio in May in Vancouver"

 - Brian Johnson - 14/02/2014

After all the nonsense rumors that spread around about AC/DC touring in 2014 here's some "unofficial news" for all AC/DC fans around the world directly from Brian. Brian confirmed that one of the band members was sick in the past and there will be a tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band... with 40 shows!!!

Still too early to say this will happen but it's definitely some fantastic news for all AC/DC fans!

You can listen the full interview here. Brian starts talking about the band and the tour at min. 6:30.

ROCK'N'ROLL!!!

BON SCOTT STATUE IN KIRRIEMUIR, SCOTLAND

Some of the Statue Proposals (We love the one with Rosie!)

You organised a Bon Scott festival last year, what was the idea behind that?

Bon Fest actually began in 2006 when DD8 decided to have a gig to remember Bon Scott by. There was a plaque laid in 2005 and a festival was the next thing in the line to remember Bon by. Initially it went from a couple of hours on the Saturday afternoon, with local bands playing a few covers to mostly local ACDC fans. We have grown this year on year and we now hold the festival over two days and nights which has sold out well in advance from the last three years. We now pull in fans from all over the world with up to 60 German fans making the trip yearly. We now also bring in the best Bon Scott era ACDC tribute bands from all over Europe With bands coming this year from Germany and Italy.

Any other fundraising or events planned over the coming months that we should know about?

Not at the moment. The statue and Bon Fest is the main focus of attention at the minute.

How can people get involved in your campaign?

We require all the help we can get from fans from all over the world to help make this project a reality. At the moment all information is going through our Face book page and DD8 home page until the kick starter page goes live. We hope the page will go live next week then we can start taking donations from the fans. In the mean time Facebook and DD8 links are below.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bon-Scott-Statue-Kirriemuir/269001339883417

http://www.dd8music.com/bonstatue.cfm

How can we send you funds towards the statue?

We request that all funding goes through the Kick starter page when it is launched.

When do you hope the statue will be unveiled?

If the funding via Kickstarter is a success then we will unveil the statue at Bon Fest in Kirriemuir on Saturday May 4th 2013.

BON SCOTT STATUE IN KIRRIEMUIR, SCOTLAND

We heard about the project for a Bon Scott statue in Kirriemuir and we got very curious. So we asked John Crawford, who is one of the people behind it, to tell us more about it...


DD8music are a non exclusive community group, formed in 2005, dedicated to promoting involvement in musical activities to people of all ages in the local area (Kirriemuir and surround). 

The group is completely voluntary, and is going from strength to strength with thanks to the hard work from the team of volunteers, and the support of all the bands and the people who come to our events to enjoy the music. We organise several live music events throughout the year such as the sell out Bon Fest and open air event, Live in the Den.

We run a recording and rehearsal studio in Kirriemuir. It is a space where people can have the freedom to experiment with music, and be encouraged to develop their talent. 

We plan to have memorial statue erected of Bon Scott in Kirriemuir. This is important for two reasons. Firstly Bon is a recognised Rock singer throughout the world, some believing the best rock front man there has ever been. For this reason we want to honour him in his childhood home. Secondly we want to help put Kirriemuir on the global map and we can do this by having this statue erected in the town. This will also be more of a draw for tourists who will come to kirriemuir purely to see this statue. This will also help generate funds for local businesses.

We are going to fund in using a crowd funding website called KICKSTARTER. This is an American based website which has recently launched in the UK and is being very successful. It works by using a tiered funding reward approach. For example with our project we will reward you by donating money from £1 in stages up to £2500. £1.00 being a thank you on our website and £2500 allowing you to have your name engraved on the statue plinth and a 6” miniature bronze replica of the statue. 
The local people have been very supportive about this. We have the support of all three of our local councillors and we carried out a public consultation. With the consultation we had 156 replies with only 7 against the proposal. We have also received hundreds of messages of support from locals and people world wide via our facebook page. I am one of the thousands of people world wide who believe that Bon was the best rock front man of all time. He was a down to earth guy although he had his cheeky streak as well, who wouldn’t being the front man of one of the worlds best bands at the time? He deserves the statue as a tribute because he should be remembered for his Scottish roots and for being simply Bon Scott from ACDC, The cheeky Scottish/Australian with an amazing voice that rock fans through out the world knew and loved.

Bon Scott already brings the single biggest influx of people to Kirriemuir when people from all over the world decent on Kirriemuir for the annual Bon Fest.  We know by getting replies from people that when they come to Kirriemuir many are left feeling disappointed that the town doesn’t have anything apart from the memorial plaque to remember  Bon by. We also know that this statue will bring several more visitors to the town thus helping the local businesses that in turn help us during Bon fest and other events though out the year.

It’s important for the town and many local don’t know that Bon Scott’s parents were from Kirriemuir and that Bon lived here before moving to Australia. His memory and history needs to be kept alive in Kirriemuir and by having this statue as a permanent  reminder  his memory and history won’t be allowed to be forgotten.

This has generated world wide news in many fans websites, blogs and social media accounts. It has also been picked up by the media from Kentucky news, classic rock and MTV to name but only a few. We have picked up support from people such a Lemmy from Motorhead who tweeted about the statue to more private messages of support from Bons closest friends and Ex band mate from his time with ACDC. The Italian fan club have ran an article about it as has the Brazilians the Germans, Austrians and Norwegians again this is only a small selection of the support we have received.

TO BE CONTINUED