Should AC/DC call it a day??

Philly_Q · April 2016

EricTheWeary said:

I'm always a bit divided on these. At some point you lose what made the line up great yet from the back of an arena if you have the spectacular and the right sound then how much does it matter who is up there on stage?

You've summed up why I don't like arena gigs.

I saw AC/DC at Wembley Stadium in 2009, the support bands were The Subways and The Answer, but for all I could see (and hear) those little ants on stage might as well have been Chas & Dave. Or some actual ants.

When AC/DC were on they had the big video screens, of course... but you might as well watch a video.

Fatfingers · April 2016

I've loved them since I was 16 but, based on the appealing sound at their Wembley show last July, I think they should knock it on the head. I also agree with impmann – it was Malcolm's band and they probably should have knocked it on the head when he was sadly forced to retire.

EricTheWeary · April 2016

Philly_Q;1033709" said:
EricTheWeary said:

I'm always a bit divided on these. At some point you lose what made the line up great yet from the back of an arena if you have the spectacular and the right sound then how much does it matter who is up there on stage?

You've summed up why I don't like arena gigs. I saw AC/DC at Wembley Stadium in 2009, the support bands were The Subways and The Answer, but for all I could see (and hear) those little ants on stage might as well have been Chas & Dave. Or some actual ants.When AC/DC were on they had the big video screens, of course... but you might as well watch a video.

All being well I will see The Levellers at a festival this September I have no idea of the band member names or to what extent they have an original line up. As long as they play the songs I recognise in roughly the kind of way I expect I'll be happy (ie not reworked them as minimalist electro funk).
I know enough about acdc to have some concern about the line up but I understand for some people it will be a complete non issue ( like me and the Levellers). At the point at which they are only dots in the distance it is pretty much an irrelevance.
If they still carry on with only Angus I'm sure they will still have an audience.

Phil_aka_Pip · April 2016

John_P said:

Has it been confirmed that axl is singing for them? I thought it must be a publicity gathering rumour.

I didn't think Brian's ear damage was permanent so they'd have been much better just postponing the shows rather than getting replacements in. imo.

if they're willing to wait for Axl to turn up, they might as well postpone the gig till Brian is better

Philly_Q · April 2016

OK, assuming they do carry on, does anyone think Angus should retire the school uniform?

I know it's always been part of the show and all that, but the guy is 61 years old.... in other walks of life he'd be under police surveillance.

Monstronaut · April 2016

You can replace a singer once, not sure if you can do it twice. Iron maiden tanked after Bruce Dickinson left in the 90's. I suspect there will be a fair few people backing out of the uk summer gigs if another singer is brought in. I'll be one of them.

hobbio · April 2016

I'd pay to see Noddy Holder as the front man

Phil_aka_Pip · April 2016

hobbio said:

I'd pay to see Noddy Holder as the front man

wis. He'd be good

quarky · April 2016

Philly_Q said:

OK, assuming they do carry on, does anyone think Angus should retire the school uniform?
I know it's always been part of the show and all that, but the guy is 61 years old.... in other walks of life he'd be under police surveillance.

No way. That would be nice KISS taking their makeup off, and I don't think that worked for them (the odd song and Revenge apart).

martinw · April 2016

Fledermaus said:

I have tickets for Manchester..... I wait with bated breath......

Me too.

Bought them through Getmein so as long as the gig goes ahead, I can't claim a refund, no matter who they put up on stage.

I don't think one person alone makes a band, but if you take the ingredients out of a recipe one at a time, at what point does it become something else? Or nothing.

I reckon it was still minestrone soup without Malcolm, but with only Angus and Cliff left.........

Paul_C · April 2016

EricTheWeary said:

All being well I will see The Levellers at a festival this September I have no idea of the band member names or to what extent they have an original line up. As long as they play the songs I recognise in roughly the kind of way I expect I'll be happy (ie not reworked them as minimalist electro funk).

wiki says :
Current members

Mark Chadwick - lead vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica (1988–present)
Jeremy "Jez" Cunningham - bass guitar, guitar, bouzouki, backing vocals (1988–present)
Charlie Heather - drums, percussion (1988–present)
Jonathan "Jon" Sevink - fiddle, violin, tin whistle, sequencer, sample loop (1988–present)
Simon Friend - guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, vocals (1990–present)
Matt Savage - keyboards, backing vocals (2003–present)

Former members

David Buckmeister - guitar (1988-1989)
Alan Miles - guitar, mandolin, harmonica, vocals (1989-1990)

so pretty much the same line up since the beginning bar a couple of brief changes and one who's only been in the band for 13 years.

Philly_Q · April 2016

quarky said:

Philly_Q said:

OK, assuming they do carry on, does anyone think Angus should retire the school uniform?
I know it's always been part of the show and all that, but the guy is 61 years old.... in other walks of life he'd be under police surveillance.

No way. That would be nice KISS taking their makeup off, and I don't think that worked for them (the odd song and Revenge apart).

I thought the Lick It Up album was great (.... I haven't heard it for many years though!). I must say, at the time it seemed completely understandable that Kiss might be sick of all the costumes, makeup etc... but in retrospect it does seem bizarre that they temporarily threw away such an incredibly strong image and concept.

Then again... maybe my memory's playing tricks, but it did seem like the no-makeup period revitalised their career for a while. And then, when things got stale again, bringing the makeup back revitalised them once more. Times change, I guess.

Angus I think is a bit different, it's only him in the band with a schtick. I suppose by halfway through a show he's down to just his shorts anyway, which makes it all a bit less ludicrous.