AC/DC, Australia's most famous rock band, have announced their first United Kingdom (UK) tour for eight years, and will play six dates in April. Funnily enough, the band was preparing for a UK tour at this time in 1985. This article compares the two tours.
AC/DC 1985 Tour
AC/DC played eight gigs at six venues on their 1985 tour, kicking off with a gig at Manchester Apollo on January 13th, and then continuing at Whitley Bay Ice Rink the next night.
After a day off, they continued with two dates at the Wembley Arena, had another day off and played two dates at the Birmingham N.E.C.
Another day off preceded their final two dates, which were played at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
AC/DC guitarists, Angus and Malcolm Young, as well as former lead singer Bon Scott, were born in Scotland, so that probably explains the ending of the tour north of the border.
AC/DC 1985 Tour Dates
- Manchester Apollo on January 13th
- Whitley Bay Ice Rink on January 14th
- Wembley Arena on January 16th
- Wembley Arena on January 17th
- Birmingham N.E.C. on January 19th
- Birmingham N.E.C on January 20th
- Edinburgh Playhouse on January 22nd
- Edinburgh Playhouse on January 23rd
AC/DC 2009 Tour
AC/DC will start their 2009Black Ice tour with two dates at the London 02 Arena, with a day's rest in-between.
They will then take four days off before playing at the Manchester MEN Arena on April 21st, and then take another day off before playing the Birmingham LG on April 23rd.
The above dates were announced first, and there was much consternation north of the border at the omission of any Scottish dates. However, two further dates were then announced.
AC/DC will return to London to play Wembley Stadium on April 26th, before heading north of the border to again end the tour in Scotland. This time they will finish with a gig at Glasgow's Hampden Park.
- London 02 Arena on April 14th
- London 02 Arena on April 16th
- Manchester MEN Arena on April 21st
- Birmingham LG Arena on April 23rd
- London Wembley Stadium on April 26th
- Glasgow Hampden Park on April 30th
Comparing the 1985 and 2009 Tours
So twenty-four years later and AC/DC are playing in bigger arenas and stadiums, and to more people.
Demand for tickets is as great as ever, with the highly successful 2008 album Black Ice raising AC/DC's profile back up to its highest level.
Although some intimacy might be lost in the bigger venues, Brian Johnson explained their rationale in an interview with Mark Putterford for the January 9-22, 1985 issue of Kerrang magazine.
Johnson explained that AC/DC were playing the large halls because: "we can give the kids our full show and make sure they get value for money...its not fair on the kids if they have to miss out on certain things."
Should be some show in 2009!
Ticketmaster has tickets for the 2009 AC/DC UK tour.
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