AC/DC BEDLAM in BELGIUM blog

Let's get it up for AC/DC

2012-01-25T22:38:00.000+01:00

Brian Johnson of AC/DC on The Cowhead Show by mrcowhead

In the above audio Brian talks about the 24h race (Rolex24) he'll be piloting in Daytona this weekend. Brian drives for charity (http://www.brianjohnsonracing.com) and you can make your donations to the Austin Hatcher Foundation that fights against pediatric cancer here.

A part from the good news that the band would like to get into the studio again soon, Brian also mentions one of the boys being sick, but luckily recovering very well. We from ACDCBelgium would like to give him and the band a big "Let's Get It Up" and wish him a speedy recovery!

out soon: Dirty Deeds with Mark Evans

2011-08-15T13:16:00.004+02:00

Early November, Mark Evans will be the first band member to give an inside look into the early Bon Scott years and his life with (and after) the band in his book "Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside / Outside of AC/DC". Evans, who joined the band as a 19 year old bass player from 1975 until 1977, can be heard on the following studio recordings: TNT, High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Let There Be Rock and '74 Jailbreak.

"Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC brings the gripping, laugh-out-loud tale of a band that lived fast and played harder than anyone else. The first bio by a band insider during the early years, the book details the struggles and personalities behind the rise of hard rock’s most successful group; with guest spots by rock n’ roll icons like George Harrison, Gene Simmons, Phil Lynott, and members of Metallica. In his honest and revealing memoir, mark evans contends with life’s many turns: A rough-as-nails upbringing, lucky breaks, soaring highs, and terrible personal loss and tragedy. It was a long way to the top…and he was just getting started"

Youtube clip with Mark Evans in a clip from Countdown.
http://youtu.be/rosjCc9AeYM

ISBN 978-1-935950-04-2 / US$19.95
Deluxe 272pp illustrated softcover w/16pp color insert

"You've got the thirst and I've got the booze..."

2011-08-15T12:51:00.004+02:00

Have a drink on me !
Warburn Estate, one of Australia's top wineries, has issued a new AC/DC wine collection which will be available through Woolworth's, Dan Murphy, and BWS.

4 grand crus will be available :
"AC/DC Back In Black Shiraz" (2010 750m Dry Red)
"AC/DC You Shook Me All Night Long Moscato" (2011 750m Sweet White)
"AC/DC Highway To Hell Cabernet Sauvignon" (2008 750m Dry Red)
"AC/DC Hells Bells Sauvignon Blanc" (2010 750m Dry White)

I'll wait for Robert Parker to quote these....

AC/DC brand new cool Interview

2011-05-14T10:50:00.000+02:00

Probably from the day before the screening of Live at the River Plate,
Excellent interview from Absolute Radio, in which Angus and Brian discuss touring, live on the road and the passion they still have for it.

AC/DC Live at River Plate OUT NOW !

2011-05-08T23:26:00.023+02:00

The Hammersmith Apollo 6 May.
The same old venue (constructed in 1932 as a Cinema complex), now under the HMV flag, in 2003 exploited as a concert hall by the British beer brand Carling, before that a by other brewers. One single constant factor remained: the connection to the legacy of AC/DC. The band played the Apollo 16 times in 35 years, for the last time in 2003 (see pictures previous posts).

On 6 May, Sony Music rolled out the red carpet for the worldwide premiere of the new DVD Live at River Plate. Actually, the band walked a black carpet with red band logo lettering, and posed for the gathered press in front of a typical heavily logoed banawall and all of this in a style only AC/DC gets away with: casual but rock and roll. Also present: 2 real size canons the Hells Bell, and -as in 2003- lots of AC/DC fans. They came in from all over the world: Canada, Italy, Chile, France, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, you name it.

AC/DC Belgium could also witness the screening of the new DVD, on -according to acdc.com- "UK's largest movie screen (the equivalent of 4 double decker buses stacked)". Next to your reporter, the Studio Brussel contest winners Leen and Jonathan from Kortrijk Rock City, who were treated on a splendid stay in London (it only rained once....) with 2 tix for the premiere.

After being introduced by no other than ant snorting (and other dirty deeds) Ozzy Osbourne, the band (without drummer Phil - taking care of his tornado challenged belongings back in NZ) took the stage for a 2 minute speech in which they expressed their gratitude to the people who made the movie possible and to the "best rock fans in the world". Even though they already saw the movie, the band took place among the fans to watch a big deal of it.

That for the scene setting. Now to the DVD, which can be called a genuine masterpiece. The 32 HD cameras paid off: never were we treated with such a high quality images of an AC/DC concert. Forget VHS copies of the Donnington shows, bootleg Let there Be Rock DVD's: this is thé band's ultimate Live video. Mix these images with those of the bloodhot and steaming Argentina crowd and you get a wonderful idea of what AC/DC shows look like. You will be able to smell the sweat from your screen off all those Argentinean fans pogoing and jumping up and down for the entire length of the show. Excellent choice! You can order the DVD (with or without special T-shirt package) here: SONY AC/DC shop.

Big Avant Première in London in presence of the big 5!

2011-04-14T22:38:00.005+02:00

Yez, indeed the Big are 5, not four. And all of them will be present on the worldwide première in London of the Live at Riverplate DVD (see articles below). Dreaming to be present again in this legendary room at the Hammersmith Carling Apollo, or at least in what is left after our last passage in 2003.... But I will need some help... Suggestions more than welcome ]:o)

At least now we know where to send our pictures to..... (see previous post)

Riverplate Trailer new link

2011-03-11T12:59:00.000+01:00

Brian talks cars and new album/DVD

2011-02-19T18:25:00.004+01:00

Hell Yeah! The new live DVD, accompanied by a live CD from the Argentina shows during the Black Ice tour are due for in about six weeks (early April). That's what Brian confirms in this clip. Watch it to take a glimpse of the sweet Porsche he bought his missus for Christmas. Smart move Brian! Enjoy!

The LTBR The Movie DVD will be a WARNER home video release. No exact release date known (yet). :o)

Remember Bon Scott (Rock in Peace).

Let there be rock - the movie - finally on DVD?

2011-02-09T23:24:00.003+01:00

From Blabbermouth: "Let There Be Rock", the AC/DC concert documentary that was filmed December 1979 at the Pavillion De Paris, will finally receive its long-awaited DVD release in June (postponed from the previously announced January). Eddie Trunk, the co-host of the VH1 Classic television program "That Metal Show", was interviewed about the band's impact for one of the DVD's bonus features. He wrote last year on his blog, "[The company which is releasing the DVD is] doing some cleanups to the audio and video and making it as high-def as the source will allow." He added, "I can tell you I have an advance and it looks and sounds great, but they are making it even better!"

According to the All Music Guide, "Let There Be Rock" was released in France a year after it was filmed, though American release was delayed until well after the band had established themselves in the States with new vocalist Brian Johnson and the multi-platinum success of the "Back In Black" album.

YES YES YES.... the original masters of this recording were long time rumoured to have been lost/destroyed. I wonder what the result will look like. This we will know, of course, if we have more certainty about the rumour being true.... to be continued.

What about Cliff?

2011-02-07T21:07:00.003+01:00

After we had some news on how Brian copes with the aftermath of the Black Ice Tour, we now have some video footage of Cliff. He explains how much he's into fishing lately. Check out this video from Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp:

In this interview from Bass Frontiers, Cliff talks about how he joined AC/DC:

That's it for now. Remember Cliff's advice: keep banging the door!

Brian back on stage (new footage)

2010-11-15T22:16:00.009+01:00

Alright y'all out there. It's about time I crept back out of my hole and post something new on your favorite AC/DC Bedlam in Belgium Blog. Last Saturday, Brian Johnson joined the Greg Billing Band on stage for a concert at the Irish Rover Pub in Sarasota, Florida. It's not the first time that Brian shakes a leg in Florida with his friend Greg Billing. About 3 years ago, in December 2007, he and Cliff Williams performed Back in Black (first video). Brian has also been singing a Beatles song with them.

As we were showing serious signs of AC/DC cold turkey after the Berlin show, we always wondered how the boys would deal with an abrupt end of a long tour. In the video below, Brian sings an 'intimate' version of DDDC. Attentive viewers will find out that the Black Ice tour left its marks as Brian clearly got impregnated with the big stadium choreography (and the bind texts - "we've got something special"). The band plays a good tune and Brian sang his heart out. Enjoy! Update: YSMANL (thanks Boogie!) / WLR (thanks Boogie bis!).

AC/DC Berlin Report!

2010-06-24T23:11:00.005+02:00

UPDATE:
Pretty decent concert weather in the historical city of Berlin. I had a very smooth connection from Schönenfeld airport to the city center. Public transport is pretty well organised there, so you can fairly easy get around (you do need a map!!). Where are the days that we still could fly into Berlin via the great Tempelhof airport, through which the allies supplied the troops during WWII. They give concerts now in the old Tempelhof airport building and I was told that AC/DC was asked to do a show over there, but that it didn't fit the tour format of open air/stadium shows. Place of fanclub meeting was the (typically for Germany) Bier Garten at the Olympic stadium, built in the thirties by an infamous architect for another infamous historical person in German history. The (classified) building is pretty impressive though and has been refurbished a couple of years ago.

Queuing instructions echoed from speakers in the huge twin towers before the stadium, like in the thirties. After a VERY long wait (and a very slow ticket controller - who in tradition of German grundlichkeit took 5 minutes to neatly tear of the control strip of the ticket), we were finally allowed to enter the gates and to our surprise, we had to cross the entire length of the stadium to reach to front of stage area. That was an olympic discipline in itself. Halfway of the parcours, the boys got seperated from the men....

The band BOON opened up, and were pretty much enjoying themselves, and VOLBEAT opened in their known and very much straightforward style! Not loud or hyperactive enough for a great part of the crowd, but good fun.

AC/DC 's show took off with a BANG and kicked the 78000 crowd right in its face. Some (minor) signs of tour fatigue could be remarked by the attentive fan, but what else 'd you expect after 20 months of touring, doing 170 gigs in a highway to hell speed? I think the boys deserve a good rest and a nice time off after tomorrows show (Bilbao). The German crowd did seem to appreciate and went through the roof. Fans came in from all over the world, and gathered in Berlin for what was a long time announced to be the last show of the Black Ice tour, and maybe the last show ever. Brian screamed "Hell, I love this job!" which shows that we probably haven't seen the band taking its last breath. Much to the relief of the fans.

What's next to the moon? It's 15 million fingers picking! Idyllic images with the moon peaking into the stadium (upper left corner).

Great Scandinavian-Canadian-German rock steady crew.

PARIS - Stade de France - Report

2010-06-20T18:32:00.007+02:00

Same place, same wonderful crowd, but then exactly 1 year later. The Stade de France has become a real homebase for the band and fans from all over the world. It's always fun to attend shows in this modern location with great facilities. At a preparty at Clichy, AC/DC coverband RiffRaff warmed up part of the crowd before heading to the stadium and see Slash ("Rock N Fucking Roll") and his new band heat things up. I always appreciated the early Guns 'n Roses music, when everything was still real and rough. Since the split, however, the remains of the Guns 'n Roses continued on different projects. Axl, solo, surrounded by the weirdest guitar creatures ever (from Buckethead to Jesus like Bumblefoot) has been working on a 'new' record for more than 10 years, and it still sounds unfinished.

Slash on the other hand, has been staying more true to Rock&Roll and performed Friday night the best opening act for AC/DC since the start of the tour. New songs (new album!) were swiftly alterned with GNR (Paradise City - Civil War - Sweet Child O'Mine) and solid Velvet Revolver (Slither - Sucker Train Blues) material. Singer Miles Kenedy (lead singer from Alter Bridge) has been doing a great job. I heard the guy suffers heavily from tinitus. But what a great voice!

The weather was just perfect. Not that same heat of last year. And luckily no rain either. An excellent atmosphere to roll in the R&R Train! Great crowd (red horn lights blinging all over) and band in good shape with a great (same) setlist made the evening a big success.After the show there was a nice afterparty at an Irish pub near Chatelet Les Halles with another excellent AC/DC cover band (forgot their name, so let me know if you remember - they rocked until the morning hour!!) and friends from all over the world (Italy, Vancouver, NYC). Exclusive guest to this party was an inflatable Rosie. Sure she got what she came for as she was passed on through the venue. See you in Berlin!

DONNINGTON report

2010-06-13T23:22:00.010+02:00

Hello there! I had a fabulous time in Donnington last weekend. Here's already a hand full of pictures. I'll write a report around it in the upcoming days. Download was an excellent opportunity to see the brother bloggers from Abruzzo and AC/DC Italia again, and also meet some new friends (Shane, you'll be happy that this site finally got updated again...).

UPDATE: Attending the gig was my sole mission on Friday. The only flight still available for Friday was the BmiBaby flight that arrived at East Midlands Airport at 20h15, knowing that the band would start playing at 20h30. We all know that the band's time schedule is a very tight one, so no help from there. I had made sure that all I packed was "hand luggage" so that I was ready to rush to the festival grounds, 3 miles away from the airport, as soon as I landed.

Those interested can contact me for advise on how I smuggled my tent, sleeping bag, cloths for 3 days and musquito repellent into the overhead compartment. The customs confiscated my tent pins (10 in total) because I could have killed somebody with them. Bet my right hand knuckles are more dreadful than those blunt tent pins ends... Anyhow, to cut a long story short, the flight came in 15 minutes earlier. I missed the first 20 minutes of the show. The RNR Train video kicked off when I entered the (enormous) festival grounds, so I was able to hear everything clearly though. I knew I had to hurry up when I heard Brian scream: "I can smell the rock and roll here". Last time I heard that was in the 2003 Hammersmith Odeon gig, and that just blew the roof off. Not any less this time.

Shot Down in Flames has a perfect running rhythm (the band should consider selling the song to a Start to Run program) and while shouting the chorus I bounced my way up front, right in time to witness The Jack. Angus must have thought in vain about the numerous times he had been stripping on the Bad Boy Boogie, when he noticed that only few women were showing their assets. Not that it poured cats and dogs, or that it was too cold: I really experienced my first indian summer in England. You could bake an egg on Phil's cymbals. And I didn't have any place left in my hand lugage to bring sunscreen, so I returned home as red as the letters in AC/DC's logo. Talking about the logo, it was missing on all festival communication, but hey - I came for AC/DC in Donnington - Download was just bonus.

Of course I won't keep this courageous birdie for myself....

The pleasant thing about England is the generosity of its pints. They were more than welcome after this very nice open air show, with an ever lasting Let There Be Rock performance, a nice atmosphere, a whole lot of people and a real good warm up for Friday's show in Paris. See you there!

Setlist (thanks JJK for being such a good timekeeper!)

RnR Train

Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be

Back in Black

Big Jack

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Shot Down in Flames

Thunderstruck

Black Ice

The Jack

Hells Bells

Shoot to Thrill

War Machine

High Voltage

You Shook Me All Night Long

TnT

Whole Lotta Rosie

Let There Be Rock (18 monutes long)

Highway to Hell

For Those About To Rock (9 minutes long)

GETTING READY FOR DONNINGTON/DOWNLOAD 2010

2010-06-08T20:59:00.003+02:00

New video and WIN tickets for the IRON MAN 2 pre-screening in Brussels!!

2010-04-19T21:38:00.007+02:00

Klik hierboven voor de nieuwe clip van Highway to Hell, net zoals Shoot to Thrill opgenomen in Buenos Aires. Ik mag van Sony Belgium 2 zitjes weggeven voor de (privé!)screening van Iron Man op 27/4 om 20u in de screening room van de filmmaatschappij in Brussel (capaciteit 40 personen), voorafgegaan door een frisse pint (de band komt helaas niet optreden). Ik stel voor dat ik dat doe diegene die het antwoord weet op volgende vraag: welke track staat niet op de nieuwe IRON MAN soundtrack? a)Shoot to Thrill b)Live Wire c)Evil Walks. Antwoord graag naar acdcbelgium@gmail.com. De winnaar van beide tickets wordt persoonlijk verwittigd.

Click the screen above for the new Highway to Hell clip, that has been shot in Buenos Aires, just like Shoot to Thrill. Sony Belgium kindly offers 2 seats for the (private!) screening of the Iron Man movie to one lucky Bedlam in Belgium Blog reader. The screening takes place the 27th of April in Brussels (the band is not very likely to perform in Brussels that night). The correct answer could lead to winning the tickets: which of the following tracks didn't make it to the new IRON MAN soundtrack? a)Shoot to Thrill b)Live Wire c)Evil Walks. I am expecting your entries at acdcbelgium@gmail.com. I'll contact the winner personally.

Iron Man album release 19 april + WIN tickets for Berlin

2010-04-08T22:02:00.006+02:00

19 April marks the release of the Iron Man 2 Soundtrack, and as from 28 April you'll be able to watch the Iron Man sequel in theatres across the world, a movie loaded with kick-ass rock 'n roll. Iron Man 2 will appear on CD, Deluxe CD/DVD, Collector’s Edition box set and 2LP Vinyl version. For more details on the CD, see the first article below. In honour of the release, Sony Belgium is organising an on-line contest to win 2 tickets for the AC/DC show in Berlin in June. If you're happy to go there: click here and maybe you'll score the tickets (transport,hotel and new album included!)

Op 19 april komt de soundtrack van Iron Man 2 uit met daarop uitsluitend muziek van AC/DC. Vanaf 28 april wordt Iron Man 2 vertoond in bioscoopzalen over de hele wereld. Iron Man 2 komt uit op CD, Deluxe CD/DVD, als Collector's Edition box en dubbel LP op vinyl. Voor meer details over de release, lees het artikel hieronder. Naar aanleiding van de release gooit Sony Belgium 2 tickets voor de show in Berlijn aanstaande juni te grabbel. Als je zin hebt om dit te winnen, klik dan hier (overnachting, transport én nieuw album inbegrepen!)

Brian Johnson on Rockers and Rollers

2010-04-07T21:09:00.003+02:00

Here's a dead cool video of Brian, driving a "Roller" in Sydney, talking about his book and the band while driving to Bondi Beach. Enjoy.

1980 - 2010: RIP BON SCOTT

2010-02-19T21:18:00.001+01:00

RIDE ON

Speakers on eleven for Aussie's Best Online R&R Radio!

2010-02-10T19:17:00.004+01:00

Now that the boys are playing loud down under, keep your head cool (while staying inside with all that nasty winter weather) with this Online Australian Radio that plays non stop ac/dc songs! And on, and on, and on. And on.

GET SNOWBALLED!

AC/DC and IRON MAN 2: new release

2010-01-26T23:26:00.005+01:00

Malcolm was right when he talked about a 'new' album some time ago in a fan interview: a new AC/DC release is on its way. Through a collaboration between Marvel Studios and Columbia Records, AC/DC's music will be featured in Marvel Studios' "IRON MAN 2", the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster film. In addition, Columbia Records will release the album AC/DC: Iron Man 2 on Monday, April 19, 2010. AC/DC: Iron Man 2, features 15 classic AC/DC songs selected from ten of the band's studio albums, ranging from 1976 to 2008. The complete track listing can be found below. The album is available from Walmart as a 1 CD and through Amazon.com as a CD+ltd edition DVD that includes amongst other things the video "Shoot to Thrill" as recorded in Buenos Aires during the ongoing Black Ice tour. The DVD will also feature exclusive interviews, behind the scenes footage, and music videos.

Here's the clip:

Tracklisting:

1. Shoot to Thrill 2. Rock 'N' Roll Damnation 3. Guns for Hire 4. Cold Hearted Man 5. Back in Black 6. Thunderstruck 7. If You Want Blood (You've Got It) 8. Evil Walks 9. T.N.T. 10. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be 11. Have a Drink on Me 12. The Razor's Edge 13. Let There Be Rock 14. War Machine 15. Highway to Hell

The band also confirmed the awaited Scandinavian dates and Friday night of the Donnington Download festival.

Hells Jingle Bells anounce: another ride in Europe!

2009-12-15T20:53:00.003+01:00

Great news! Prepare yourselves for another devastating round of high voltage Rock 'n Roll!!! Following European shows have been officially announced. Most of them go on sale this week.

16 May 2010 Bucharest RO Piata Constitutiei

19 May 2010 Udine IT Stadio Friuli

22 May 2010 Wels AT Air Field (Flugplatz Wels)

25 May 2010 Hannover DE Messe

13 Jun 2010 Stuttgart DE Cannstatter Wasen

15 Jun 2010 Nice FR Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann

18 Jun 2010 Paris FR Stade De France

20 Jun 2010 Dresden DE Ostrahege

22 Jun 2010 Berlin DE Olympic Stadium

New AC/DC live DVD to be recorded this week in Argentina!

2009-12-01T21:19:00.004+01:00

According to 10Music.com, the band will record a live DVD with the crazy Argentina crowd on the 2, 4 and 6 of December, when they will be performing at the River Plate Stadium. On the 5th of December, some stage shots will be recorded without audience. This is similar to what happened for the recording of the Anything Goes video earlier this year. The DVD release will be unfortunately somewhat after Christmas....
Volgens 10Music.com, zal AC/DC de komende dagen een live DVD opnemen in het bijzijn van een paar duizend Argentijnen. De DVD wordt opgenomen tijdens hun concerten in het River Plate Stadion op 2, 4 en 6 december. Op 5 december zullen enkele stageshots zonder publiek opgenomen worden, net zoals dat het geval was voor de opnames van de Anything Goes video eerder dit jaar. De DVD release zal helaas voor na de kerstperiode zijn....

New Gibson SG Angus Young custom

2009-11-06T21:41:00.004+01:00

This beauty cutie will soon be available on a limited run of 200 copies... Available from Gibson's custom shop with thunder inlay on mahogany. Rrrrrrrrrraw!

Watch fans from all over the world discover Backtracks!

2009-11-03T21:41:00.003+01:00

Win tickets for the Live at Circus Krone screening!

2009-11-02T21:33:00.005+01:00

Via de site van VT4 maak je kans om op vrijdag 6 november de (éénmalige!) screening van “AC/DC Live at Circus Krone 2003” bij te wonen in Kinepolis Brussel (20u). SMS nu ACDC naar 6654 (1 euro/sms, max 4 berichten/deelname) en maak kans op een duoticket!
Verwacht je binnenkort aan een reportage over deze box!

I will post soon a movie clip showing Angus opening the box! Watch out.... Here's already a teaser. Now stick this in your fusebox:

PLUG INTO AC/DC BACKTRACKS!

2009-09-30T11:27:00.001+02:00

AC/DC Backtracks out 10 November!

2009-09-29T18:29:00.007+02:00

Here are the images of the well kept secret new AC/DC box set (details on the content in the message of 21 September below). The box looks really exciting and is already on presale on acdcbacktracks.com

AC/DC reschedule 6 tour dates

2009-09-26T00:24:00.005+02:00

AC/DC.com reports the following: lead singer Brian Johnson recently underwent a medical procedure and at the advice of his doctor is taking some time to rest.
AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour, which was set to hit Phoenix, AZ on October 1, will be postponed to a later date. Subsequent shows in Las Vegas, Louisville, Kansas City, Des Moines and Milwaukee will also be rescheduled. The tour will resume on October 16 in Washington, DC.

In the meantime, for the promotion of the new box set, ACDCROCKS.com finally added a Belgian/Dutch section and a brand new promo page has been launched: ACDCBackTracks.com . Make sure you click that page a couple of times before the big announcement on 29th September: rare movie clips alter!

Op de officiële AC/DC website wordt vermeld dat Brian Johnson's dokter hem rust hebben voorgeschreven, na een recent medisch onderzoek. De tour zal verder gaan op 16 oktober in Washington DC, maar de 6 US data tot dan zullen naar een latere datum verplaatst worden.
Ondertussen heeft ACDCROCKS.com eindelijk een Belgisch/Nederlands luik en werd er een gloednieuwe promopagina gecreëerd (ACDCBackTracks.com) naar aanloop van de big announcement op 29 september. Ga af en toe een kijkje nemen want de zeldzame filmpjes op deze site wisselen!

15 million fingers, learning how to play

2009-09-21T11:13:00.004+02:00

It looks like AC/DC is ready to reinforce this 1977 credo by launching a brand new exclusive boxset in the shape of a real guitar amp this October, distributed solely through http://www.acdcrocks.com/. This gem would be a 3 CD - 2 DVD and 1 vinyl (plus loads of extras and goodies) masterpiece of rarities. It would be presented in an amp shaped pack, an amp that is actually working! This would make AC/DC once more a band that stimulates youngsters to pick up the guitar and play rock and roll music, as the prophecy in their 1977 Let There Be Rock song.
There will be a CD of studio rarities, two CDs featuring live rarities, a DVD disc of Family Jewels Part 3 (1992-2009 with hopefully live footage!) and a DVD disc featuring a live show from 2003 in Circus Krone, Germany. The vinyl album will have all the studio rarities. The lot will be accompanied by a 164-page book, plus loads of extras, such as three black-and-white lithographs of unpublished photos of the band in Alberts Studio in 1977, a flyer for the 1976 Lock Up Your Daughters UK tour and a poster from the 1977 European Let There Be Rock Tour.
More details and official confirmation hopefully added soon!

Het ziet ernaar uit dat AC/DC het credo uit 1977 nieuw leven wil inblazen met de lancering van een nieuwe boxset in de vorm van een gitaarversterker in oktober. De box zou alleen te verkrijgen zijn op http://www.acdcrocks.com/. De box zou 3 CD's - 2 DVD's en 1 vinyl album bevatten, plus een heleboel extra's. Het geheel verpakt in de vorm van een versterker, die daarenboven echt zou werken. Op deze manier werkt de band aan de opdracht om jongeren ertoe aan te zetten gitaar te leren spelen en rock 'n roll te maken, zoals in hun profetie "Let there be rock" uit 1977. Er komt een CD en vinyl LP met moeilijk te vinden studiomateriaal, één met onuitgegeven live materiaal, een DVD met deel 3 uit de Family Jewels collectie (1992-2009 met hopelijk live footage!) en een live DVD met de show uit 2003 in Circus Krone. Een boek van 164 pagina's maakt het helemaal af, samen met een hoop extra's zoals zwartwit litho's uit de Albert Studio 1977, een flyer van de Lock Up Your Daughters UK tour en een poster van de Let There Be Rock Tour. Hopelijk snel meer info en officiële bevestiging van deze release!

Amsterdamnation

2009-06-24T20:27:00.004+02:00

I hope you had a superblast last night in Amsterdam!

Here's some eye candy for those about to rock, but couldn't make it to Amsterdam. Or also for those who just like to relive it - from another angle:

Photos (Prettydisorder)
Article (RTL)
Article (Parool)

Stubru (audio)

Rock 'n Roll Train + Intro (Youtube)
Thunderstruck (High Quality!)

Have fun in Amsterdam tonight!

2009-06-23T20:23:00.004+02:00

I hope you all have a blast and a real Amsterdamnation tonight (and a safe trip home)! Post your reviews!

AC/DC Stade de France Paris!

2009-06-13T16:13:00.011+02:00

Last night, the Stade de France in Paris was the scene for 80.000 crazy AC/DC fans to witness the band perform in France for the 4th time this year. ACDC Belgium had to be there after all the testimonials we heard about the energetic enthusiasm of the French crowds at previous shows. See some nice footage from around the Stade here (incredibbly hilarious - as from 1min40). The closer we got to Paris, the more AC/DC fans we could spot. Arrival at the stadium was very friendly and warm, Angus look-a-likes were shaking hands and taking pictures, drinking beers and some of them were stuffing themselves with hamburgers to secure a certain level of calory intake.

I must admit that things litterally heated up already during the course of the afternoon when a 25°C heat wave sucked the water out of our bodies while waiting for the gates to open and storm the "pelouse d'or" (fancy French name for the standing fanclub pit upfront). Technical difficulties during the sound check did not help when gates finally opened about an hour behind on schedule. Ordering beers was rather difficult, but their size (50cl) largely compensated that. It makes me laugh when I think that our neighbours in the south offer (sell with a higher margin is actually a better way to describe it: 6 € per pint) larger pints while our neighbours in the north (the Netherlands) sell much smaller ones than in Belgium. That underlines the typical Belgian compromise philosophy, I guess. Not too many spectators present yet for the first band: Café Bertrand, a typical (?) french hardrock band.

I missed most of The Answer, while I was queueing for both toilets and beer, but they started of energetic as always with lots of "merci beacoups". When halfway a sound technician messed with the volume, it became clear that their show would have been loads better at louder volume. During the break the Stade was portraying commercials for the AC/DC show, anounced by the sound of the Hell's Bell. Everytime this would make the crowd cheer.

Outside temperature in the meantime came down a bit with the sun being hid behind the Stade's walls. That drastically changed when the Rock 'n Roll train video hit the huge video screen. The band in great shape as most of the other times and particularly into pleasing the French crowd. It is true that the crowd was heavier than anywhere else. Holding tight to the mojo barrier beside us (Mal's side against cat walk) and trying to breath normally, a weird heating effect was playing: barrier right temperature was about 23°C and from barrier left an everlasting heat wave (must have been 40°C+) tried to escape from the pit. No wonder that after 6 songs a thunderstorm emerged, marked with the occasional Thunderstruck. No changes in the setlist (while everyone was silently hoping that Ride On would be added), but it was the first time that I heard Dog Eat Dog live: Brian is doing this track with impeccable brio and incredible voice!

Instead of rocking all the way during Let There Be Rock, this time I had to stay focussed on survival. Very nice show and atmosphere, thousands € worth of devil horned lighting, friendly crowd and excellent well deserved hotel afterwards! We salute you Paris!

More nice pictures: here.

Ac/Dc fan packs now available in Belgium

2009-06-08T19:55:00.003+02:00

De volgende 4 geremasterde AC/DC albums zijn nu verkrijgbaar als limited edition box set: For Those About to Rock, Back in Black, Highway to Hell en High Voltage. Bij de aanblik van de mooie cardboard doosjes, kreeg in last van een klein gevoel van nostalgie: het doosje (met daarin een cd, key ring, gitaar pick, een sticker en een tijdelijke tattoo) heeft erg veel weg van een mini uitvoering van de op vinyl verschenen 3 LP box met daarin Dirty Deeds, Powerage en High Voltage. Het concept is niet nieuw dus, maar het ziet er wel leuk uit - en betaalbaar! Een aanrader voor wie de muziek nog niet op CD heeft! Ook de Live at Donnington DVD is nu opnieuw beschikbaar als limited edition.

The following 4 remastered AC/DC albums are available as limited edition box seg: For Those About to Rock, Back in Black, Highway to Hell and High Voltage. I became rather nostalgic when opening this beautiful cardboard box: it looks a lot like the boxed LP set with Dirty Deeds, Powerage and High Voltage from the early 80's. This one has also some accessories: a key chain, guitar pick, a sticker and a temporary tattoo. So the concept isn't new, but it has a nice (affordable) touch to it. Ideal pick up for those who don't have these on CD yet. The Live at Donnington DVD has also been reissued as a limited edition.

1 on 40 Australians plan to see AC/DC's Black Ice tour!

2009-06-07T18:36:00.006+02:00

Ongeveer 1 op 40 Australiërs is van plan om AC/DC's Black Ice tour bij te wonen begin volgend jaar. Volgens de organisatie werden een half miljoen tickets in no time verkocht. Dat maakt de Black Ice tour de snelst verkopende tour ooit in het land van de kangeroes. Er werden twee extra concerten ingelegd in Sydney en Melbourne nadat de eerste show uitverkocht in 10 minuten. Perth en Brisbane hebben allebei ook een tweede show uitverkocht. Perth was zelfs uitverkocht in 7 minuten tijd!

About one in every 40 Australians plan to see rock legends AC/DC when their Black Ice tour comes Down Under early next year. Promoters say about 500,000 tickets were sold in no time. That makes it the fastest-selling concert tour ever offered in Australia. Two extra concerts have been added in both Sydney and Melbourne after the first sold out within 10 minutes. Perth and Brisbane have each sold out a second concert. Fans in Perth bought all the tickets for the first concert in just seven minutes.

Drive Like Maria opening for AC/DC in Amsterdam

2009-05-21T14:53:00.005+02:00

According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Belgian/Dutch band Drive Like Maria will be opening up for The Answer and AC/DC in a sold out Amsterdam Arena on 23 June.

Volgens de krant De Telegraaf speelt de Belgisch-Nederlandse band Drive Like Maria op dinsdag 23 juni in het voorprogramma van The Answer en AC/DC in de uitverkochte Amsterdam Arena.
Drive Like Maria stond in maart al in een uitverkocht Rotown in Rotterdam en Paradiso in Amsterdam om het album Elmwood in Nederland uit te brengen. In 2005 won de band de Global Battle of the Bands. Hij eindigden als tweede in de internationale GBOB-finale in het Londense Astoria. De band greep net naast de hoofdprijs van ruim 67.000 euro, maar haalde wel een aantal optredens in Amerika en Mexico en een platendeal bij PIAS binnen.

New song added in Leipzig

2009-05-13T23:08:00.004+02:00

Tonight Leipzig had a 50.000 crowd listening to AC/DC playing the familiar setlist, with one cool extra song: Dog Eat Dog! The setlist now has 20 songs. Curious to see it evolve in the next couple of shows!

De 50.000 fans in Leipzig kregen vanavond één extra nummer bovenop de gebruikelijke Black Ice setlist: Dog Eat Dog! Er staan nu 20 songs op de setlist. Benieuwd hoe dit de komende shows zal evolueren!

Thin Lizzy opening up for AC/DC in the UK/Eire

2009-05-12T22:50:00.004+02:00

I promised you, I would post some due news:
The Irish rock band THIN LIZZY will be supporting AC/DC during the following upcoming UK and Ireland shows:

26 June: London - Wembley Stadium
28 June: Dublin - Punchestown Racetrack
30 June: Glasgow - Hampden Park

Please scroll down for more recent news.

Tijdens bovenstaande shows in de UK en Ierland zal THIN LIZZY openen voor AC/DC!
Ondertussen heb ik al zoveel updates gedaan dat er nog een hele resem recent nieuws onderaan staat. Please scroll down. Greetz!

First shots of the Stadium tour stage!

2009-05-12T22:15:00.003+02:00

Courtesy of our friends @ AC/DC Abruzzo are these first shots from what the stage of this new leg of the Black Ice tour might look like. Apart from some Rock 'n Roll Train elements, there are some similarities with the Stiff Upper Lip show in Paris. These images come from a try-out setup of the stage in Munich. WARNING: DON'T LOOK IF YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO RESIST!!!!! Now that's mean, isn't it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobill/3518497673/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobill/3518507117/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobill/3518515607//
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobill/3518498363/

Onze vrienden van AC/DC Abruzzo hebben de hand kunnen leggen op enkele long distance shots van de podium look voor de stadionshows. De foto's zijn afkomstig van een try-out stage setup in Munchen. WARNING: DON'T LOOK IF YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO RESIST!!!!! Tempting hè?

Kick off Stadium tours nearby! Get it hot!

2009-05-12T21:34:00.003+02:00

Tomorrow, AC/DC will kick off their European stadium tour in Leipzig, Germany. After a short break - to get used again to the food on the continent - the band will play 5 shows in Germany, before touring again to Spain, France, Scandinavia,..., and also for some (un)lucky Belgians the long anticipated Amsterdam show in the Netherlands.
I've been taking a short break as well (heavy duty at work) but am dedicated to post you the AC/DC world news highlights that you might have missed in the meantime.

Let's start building the atmosphere with some touching stories from and about real fans from over the pond to get you warmed up for the next chapter of the tour. Feel the heat and pass it on: here's the next 5 jivin' episodes from ACDCFANNATION.COM:

AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 3 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.

AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 4 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.

AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 5 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.

AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 6 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.

Morgen start de Europese stadion tour in Leipzig, Duitsland. Na een korte break - om terug te wennen aan de keuken op het vasteland - speelt AC/DC 5 shows in Duitsland, vooraleer ze weer spelen in Spanje, Frankrijk, Scandinavië,..., en ook voor sommige (on)gefortuneerde Belgen in Amsterdam. Het geduldige wachten zal zeker beloond worden! Ikzelf heb ook even een break genomen van de blog (heavy duty at work) maar ik beloof jullie dat ik alle AC/DC world news highlights die jullie misschien gemist hebben nog zal posten. Als uitsmijter: een paar fimpjes met aangrijpende verhalen van echte fans aan de andere kant van de oceaan. Feel the heat, pass it on en maak dat je klaar bent voor het volgende hoofdstuk van de tour!

Aussie rockers finally announce tour down under!

2009-05-12T21:07:00.005+02:00

These are the (unconfirmed) dates for the Australian/New Zealand leg of the tour:
Hier volgend de (onbevestigde) data voor het Australische/Nieuw Zeelandse luik van de meer dan 18 maanden durende tour:

Jan. 30 - Wellington, New Zealand - TBA
Feb. 06 - Auckland, New Zealand - TBA
Feb. 11 - Melbourne, Australia - Etihad Stadium TBA
Feb. 18 - Sydney, Australia - ANZ Stadium TBA
Feb. 25 - Brisbane, Australia - Nathan Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre TBA
Mar. 02 - Adelaide, Australia - Adelaide Oval TBA
Mar. 06 - Perth, Australia - Subiaco TBA (most likely to be attended by Bon's mother)

In celebration of the band turning back to their heimat, I'm posting a rare track (IALWTTTIYWRR) from December 4, 1976 Apollo Stadium, Adelaide!

Dates aren't officially confirmed yet by the official AC/DC website.
Support act for this tour would be Wolfmother (I thought they splitted? - Click on the link to download their new song and make a donation to the Red Cross) and tickets will be available for AUD99 to AUD149.90. In the meantime, the former announced date of 4 Sep (Los Angeles) had been put on hold. Probably there is not yet an agreement with the venue.

Deze data werden nog niet bevestigd op de officiële AC/DC website, maar verschillende Australische media brengen het nieuws. Support act in Australische is het bijzonder geestige Wolfmother (waarvan ik dacht dat ze gesplit waren - klik op de link om hun nieuwe track te downloaden en een gift te doen aan het Rode Kruis, zeker als je geen stickers hebt geshopt) en tickets zullen te koop zijn tussen 99 en 149 AUD. Ondertussen werd 4 september (Los Angeles) voorlopig uit het lijstje gehaald. Waarschijnlijk is er nog geen contract met het stadion.

New US tour dates

2009-04-12T23:24:00.002+02:00

And the boys head back to the United States! What a ride...

Jul 28, 2009 Foxborough MA US Gillette Stadium
Jul 31, 2009 E. Rutherford NJ US Giants Stadium
Aug 16, 2009 Detroit MI US Palace of Auburn Hills
Aug 18, 2009 Grand Rapids MI US Van Andel Arena
Aug 22, 2009 Winnipeg MB CA Canad Inns Stadium
Aug 24, 2009 Regina SK CA Mosaic Stadium - Taylor Field
Aug 26, 2009 Edmonton AB CA Commonwealth Stadium
Aug 29, 2009 Vancouver BC CA BC Place
Aug 30, 2009 Tacoma WA US Tacoma Dome
Sep 02, 2009 San Jose CA US HP Pavillion
Sep 04, 2009 Los Angeles CA US Staples Center
Sep 06, 2009 San Diego CA US Sports Arena
Sep 08, 2009 Anaheim CA US Honda Center April 25

More info on tickets and fanclub presales: http//tickets.acdc.com

Making of Anything Goes

2009-04-05T13:33:00.002+02:00

We're flooded this weekend with new video material. Now here's a link to the making of the Anything Goes video in France. Enjoy!

Exklusiv: AC/DC - Anything Goes (Making Of)

acdc.com launches Fannation!

2009-04-04T19:50:00.003+02:00

ACDC.com just released the first 2 episodes of 7 fan documentaries, featuring notorious fans from around the globe. Watch them here or on http://acdcfannation.com/

AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 2 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.

AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 1 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.

Zurich gig tonight postponed (update)

2009-03-29T13:51:00.005+02:00

Tonight's show in Zurich got cancelled. The show will be postponed due to "technical difficulties that are not related to the venue". The new date has been confirmed now: 6 April. Tickets remain valid. To cheer you up, here's a funny video where Brian sings a Tina Turner song:

De show van vanavond in Zurich werd afgelast door "technische moeilijkheden die niet te wijten zijn aan de zaal". De nieuwe datum is nu bekend: 6 april. Tickets blijven geldig. Om de onfortuinlijken op te vrolijken heb ik deze video gepost waarin Brian een Tina Turner song covert.

NEW Anything Goes video clip: here!

2009-03-17T20:32:00.006+01:00

Watch the new video clip of Anything Goes HERE!

The clip, shot in Bercy, was partially recorded in the afternoon of 27 February, just before the second show. Another part of it got recorded during the show that evening to include live audience footage. That is also the reason why they advanced the song in the setlist: Angus would still be wearing his complete outfit. The video was directed by David Mallet (known from the Live at Donnington, Thunderstruck and Who Made Who). To be shown here very soon...

De nieuwe videoclip van Anything Goes . Deze video, die werd gedraaid in Bercy, werd deels opgenomen in de namiddag van 27 februari, net voor de show. Een ander deel werd opgenomen tijdens het optreden om live publieksbeelden te kunnen toevoegen. Dat is meteen ook de reden waarom de song naar voor werd gehaald in de setlist: op die manier zou Angus -eerder nog onbezweet - zijn complete outfit nog dragen. De regisseur van de video is David Mallet (die we kennen van de Live at Donnington show, Thunderstruck en Who Made Who). Hier te bekijken binnen afzienbare tijd...

Rotterdamnation on Friday 13th! (update)

2009-03-14T01:01:00.008+01:00

The ACDC Belgium team made a small excursion to Rotterdam yesterday to see the band perform in a packed venue, similar to the Antwerp Sportpaleis, but with a smaller capacity of around 10000 people. Dutch people are generally way ahead of us in terms of organising crowds, but this time they got all weird. Cueueing up, the masses were divided in cages (between nadars and red tape) against incidents. Once in, they would first fill Cliffs' side of stage and then only Malcolm's, when Cliff's side was complete (duh!). Of course that system didn't hold waterproof for a long time, so we could actually run up front rather quickly.

Show and setlist were comparable to what we had seen in Antwerp, with some slight changes. At least some details were different to what had escaped to our eyes in Antwerp. Brian painfully twisting and squeezing his balls to reach the higher end notes (I think at the end of Anything Goes) and the Rock 'n Roll train being pulled backwards to make room for Rosie. Usually Rosie's riding the train. Again the band was in extremely good shape with visibly Brian and Angus having great fun on stage. The mojo barriers along the catwalk were placed conservately far away from the catwalk, so shaking hands with Brian became a balancing act for both handshaking parties, or should I say fingertip shaking?

Online news reports:

- NU.nl
- Algemeen Dagblad

Brian is back in good shape!

2009-03-09T20:06:00.003+01:00

Good news for the fans in our neighbouring countries: Brian Johnson seems to be up and running again, as we are reading the reports from past shows after Brian's flu attack. I guess we were just very unlucky in Belgium. I will choose the cash back option, I still have doubts if people will be able to receive similar tickets, as Amsterdam Arena is a real big venue compared to the Sportpaleis. If you exchanged your tickets successfully for good places, let me know! Fact: grab the opportunity to see them perform this tour! It's a must see.

So the band continues its European tour schedule and played already Leipzig, Düsseldorf and tonigh Oberhausen. Reports can be found on our Italian friend's website.

Goed nieuws voor de fans in onze buurlanden: Brian Johnson lijkt volledig genezen van de griep, dat lezen we althans in de verslagen van de voorbije optredens. We hebben echt pech gehad in Antwerpen. Ik kies trouwens voor de geld terug optie, want ik twijfel hoe men voor gelijkwaardige tickets kan wisselen in een groot stadion als de Amsterdam Arena. Als jij fantastische tickets in de plaats hebt gekregen, laat het me dan zeker weten! Feit is wel: het blijft een absolute aanrader om ze toch nog aan het werk te zien deze tour.

Ondertussen bolt de tourtrein verder en heeft hij volgende haltes reeds aangedaan: Leipzig, Düsseldorf en vanavond Oberhausen. Op de site van onze Italiaanse vrienden kan je trouwens een paar verslagjes vinden.

Update: exchange tickets Antwerp as from 15h00 to 20 March

2009-03-04T13:46:00.004+01:00

Fans will be compensated with either a refund or tickets to the band’s June 23rd show at Amsterdam Arena (at no extra cost). More information to follow as from 3 p.m. on www.sportpaleis.be. You will have to make your final choice on this website, using all original order information and barcodes. You will have to make your choice before 20 March.

De fans die een kaartje voor het geannuleerde concert op zak hadden, kunnen ofwel hun ticket laten terugbetalen ofwel naar het concert van AC/DC in de Amsterdam Arena op dinsdag 23 juni. De ticketprijzen voor het concert in Amsterdam zijn hoger dan degene die geldend waren voor de Sportpaleis-concerten. De groep heeft echter beslist dat, wie dit wenst, het Sportpaleis-ticket van het afgelaste concert zonder enige extra kost kan omruilen voor een gelijkwaardig ticket in de Arena. Belangrijk is, zowel in het geval van terugbetaling als van omruiling van het ticket, dat de juiste procedures daartoe worden gevolgd. Via www.sportpaleis.be zal vanaf 15 uur een speciale pagina beschikbaar zijn voor de tickethouders. Na ingave van, onder andere, het unieke barcodenummer en het reservatienummer, maakt de tickethouder de keuze het ticket terug te laten betalen of om naar Amsterdam te gaan op dinsdag 23 juni. De ticketkopers dienen voor vrijdag 20 maart hun keuze door te geven aan Tele Ticket Service. Daarna zal er, na controle van alle gegevens, overgegaan worden tot terugbetaling van kaarten of verzending van de tickets voor het concert in Amsterdam. Er zal ook busvervoer naar Amsterdam worden georganiseerd. Daarover meer op de webpagina in kwestie. Let wel, enkel de originele ticketkoper kan aanvraag tot terugbetaling of omwisseling tickets indienen. Tele Ticket Service zal alle tickethouders ook persoonlijk, via mail of brief, op de hoogte brengen van de te volgen procedure.

Media coverage:
- Deredactie.be (with our friends from AC/DC Abruzzo)
- De Standaard
- Nieuwsblad
- GVA

2nd Antwerp show cancelled (Flu on the Wall): next steps

2009-03-03T23:11:00.005+01:00

Last Sunday we announced that Brian had a soar throat after the Paris gigs. Unfortunately that was only the herald of what appears to be the sad reality today.

Here's the official statement from ACDC.COM: "March 3, 2009, Antwerp, Belgium -- Tonight's AC/DC Black Ice show at Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium is cancelled due to the sudden illness of singer Brian Johnson. Johnson is suffering from a serious case of the flu and will be unable to perform. Fans will be compensated with either a refund or tickets to the band's June 23rd show at Amsterdam Arena. Johnson plans to perform on the band's next scheduled concert date in Leipzig on March 5th at Messehalle 1." Get well Brian! I know you did your best to make it tonight. Take a rest and recover well!

Enkele dagen geleden meldden we al op deze blog dat Brian last had met de stem/keel na 2 zware nachten in Parijs. Dat bleek enkel de voorbode geweest te zijn van de bittere realiteit vandaag...

Eerder op de avond gaven Teleticket en LiveNation de volgende boodschap mee: "Het concert van AC/DC vanavond in het Antwerps Sportpaleis kan niet plaatsvinden. Eén van de bandleden is ziek.Op dit ogenblik hebben we niet meer informatie. Zodra we meer weten, zal u het vernemen via e-mail en onze website www.sportpaleis.be/nl.Onze excuses voor het ongemak ten gevolge van deze overmachtsituatie."

Op de officiële website van de band lezen we ondertussen een gelijkaardige boodschap en een alternatief. "De fans zullen ofwel hun geld voor de show terugkrijgen ofwel tickets kunnen ruilen voor de show in de Amsterdam Arena op 23 juni. Brian probeert wel de afspraak voor de volgende show in Leipzig (5 maart) niet te missen." We weten dat Brian zijn best heeft gedaan om het vandaag toch nog te halen - vandaar de late annulatie- en wensen hem het allerbeste.

Rock 'n Roll Train hits Antwerp! (update III)

2009-03-02T01:18:00.022+01:00

... or how history repeats itself. In 1908, a tragic train disaster happened in Kontich, Antwerp. Now about century later, AC/DC's Rock and Roll train hits the Antwerp Sportpaleis in a head-on collision. This time fortunately without any victims.

What an amazing night! AC/DC kicked off the first Antwerp show with an energetic level of High Voltage rock and roll. The band is back (after the Stiff Upper Lip tour) and they sure want us to know. At 9 o'clock their Rock 'n Roll Train hits the grounds of the Antwerp Sportpaleis. No tough controls of the ministry for economical affairs outside, at least not for the regular fan cueueing for entrance. 35 ticket scalpers have been identified and questioned. I can only encourage these kind of actions to put an end to the abuse of the regular concert goers.

Just before the show, the band received a platinum award in recognition of the sales of 60.000 albums in Belgium. Brian didn't assist the handover since he was trying to keep quiet and let his sore throat rest for a while (what do you want... after 2 nights in Paris).

The band was in extremely good shape and, I must admit, the sound at the Sportpaleis was EXCELLENT. This made the first Antwerp show one of a kind. Brian's voice ("I see Rock and Roll out here... I can even smell it") was a rolling thunder and the whole sound powerstation was just spot on, with Malcolm, Phil and Cliff keeping the heavy rhythm section up to pace and being the ever solid backbone of AC/DC.

The crowd hardly stopped cheering and went nuts when classic songs like Whole Lotta Rosie, Thunderstruck and Highway to Hell were performed. The pounding shouts during TNT made the Sportpaleis' rooftop go up and down.

No changes on the (regular, but otherwise SOLID) setlist:

1. Rock'n'roll Train
2. Hell ain't a bad place to be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10. Hell's Bells
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. War Machine
13. Anything Goes
14. You Shook Me All Night Long
15. TNT
16. Whole Lotta Rosie
17. Let there be Rock
18. Highway to Hell
19. For Those About to Rock

It was cool to meet some of the international fans too. Fans with stories from Paris were largely present. We also met ACDC-Abruzzo from Italy and some real nice people from the UK. Thanks guys for being with us!

Various media covered the event:
- VTM News (coverage around 9"50. If you watch closely, you'll even be able to spot your servant.... )

- Gazet Van Antwerpen (with picture of ACDC Abruzzo and ACDC Belgium!)
- Het Nieuwsblad
- De Standaard
- ATV News
- Le Soir
- Le Soir (splendid photo site!)
- Rudy De Donker (pictures available soon, to be uploaded)

- Imparato (more pictures)

- Radio 1 (Stories on the Bedlam in Belgium story)
- Focus Knack

On Youtube, a wide variety of clips is already available. I picked some of the best:
- Highway to Hell

- The Jack (strip)

- TNT

That's it for now, I am getting ready for tomorrow's show.

Over 1000 tickets will be invalid

2009-02-28T12:05:00.002+01:00

Teleticketservice, the ticket provider for both Antwerp Black Ice shows, is sending out a warning via news agency Belga: over 1000 individuals who bought their tickets via private parties (Ebay, others) won't be admitted on Sunday and Tuesday. These measures have been announced with the distribution of the tickets. I am glad that the economic inspection finally seems to take ticket scalping practices seriously. On the other hand, I am concerned about those who bought their tickets in good faith from friends or family. Will they still be admitted and how will malicious tickets be singled out? I guess tomorrow will tell.

Teleticketservice waarschuwt via het nieuwsagentschap Belga dat meer dan 1000 mensen die hun kaarten voor de Antwerpse Black Ice shows van particulieren kochten (via Ebay of andere), niet zullen toegelaten worden op zondag en dinsdag. Deze maatregelen werden reeds aangekondigd met de verzending van de tickets. Ik ben blij dat de economische inspectie eindelijk het probleem van de woekeraars ernstig lijkt te nemen. Aan de andere kant ben ik vooral bezorgd voor de mensen die hun ticket ter goeder trouw hebben gekocht/gekregen van vrienden of familie. Zal ook hen de toegang ontzegd worden en hoe worden de frauduleuze tickets eruit gehaald? We zullen het morgen weten.

Maaike Cafmeyer warming up for AC/DC on Humo's Pop Poll!

2009-02-24T21:54:00.004+01:00

Last Sunday, Belgian's best actress (according to myself and most of the Humo Magazine readers) performed Rock 'n Roll Train live in the Antwerp Sportpaleis, where AC/DC will actually open the first of both Antwerp gigs exactly one week later. Maaike Cafmeyer basically does an impressive job (and so does the band) altough she appears to have unlocked the wrong dressing lockers. In a sexy Madonna outfit, rather than in schoolboy uniform, she gave it all she got. Be a witness here. HELL YEAH!

Onze eigenste beste actrice nationaal (volgens mezelf en de meeste Humolezers) heeft Rock 'n Roll Train live ten berde gebracht op de uitreiking van de Humo's Pop Poll vorige zondag. Exact één week later zal AC/DC's dreunende rock 'n rolltrein Antwerpen Dam Station binnenrijden. Maaike Cafmeyer en de band geven het beste van zichzelf, hoewel het erop lijkt dat ze de verkeerde kleerkast heeft opengetrokken: in sexy Madonna outfit, in plaats van schoolboy uniform, zet ze best een puike prestatie neer. Wees er hier getuige van. HELL YEAH!

Black Ice double platina in Belgium

2009-02-21T11:56:00.005+01:00

4 months after its release, Black Ice has reached official double platina status with 60.000 albums sold. This makes Black Ice more popular than the Stiff Upper Lip album in 2000. Earlier this week, IFPI announced that Black Ice was the second best selling album 2008 in the world after Coldplay, outsmartening the Mama Mia soundtrack and Metallica's Death Magnetic.
In the meantime the band is 'playing' Stockholm for the second time tomorrow. Yesterday they added Shot Down in Flames to the playlist! Still praying here for Livewire and Bedlam in Belgium to be added...

4 maanden na de release heeft Black Ice officieel de dubbel platina status bereikt met een verkoop van meer dan 60.000 albums. Daarmee doet Black Ice het nog beter dan het Stiff Upper Lip album in 2000. Eerder deze week maakte IFPI bekend dat Black Ice het tweede best verkochte album 2008 wereldwijd werd, na Coldplay. Zelfs de soundtrack van Mama Mia deed het beter dan GNR's Chinese Democracy. Morgen speelt AC/DC voor de tweede keer in Stockholm. Gisteren voegden ze Shot Down in Flames toe op de setlist. Ik hoop dat ze tegen hun doortocht in Antwerpen ook Livewire en Bedlam in Belgium toevoegen...

Black Ice tour hits EUROPE!!

2009-02-19T23:41:00.008+01:00

Last night AC/DC opened the first leg of its European tour in Oslo, at the Telenor Arena for a 23.000 crowd. All this in what appeared to be a slight chaos because of the first massive concrete test of this new venue. Especially the traffic jams to the venue had been horrible. The setlist was exactly the same as all shows in the US. Hopefully we'll get a couple of 'new' songs in it as we go. Our current poll (on the right) indicates a lot of interest from your side for the "Bedlam in Belgium" song! Hopefully the band reads this!

Next 2 shows will be at the Globe in Stockholm. I hope they turned on the heating already, unless they'll put Highway to Hell and its great balls of fire up front on the setlist....

Gisteren ging in de nieuwe Telenor Arena in Oslo het eerste Europese deel van de Black Ice tour in première voor een 23.000 koppig publiek. Aan de show ging blijkbaar de nodige chaos vooraf: het verkeer naar en de organisatie in de arena vertoonden duidelijk nog een paar kinderziekten. Het was de eerste keer dat deze zaal een echte vuurdoop kreeg met een groot evenement als de Black Ice Tour. De setlist was dezelfde als tijdens alle US shows. Hopelijk krijgen we een aantal 'nieuwe' songs voorgeschoteld naarmate de tour vordert. In huidige poll (zie rechts) tonen jullie duidelijk interesse in de "Bedlam in Belgium" song! Hopelijk leest de band mee!

Volgende 2 shows zijn in Stockholm. Ik hoop dat ze de verwarming opzetten. Of ze moesten Highway to Hell en de vuurballen vooraan in de setlist zetten....

NEW SINGLE: Anything Goes + Big Jack

2009-01-18T23:14:00.005+01:00

The newest singles from the Black Ice album are Anything Goes and Big Jack. Anything goes sounds a bit different from everything else AC/DC has been doing, so it's certainly an ear opener. You can also hear that producer Brendan O'Brian spent some quality time with Bruce Springsteen before. Big Jack on the other hand is going to be the chant of the year after AC/DC will have passed the Antwerp Sportpaleis on 1 and 3 March. Der countdown lauft...

Voting both songs in our local charts is a real challenge but you can always help to vote here: DE AFREKENING.

Anything Goes en Big Jack zijn de nieuwste singles uit het Black Ice album. Anything Goes klinkt een beetje anders van wat we van AC/DC gewend zijn. Het klinkt zelfs alsof Jan Van Eyken en de Kreuners even op de koffie kwamen tijdens de opnames. Verder is perfect te horen dat Bruce Springsteen een stevige stempel heeft gedrukt op producer Brendan O'Brien. Big Jack is de stadiumvloerstamper die tot chant-of-the-year zal gebombardeerd worden na het bezoek van de band aan het Antwerpse Sportpaleis op 1 en 3 maart. Der countdown lauft....

Het zal een echte challenge worden om beide songs in de Afrekening te krijgen, maar we kunnen het proberen. Stemmen gaat als vanzelf hier: DE AFREKENING.

Essential AC/DC photo exhibition at Proud Galleries, London

2009-01-13T21:42:00.007+01:00

5th February – 31st May 2009, London

A must see for those who live near or travel to London as from 5 February! Proud Camden holds a photographic portrait of a band so prolific their sales figures rank second only to the Beatles. This exhibition will take place to coincide with the UK culmination of the arena tour, and marks the anniversary of the original singer Bon Scott’s untimely death. The exhibition will look at a young AC/DC, a band who themselves could not have predicted the phenomenal worldwide success they were to achieve.
Shot through the lens of celebrated rock photographer Philip Morris, this collection shines new light on members of the original line-up, including unseen images of the late Bon Scott alongside his iconic band mates. This will be the first time these images are showcased in the UK and includes images not previously seen anywhere in the world. An absolute must for fans of AC/DC old and new, this is the only chance to see the definitive exhibition of a band whose influence is unwavering at a time of huge importance to both the band and their followers.

Openting times: 11am – 5.30 daily
Entry: Free
Where: Proud Camden, The Horse Hospital, The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road, London W1 8AH, http://www.proud.co.uk/

!!WIN WIN WIN!! an invitation for the opening event

Do you live near London and want your name on the guest list? 5x2 AC/DC Bedlam in Belgium Blog readers will have the opportunity to attend the Launch Evening on 4th February 2009. Just answer following question and send your answer to acdcbelgium (at) gmail (dot) com

Question: In what year has the above picture by Philip Morris been taken? a)1975 b)1976 c)1977 Lucky winners will be contacted by mail.

02-02-2009: contest is now closed. Winners have been notified. Have fun and tell us if it was worth it!

R.I.P. RON ASHETON (Stooges)

2009-01-07T00:20:00.004+01:00

The Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton has been found dead at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Asheton, 60, was an original member of the rock band fronted by Iggy Pop in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His riffing featured on hits including I Wanna Be Your Dog, No Fun and Down On The Street. Police sergeant Brad Hill said there were no signs of foul play, and the musician's death appeared to be from natural causes. The band - which also included Asheton's brother Scott on drums and the late Dave Alexander on bass - are on the shortlist to enter the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this April.

ROCK IN PEACE, Ron and thanks for last summer's party.

AC/DC don't play open field gigs this summer

2008-12-25T20:16:00.003+01:00

According to a Groningen (Netherlands) city official, AC/DC cancelled an appearance in the City Park in the summer of 2009. Reason not to show up would be that the band doesn't wish to play in an open field. AC/DC prefers to play only big open air stadium concerts (as reflected in the summer tour schedule). This means that the chances for another Belgian gig this summer are rather unlikely. Link to article.
Volgens een stadhouder uit Groningen (Nederland), heeft AC/DC een show geannuleerd deze zomer in het Stadspark. De band zou niet graag optreden op een open vlakte. Daarom spelen ze deze zomer enkel grote open air stadium concerten (zoals je kan merken aan hun tourschema). De kansen op een derde Belgisch optreden in 2009 verkleinen dus aanzienlijk. Link naar het artikel.

Mistress for XMAS and a happy 2009!

2008-12-25T20:05:00.003+01:00

Hi! I hope you all secured your tickets to the second European leg of the AC/DC tour. The open air shows sold out pretty easily, but it should still be possible to obtain tickets from the official fanclub. While we Europeans are getting prepared to welcome the band on the continent, ACDC Belgium wishes you a Mistress for Christmas and a most fabulous and happy rock 'n roll year 2009!

Een fijne avond! Ik hoop dat iedereen zich heeft kunnen bedienen van tickets voor het tweede Europese luik van de AC/DC tour. Deze shows waren snel uitverkocht (alle Duitse shows samen in 77 minuten), maar volgens mij is het nog steeds mogelijk om via de officiële fanclub aan (goeie) tickets te geraken. Terwijl we ons hier in Europa verheugen op de komst van de band wenst ACDC Belgium jullie een Mistress for Christmas en een schitterend rock 'n roll jaar 2009!

New open air shows confirmed!!! On Sale soon!

2008-12-12T12:13:00.006+01:00

Hello,
AC/DC added the following dates to their tour schedule. Unfortunately, at this time, no extra Belgian show, but plenty of travel possibilities. Presales for some shows start already next Wednesday!

Goed nieuws: de band bevestigde net volgende open air shows op hun officiële website. Voorlopig zit er dus geen nieuwe Belgische (open air) show in de pijplijn, maar nu de diesel weer goedkoper staat is het de moment om een uitstapje te wagen! Deze kalender houdt wellicht ook in dat de band geen tussenstop maakt op Graspop, tenzij ze voor een dagje zouden overvliegen op 27 juni... Opgelet: tickets zullen voor sommige locaties reeds volgende week in voorverkoop gaan (Webley: 17 December).

13 May 2009 Leipzig DE Zentralstadium
15 May 2009 Munich DE Olympic Stadium
17 May 2009 Gelsenkirchen DE Veltins Arena
19 May 2009 Cologne DE Stadion
22 May 2009 Hockenheimring DE Formula 1 Racing Track
24 May 2009 Vienna AT Ernst-Happel Stadium
12 Jun 2009 Paris FR Stade de France
15 Jun 2009 Oslo NO Valle Hovin
17 Jun 2009 Helsinki FI Olympic Stadium
19 Jun 2009 Copenhagen DK Parken
21 Jun 2009 Gothenberg SE Ullevi Stadium
23 Jun 2009 Amsterdam NL Amsterdam Arena
26 Jun 2009 London GB Wembley Stadium
28 Jun 2009 Dublin IE Punchestown Racetrack
30 Jun 2009 Glasgow GB Hampden Park

Bedlam in Belgium (from an eye witness)!

2008-11-30T16:00:00.004+01:00

This is the most complete story that I have ever read, covering the events of the 1977 show in Kontich, Belgium in a very detailed way. This show resulted in the creation of the Bedlam in Belgium song, as heard on the Flick of the Switch album. Thanks to an anonymous reader of this blog who posted this as a comment to one of my posts, we can now enjoy a full report what really happened that night. Happy reading!

Worst gig I saw was AC/DC at the "Thier Brau Hof" in Kontich (near Antwerp, Belgium) in October 1977. As openers there should have been a local band called Mothers Of Track, but the word "should" indicates that the lot never showed. On top of the opening act not coming through (cuz their van ran off the road), there was something wrong with the electricity (never gotten to know what exactly). All this meant that the start of the gig was furthermore postponed, so, instead of starting around nine, AC/DC hit the lights at 22.45. A couple of minutes into the show, outside of the venue, some fans who had more beer than common sense in their body, had a wee piss amidst the flowerbed in the front garden of an elderly lady who lived accross the street. The dear old lass phones the coppers because of some long-haired weirdos crawling all over her Petunias. In one go she also complains about the "terrible hells-bells" (she was ahead of her time) coming from the "Thier Brau Hof". Coppers promise to investigate the matter. Coppers arrive at the scene with two units (2 VW-Combi vans with 3 coppers each) and go have a talk with the lady who stands befuddled between rows of broken flowers. Coppers also notice that there's more than just a neighbourhood party going on at the "Thier Brau Hof". Coppers check with the station to see if there was anything out of the ordinary planned at said location. Aside from a Darts contest the next day and a Bar-B-Q, organized by the local fire department the previous day, nothing's on the calendar. Coppers pull-up their pants, sniff loudly and head towards the cauldron of decibels accross the boulevard. Coppers enter the premises through the back door and try to speak with someone in charge. Meanwhile, the second squad, outside the building, get confirmation that whatever is going on inside the "Thier Brau Hof", it is certainly not koosher and certainly has no permission to lift the tiles off the roof, noise-wise. Second squad enter through the main entrance and are greeted with boo-boo-hiss-hiss, a couple of half empty (half full?) beer cups fly in their general direction. Coppers feel threathened, so coppers call for extensive back-up. In the mean time, the first squad is hanging by the side of the stage, half deaf by this time, speaking with the organizer of the gig and asking to turn down the sound, not because there's an infraction, but because they can't understand a bleedin' word that's being said. Back outside, the 2nd squad is joined by a detachement of "Gendarmes" (state police, [gents d'armes: gents = people/men, d'armes = of arms... Gendarmes = Men Of Arms]) who have Barracks just a couple of miles down the boulevard. Smack in the middle of "Let There Be Rock" the Gendarmes and 2nd police squad enter the building through the main entrance, with the sole purpose of stopping the gig, as no-one bothered to ask for a permission to have a party where there would be substantial noise after 22:00Hrs.At approximatively 23:05Hrs, after the Gendarmes have explained what's going on to the organizer, that organizer tries to do the same to the people of AC/DC. The people of AC/DC show toothy grins and a lot of shoulders make shruggin' movements. A passing roadie, the size of a healthy Oak cupboard, knocks off the cap of the copper who's in charge of the first squad, who are getting deafer by the second. The copper, who's hair has the colour of copper, is getting all red-faced til there's no distinguishable border between features and hairline, crawls onto the stage in an attempt to stop the musicians playing on. He is swiftly lifted off the stage by two Australian bodyguards and calmly posted back where he crawled on. The Gendarmes have by now reached the side of the stage, by making a circumventing move along the wall and are just in time to see the copper with the copper top beying gently but firmly removed from the stage. Copper-top spots Gendarmes and is boldly trying to get back on the stage. The Australians, tho still shrugging a lot, are slowly losing their toothy grins as they see the small army of Gendarmes encircling the side of the stage. Elbows are being poked in rib-cages, nods are being shaken in the direction of the Gendarmes. Signs are gesticulated towards Bon Scott, who thinks Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be. Copper-top is back on the stage and storms towards Angus Young, who happens to be the closest to the copper, as he (Angus) leggylly hopped to the side of the stage, his schoolbag bobbing on his frail back. The two Australian body-guards stop the copper, but this time, instead of gently putting him back off the stage, they simply throw him off, amidst the onlooking gendarmes. The rest of the Australian crew forms a cordon on the side of the stage. Teeth are being gritted, jaws are being squared. Bon Scott, who by means of Angus young, has spotted there's something not quite like it should, informs himself amidst the tattooed army. Scott announces to the public that there's 'some clowns' trying to stop the gig. The crowd applauds and cheers... 'fakkem, we ain't stoppin for nobody' squeals Bonnie, as he starts to take the measurments of a gal named Rosie. Somehow, copper-top has again managed to get his arse back on the stage and this time, he means business. The bloke pulls his service pistol and walking up to Bon Scott, points the barrell to Bon's head. The crowd goes wild, the tattooed army in seconds are all over the poor copper, who's top vanishes in a sea of colourful arms. The music is stopped as Bon and Angus suddenly fail to see the funny side of things. Coppertop is muscled off the stage again, while in the confusion some of the Gendarmes manage to get on the stage. The crowd starts to whistle and scream, some punters also crawl unto the stage... as AC/DC merrilly restart where they've left off and continue their Bad Boy Boogie. The crowd grows a tad calmer, but on the side of the stage there's a small war raging, between punters, security and Australian crewmembers on one side and the coppers and Gendarmes on the other. The arm of the law seems to be outnumbered and a withdrawl is planned. The band stops playing once more, as there's too many people running around among the bandmembers, with fans dancing on-stage and the battle of Gettysburg-minor taking place at the same time. Scott starts cursing in some fiersome Australian dialect, which is totally incomprehensible, but is understood by all... the words "Fakk" "Nuts" and "Piss-off" are among the terms that make sense. Angus and the rest of the gang gather at the other end of the stage and watch the shenanigans with growing amazement. Scott starts humming "I'm Gonna Ride On" into the mike, Angus hesitantly joins in. All of a sudden, the organizer, whom everyone had missed cuz the guy's only just over five foot tall, jumps into the arena and with broad arm movements envites everyone to gather around him. The organizer again vanishes out of sight as he is swallowed by the Gendarmes, AC/DC and security people in true rugby-scramble style. Bon Scott emerges the first and apologizes to the brow-raising audience. The Jack is pulled out of the deck of cards. It is 23:22 and the band plays on. One minute later, the main overhead lights go on. For ten seconds, then go out again... It seems later, that copperhead has found the basement, by following the cables, where the main electricity switch is situated...At 23:24, instead of the lights going on, everything is going out... the side-lights, the stage lights and the PA all fall out...Copperhead has found the Main Switch and pulled it...30 seconds later, power is back on, as copperhead found out that when all electricity is gone, he himself has no light and so is stuck in the basement... not good, so he switched the Mains back on...In the meantime, punters are seriously getting annoyed. We were expecting a small show, with some coloured lights, but certainly not an avant-premiére of Le Cirque Du Soleil. Bon Scott throws away his microphone and walks off the stage, just as copperhead emerges from the basement... for the second time that evening, copperhead pulls his side-arm and points it at Bon Scott. This time, the man is jumped upon and disarmed by his own colleagues. Another small discussion ensues, with lots of pulling of clothes, swearing and the occasional punch is being thrown... after which the overhead lights spring back to life and the concert is declared to be over. The time is 23:33 on October 12th, 1977 and we go home... my left eardrum is permanently off its rocker as I stood about 20 cm (8 inches) from the left main boxes...Six years later, on the album "Flick Of The Switch" a song entitled "Bedlam In Belgium" remembers that dreadful evening...JJ

News on tickets for the Antwerp shows

2008-11-04T19:00:00.004+01:00

Hi, some of you have been inquiring about shipment status/availability of tickets for the Antwerp shows. Our friend BlueArmy has received an update from Teleticketservice / GoForMusic, which states : At the request of the Belgian Federal Ministry of Economics and the Economic Inspection services the shipment of the tickets will be postponed for a short while. ... Just like all genuine music fans, these public bodies are worried about the illegal resale of those tickets via different channels, often at extortionate prices. This waiting period will help us and the government to take the necessary action against them.

(Photo copyright Capthowdy, Chicago show 31_10_2008)

Hi, sommige mensen vragen ons waarom de tickets voor de shows in Antwerpen nog niet verstuurd werden. Onze vriend BlueArmy heeft een update gekregen van Teleticketservice / GoForMusic met daarin volgende boodschap: At the request of the Belgian Federal Ministry of Economics and the Economic Inspection services the shipment of the tickets will be postponed for a short while. ... Just like all genuine music fans, these public bodies are worried about the illegal resale of those tickets via different channels, often at extortionate prices. This waiting period will help us and the government to take the necessary action against them. Het zal dus nog even wachten zijn op de werkelijke (of e-) tickets. Maar dat heeft dan ook een goede reden!

Also new Paris show rumored

2008-11-03T19:37:00.003+01:00

After the confirmation of more German open air shows this summer, a French AC/DC news site (that, like this blog, also closely operates with the record company) rumors a new show in Paris, somewhere in June at Parc des Princes. A complementary Spanish show is also said to go on sale (according to a Spanish newspaper), but again no confirmation so far. This could be good news for all those who didn't get tickets so far. It would certainly make ticket prices on the black market drop. As soon as there's news about a third Belgian show, I'll update this site!

Na de bevestiging (zie onder) van enkele Duitse open air shows deze zomer, zou AC/DC volgens een Franse AC/DC nieuwssite (die, net als deze site, nauw samenwerkt met de platenfirma) nogmaals in Parijs optreden ergens in Juni (Parc des Princes). Een nieuwe Spaanse show zou volgens een Spaanse krant aangekondigd zijn, maar ook hiervan tot dusver geen bevestiging. Dat zou goed nieuws zijn voor diegenen die tot dusver geen kaartjes konden bemachtigen. Het zou zeker de ticketprijzen op de zwarte markt een serieuze klap geven. Van zodra ik meer weet over een derde show in België hou ik jullie natuurlijk op de hoogte!

German open Air tour: get ready!!!!

2008-10-29T23:58:00.006+01:00

No panic for those who couldn't score tickets for the sold out Belgian or German shows. What we heard from different sources, is now officially confirmed: according to an official statement of Sony-BMG, AC/DC will play several big German Open-Air-Events after their stadium tour (European Leg 1). Tour dates are not concrete yet, but fans can already register at Eventim to be informed timely about any presale anouncements. Following cities are quoted (based on the reservations made):
• München
• Dresden
• Hamburg
• Berlin
• Hockenheim
• Köln
• Stuttgart

Will they play any Belgian festival(s)????

Geen paniek voor de mensen die geen ticket konden bemachtigen voor de Belgische of Duitse gigs. De geruchten gingen al een tijd de ronde maar zijn nu officieel bevestigd door Sony-BMG: AC/DC zal op enkele grote Duitse Open-Air events spelen na hun (overdekte) stadiontour. Data zijn nog niet beschikbaar maar fans kunnen zich al registreren bij Eventim om op de hoogte te blijven van de start van de voorverkopen. Volgende locaties worden geciteerd (op basis van de huidige reservaties):

• München
• Dresden
• Hamburg
• Berlin
• Hockenheim
• Köln
• Stuttgart

Zullen ze ook op een Belgisch festival spelen????

And one more picture from the rehearsals....

2008-10-28T23:20:00.002+01:00

Just couldn't resist. Thank you RockCarole.

Bedlam in Belgium thanks you!

2008-10-28T18:59:00.005+01:00

Thanks for visiting us! Leave a comment to tell me how this feels and where you're from :-)

As you can see on the right hand side of this page, we welcomed 5000 unique visitors coming from 54 different countries since our start end of August. Keeping an eye on the number of pageviews of Bedlam in Belgium, I know that most of you keep coming back frequently. I would like to thank you all for your support. Main aim of these pages is to keep the Belgian fans informed (along with our friends all over the world of course) about their favorite band. More than 2000 Belgians visit the site regularly. I hope you are able to find what you need. Feel free to leave comments on what can be improved, suggestions.

More to come soon of course: CHEERS!

Bedankt om ons te bezoeken! Laat zeker een comment achter om me te vertellen hoe dat voelt en waar je vandaan komt :-).

Zoals jullie kunnen zien hebben we reeds 5000 unieke bezoekers mogen verwelkomen uit 54 verschillende landen sinds onze start eind augustus. Als ik naar het aantal pageviews op Bedlam in Belgium kijk, dan weet ik dat verschillende onder jullie regelmatig terugkomen. Ik wil jullie bedanken voor de support. Dé grote bestaansreden van deze site is de Belgische fans (samen met onze internationale vrienden) op de hoogte te houden van hun favoriete band. Meer dan 2000 Belgen hebben de site al regelmatig bezocht. Ik hoop dat jullie dan ook vinden waar jullie naar op zoek zijn. Suggesties of zaken ter verbetering mogen zeker in een comment toegevoegd worden. More to come soon of course: CHEERS!

Positive reactions on first show yesterday

2008-10-27T19:21:00.008+01:00

Yesterday, AC/DC kicked off the first leg of their Black Ice tour in Wilkes-Barre, USA with a private show, for thousands of lucky fans from all over the world. The setlist was rather short but is expected to be longer for the future shows (as on the picture from yesterday below). Songs from the new album are R'nR Train, Black Ice, Anything Goes, Big Jack and War Machine.

Gisteren is de Black Ice tour van start gegaan in de Verenigde Staten met een exclusieve show voor de fans. De setlist gisteren was eerder kort, maar voor de volgende shows kunnen volgende tracks verwacht worden (zie foto van de playlist onder). Uit het nieuwe album worden R'nR Train, Black Ice, Anything Goes, Big Jack en War Machine geplukt:

View some of the first YouTube fan videos of last nights show here (bombastic opening with R'nR Train) and here (Back in Black)!

Meanwhile you can download the first video clip in Microsoft Office Excel ever here. This is extremely cool, unfortunately it's not the entire R'nR Train video. Make sure you enable all macros on your computer.

Hier kan je de eerste video clip ooit in Excel downloaden. Zorg wel dat je PC de macro's accepteert.

Q ROCK 100

2008-10-23T23:19:00.004+02:00

Last year, AC/DC's Thunderstruck was voted #1 in Q Music's Rock 100. Make sure that even more AC/DC songs are in that list and that the lads keep position on #1!!!!

Vote here! By the way: AC/DC's Black Ice entered the Belgian Ultratop charts on #1!

Vorig jaar stond Thunderstruck nummer één in de Rock 100 van Q Music. Als je er zeker van wil zijn dat AC/DC weer op 1 staat of als je denkt dat AC/DC meerdere keren in de lijst moet voorkomen, stem dan hier. Oh ja, Black Ice is in de Ultratop album chart binnengekomen op #1!!!!

Must see Brian Johnson interview!

2008-10-22T19:55:00.003+02:00

Good evening! The great Marc Ysaye from Belgian radio station Classic21 managed to speak to Brian Johnson in what I'd like to call the best interview in years. Brian speaks openly about recording the album. Some things are really funny, like the tits on Phil Rudds drum kit. Others are deeply from the heart like when he's speaking about his first gig with AC/DC ever (in Belgium!!) in Namur 1980. Must see (see indeed because it's a movie clip)! Click here to go to the Classic21 website. Thanks Marc!

Een fijne avond! De one&only Marc Ysaye van de franstalige zender Classic21 is erin geslaagd om een tijdje terug Brian Johnson te interviewen. Brian spreekt openlijk over de opnames van Black Ice. Sommige verhaaltjes zijn om te bescheuren van het lachen, zoals de tieten op de drumkit van Phil Rudd. Andere zijn straight from the heart, zoals wanneer hij spreekt over zijn allereerste optreden met AC/DC ooit (leuk om te noteren dat dit in België -Namen- was) in 1980. Een absolute aanrader: klik hier om de videoclip te bekijken op de Classic21 website. Merci Marc!

NEWS NEWS NEWS......

2008-10-20T18:40:00.005+02:00

A lot of news, published throughout different media, reaching an all time peak with the Black Ice album finally released and all tour dates nearly sold out. I try to bundle some of the most interesting bits on this Bedlam in Belgium Blog.

First of all, the launch of the new album has been commemorated throughout the world. In Belgium, Angus Young clones were noticed around central train stations to hand out stickers for the Black Ice release. In Antwerp, a handful lucky fans could prelisten the album and witnessed a nice show of AC/DC coverband Action In DC (more details about this evening later). In Rome, the band's logo was projected onto the famous Colosseum for one night. In Paris, fans could go on a treasure hunt to score tickets for the warm up concert in New York (source: H2ACDC-France).

On http://www.acdcrocks.de/air/ you can download a new application that installs an Angus desktop icon on your screen with all bits of the new album.

On the other hand we receive surprising news via the USA Today. In an interview with the newspaper, Brian Johnson announces that this could be his last tour (!??!): "At 61, this could be my last shot," Johnson says, but he adds that the run-throughs (red.: the band is currently rehearsing for the tour in Philadelphia) "have been smooth as a gravy sandwich." Enough for fans to speculate about this Black Ice tour being the very last tour. No worries as for now, because concerning the 18 month tour, we can almost tell for sure that there will be a second leg in Europe (open air and small club gigs during summer?) and in the US. 2008-2009 promisess to be an interesting year for AC/DC fans all over the world!

Listen to the Black Ice album ONLINE!

2008-10-19T22:25:00.003+02:00

To pre-listen the entire album track by track online: go visit http://acdc.com/acdc101/ !

Enjoy!

New album available in Belgium (on CD and LP)

2008-10-19T15:15:00.004+02:00

I went to Saturn for my Black Ice albums yesterday evening (both vinyl and limited edition CD ). As you should already know, the CD comes in three versions (red, yellow and white AC/DC lettering) and a limited edition blue iced version (see picture). The difference between the latter and the 3 color editions seems to be that the limited edition has a thougher cardboard sleeve and a booklet (with lyrics). Nice to know for you guys that were present on the Rock and Roll train video recording: some of the inner sleeve pictures seem to come from that night in London.

To my surprise, the vinyl version has a gatefolded sleeve (Leidseplein pressing) with nice inners, but no lyrics. Knowing that the Ballbreaker and the SUL album versions on vinyl were rather rare, I hurried to secure my copy. What are you waiting for?

Back in Business

2008-10-18T18:01:00.005+02:00

Hi! It seemed that I planned the most unfortunate 2-week holidays in my life. Being deprived from nearly all daily modern communication means while I was in Cuba, the boys felt the need to shout about their tour dates in Europe!!!!!
This is the status on ticket sales when I arrived back in Belgium a couple of hours ago:

18 Feb 2009 Oslo NO Telenor Arena Sold Out
20 Feb 2009 Stockholm SE The Globe Sold Out
22 Feb 2009 Stockholm SE The Globe Sold Out
25 Feb 2009 Paris FR Bercy Sold Out
27 Feb 2009 Paris FR Bercy Sold Out
01 Mar 2009 Antwerp BE Sportpaleis Sold Out
03 Mar 2009 Antwerp BE Sportpaleis Sold Out
05 Mar 2009 Leipzig DE Halle 1 Sold Out
07 Mar 2009 Dusseldorf DE ISS Dome Sold Out
09 Mar 2009 Oberhausen DE KoPi Arena Sold Out
11 Mar 2009 Bremen DE AWD Dome Sold Out
13 Mar 2009 Rotterdam NL Ahoy ON SALE NOW
15 Mar 2009 Dortmund DE Westfallenhalle Sold Out
17 Mar 2009 Prague CZ O2 Arena Sold Out
19 Mar 2009 Milan IT Datch Forum Sold Out
21 Mar 2009 Milan IT Datch Forum Sold Out
23 Mar 2009 Budapest HU Papp László Budapest Sportarena Sold Out
25 Mar 2009 Frankfurt DE Festhalle Sold Out
27 Mar 2009 Munich DE Olympiahalle Sold Out
29 Mar 2009 Zurich CH Hallenstadion Sold Out
31 Mar 2009 Barcelona ES Sant Jordi ON SALE 2008-10-21
02 Apr 2009 Madrid ES Palacio de los Deportes ON SALE 2008-10-21
14 Apr 2009 London GB O2 Arena Sold Out
16 Apr 2009 London GB O2 Arena Sold Out
18 Apr 2009 Dublin IE O2 Arena Sold Out
21 Apr 2009 Manchester GB MEN Sold Out
23 Apr 2009 Birmingham GB NEC Sold Out

Only few dates are available for sale. I hope some (smaller ?) club shows will be added soon.
To all blog readers: I am sorry for not keeping you posted the past 2 weeks. I hope you all got the opportunity to grasp some tickets! Adding a second show for Antwerp proves that some of you got them! Sorry again, but get ready for new updates soon!

Contest closed!

2008-10-01T21:19:00.005+02:00

Just to let you know that the contest to win tickets for the launch event on this Bedlam in Belgium Blog has now closed. Thanks for the massive response! Winners will be notified soon. Correct answers were of course Wilkes-Barre and 1977. None of the entrants actually missed that!!! :o) In the meantime you can surf and have fun with the Q magazine minisite on AC/DC! Cheers!

Hi, de wedstrijd om op deze Bedlam in Belgium Blog kaarten voor de launch party te winnen is nu afgesloten. Bedankt voor de massale inzendingen! De winnaars krijgen snel bericht van ons en kunnen dan met hun partner een avondje gaan genieten in Antwerpen. Ik stel voor dat tenminste iemand verslag uitbrengt over de avond! De juiste antwoorden? Wilkes-Barre en 1977 natuurlijk. Niemand die dat fout had!!! :o) Ondertussen kunnen jullie een kijkje gaan nemen op de Q magazine minisite over AC/DC! Cheers!

AC/DC announce more US-CAN dates!!!

2008-09-30T22:13:00.007+02:00

The band announced 16 (!!) more tour dates for the North American leg earlier today. For the initial dates (sold out!) take a look at a few posts back.

20 December Ft. Lauderdale, FL

21 December Tampa, FL

5 January Cleveland, OH

7 January Pittsburgh, PA

9 January Toronto, ONT

11 January Cincinnati, OH

13 January St. Louis, MO

15 January Omaha, NE

17 January Fargo, ND

19 January Minneapolis, MN

21 January Kansas City, MO

23 January Dallas, TX

26 January Tulsa, OK on my birthday :o)

28 January Little Rock, AR

30 January Memphis, TN

31 January Nashville, TN

It looks like European dates are fare out of sight... or maybe not? The French fansite 2ACDC.COM announced that the band will play Paris at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy on 25 and 27 February 2009! Cancel that ski trip!!!!!

Furthermore, there's only 1 day left for the entries to the competition on this blog to win an audio premiere of the new album (see below). Send in your answers! Also, the recruitment for the Belgium Angus Army has come to an end. AC/DC recruits should have been contacted by now...

You can also still vote AC/DC on #1 in De Afrekening. Please do so here.

AC/DC heeft 16 bovenstaande Noord-Amerikaanse data toegevoegd aan zijn eerder uitverkochte tournee deze herfst-winter. Het ziet er naar uit dat Europese data nog ver weg lijken, of misschien niet? Volgens de Franse fansite 2ACDC.COM heeft de groep 2 data vastgelegd voor Parijs, namelijk op 25 en 27 februari 2009! Cancel jullie skitrips!!!

Verder hebben jullie morgen de laatste kans om in aanmerking te komen om het nieuwe album in absolute primeur te horen! Instructies voor deze wedstrijd in een eerdere post hieronder. Ook zijn de aanwervingen voor het Angus Army stopgezet. AC/DC recruits zouden nu ongeveer moeten gecontacteerd zijn geworden....

AC/DC op 1 stemmen in De Afrekening kan ook nog altijd, en dat doe je hier.

Your chance to hear Black Ice before its release - Win Win Win Win!

2008-09-25T23:14:00.007+02:00

Good evening fellow AC/DC fans!

5x2 lucky belgian fans will get the opportunity to hear the entire new AC/DC album FOR FREE on the evening of 15 October in a secret location in Antwerp city, 1 day before the Dutch and German release event and 2 days before its official release date!!!! On top of that, the Dutch cover band Action in DC (HELL YEAH) will be giving a concert! To win a pair of tickets (5 available), answer both questions (correctly of course):

a) Which US city will host the first concert of the American leg of the Black Ice tour on 28 October?

b) The song "Bedlam in Belgium" (from the album Flick of the Switch) refers to a Belgian AC/DC concert involving a severe police intervention a couple of years before the song was written. When was that? Just give the year.

Mail your answer to moc.liamg@muiglebcdca (I reversed all letters of the gmail address to mislead search bots, so 1st character is last character of the mail address and so on) before 1 October. Oh, yeah: here's the official rules: winners will be selected amongst all entries with correct answers on both questions below. Each winner will be awarded two entry tickets. Competition valid only for Belgian residents, but entries from neighbouring countries might be considered.

Hi!

5X2 Belgische fans zullen dankzij deze blog en de platenfirma de kans krijgen om het volledige nieuwe AC/DC album Black Ice GRATIS in première te beluisteren op een exclusieve launch party in Antwerpen op 15 oktober 2008. Dat is een dag voor de Nederlanders en de Duitsers deze kans krijgen en twee dagen vóór de officiële release van het album. Sterker nog: de nederlandse AC/DC coverband Action in DC (HELL YEAH) zal de avond afsluiten met een concert!! Als je kans wil maken op één van de 5 felbegeerde duo-tickets, geef dan een correct antwoord op volgende twee vragen:

a) Geef de naam van de Amerikaanse stad waar AC/DC's Black Ice tour van start gaat op 28 oktober.

b) Het nummer "Bedlam in Belgium" (uit het album "Flick of the Switch") refereert naar een Belgisch AC/DC concert -een paar jaar eerder- waar de politie tussenbeide moest komen. In welk jaartal speelden deze feiten zich af?

Stuur de juiste antwoorden vóór woensdag 1 oktober naar volgend email-adres: moc.liamg@muiglebcdca (ik heb het gmail-adres achterstevoren geschreven om zoekbots te omzeilen, dus eerste letter is eigenlijk de laatste letter enzoverder) en wie weet ben jij uitgenodigd!! Good luck!

A cool plan failed....

2008-09-22T22:00:00.003+02:00

Found this article on the web about some 20 unfortunate chaps that wanted to see AC/DC's show in Vancouver. The fans would have chartered a private jet to fly to the Vancouver show, that to their bad luck sold out in a couple of minutes.
I wonder if they would have jumped out of the plane by parachute into their seats or just park the vehicle front of venue.
Entire article on
My deepest sympathy....

Een tragisch artikel over 20 vrienden die AC/DC wilden zien in Vancouver. De fans zouden een private jet gaan huren om naar de show te vliegen. De show was helaas uitverkocht in een paar minuten. Zouden ze met een parachute uit het vliegtuig, recht in hun stoel gesprongen zijn of gewoon de jet aan de ingang van het stadion geparkeerd hebben?
Lees het artikel hier.
Oprechte deelneming...

Another single released! WAR MACHINE (#5)

2008-09-19T19:35:00.003+02:00

Hi folks! Much much much much going on! New information on our favorite band keeps rolling in like a rock 'n roll train on speed!!
On the band's official MySpace page, you can listen to WAR MACHINE, yet another track (#5) of the new Black Ice album: "Watch your back and cover your tracks!" Hell YEAH
Tickets for the first shows on the N. American leg have also gone on sale as from today. I can't wait to hear about European dates...... THIS TOUR WILL GO CRAZY!

Er valt veel nieuws te rapen over onze favoriete band: de nieuwtjes rollen per rock 'n roll trein binnen aan waanzinnige snelheden!!!
Op de officiële MySpace van de band kan je nu al exclusief luisteren naar WAR MACHINE, track #5 van de nieuwe Black Ice CD: "Watch your back and cover your tracks!" HELL YEAH
De ticketverkoop van de eerste Noord-Amerikaanse shows is ook vandaag van start gegaan. Ik wacht met jullie vol ongeduld op de europese dates. DEZE TOUR WORDT EEN FEESTJE!!!!

More band pics + Video premiere

2008-09-18T19:41:00.004+02:00

Hi! Here's more band pics! I wonder who that hotsome is next to Mal (and I don't mean Angus).
Bye the way: live video premiere of the new video clip on midnight US time!!! ENJOY!

The ANGUS ARMY needs you!

2008-09-17T18:24:00.003+02:00

Exclusive: Join the Belgian Angus army and get rewarded! AC/DC's record company is currenlty looking for enthusiastic AC/DC fans to promote the new album. You need to be available on 17 October, the day of the new album launch. After your Dirty Deeds, you will be rewarded with an AC/DC surprise! Recruting Belgian fans only, I'm afraid.

Exclusief: sluit je aan bij het Belgische Angus Leger en wordt ervoor beloond! De platenfirma van AC/DC is op zoek naar enthousiaste AC/DC fans die het nieuwe album willen promoten. Je moet ervoor vrij zijn op 17 oktober (zeker in de voormiddag), de dag van de lancering van het nieuwe album. Voor enkele Dirty Deeds zal je beloond worden met een AC/DC verrassing! Geïnteresseerd? Stuur een email naar dit adres met je naam, telefoonnummer, en leeftijd: moc.liamg@muiglebcdca (het adres staat achterstevoren om de spamfilters te omzeilen). We nemen dan contact met je op. Vrienden altijd welkom.

It's a long way to the top of De Afrekening?

2008-09-17T15:20:00.004+02:00

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock & roll! AC/DC jumps 10 places today to #11 in De Afrekening, a Belgian alternative music hotlist. You can still cast your votes for AC/DC clicking here. Simply give your top 3 singles of the moment and add AC/DC on #1 of course!

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock & roll! AC/DC springt 10 plaatsen vooruit in De Afrekening tot op de elfde plaats. Kan hoger volgende week als je't mij vraagt... Vul hier je top 3 in voor volgende week!

Black Ice album Review

2008-09-17T15:03:00.004+02:00

MusicRadar posted a very promising Black Ice album Review on the web:

You can read the full review on: MusicRadar

Here's what he thinks about War Machine: "Whoa…it's getting ominous. The chord progression of the verse and chorus are in the same vein as Givin' The Dog A Bone, only more sinister. But if any band has a right to nick from themselves, it's AC/DC. Freaking hot solo, natch."
I wonder where MusicRadar had the opportunity to hear the album.....

MusicRadar heeft op zijn website een veelbelovende review geschreven over het nieuwe Black Ice album. Je kan de volledige review hier nalezen: MusicRadar

RNRT Video footage posted!

2008-09-14T22:03:00.003+02:00

Hello.... this is quite a nice gift for a Sunday evening: a teaser video of the Rock N Roll Train clip has been posted on Youtube! Promising!

Watch it here/Bekijk het hier

Dit is een plezante afsluiter van een zonnige zondag: een teaser filmpje van de Rock N Roll Train videoclip werd net gepost op Youtube! Veelbelovend!

New picture available!

2008-09-12T23:45:00.010+02:00

Good evening, it seems to me that Brian and Ang are doing all the promo work lately.... Both soundbites I posted earlier, the Howard Stern appearance, now this picture. I wonder where Mal and Cliff are, or what Phil is up to? Brian and Angus are well concentrated on promoting the upcoming tour kick off in the US.

Een fijne avond iedereen! Het lijkt er op dat Brian en Angus al het promowerk met z'n tweetjes klaren. De twee soundbites die ik eerder heb gepost, het interview met Howard Stern en nu deze foto. Ik vraag me af wat de rest van de band aan het uitspoken is? Brian en Angus promoten duidelijk de start van de tour in de VS.

First tour dates announced!

2008-09-11T09:50:00.001+02:00

Billboard has announced the first tour dates of the new AC/DC world tour, kicking of with a North American legg. Tickets will go on sale as from 20 September:
Oct. 28 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Wachovia Arena
Oct. 30 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena
Nov. 03 - Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse
Nov. 05 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
Nov. 07 - Toronto, ONT - Rogers Centre
Nov. 09 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
Nov. 12-13 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Nov. 15 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
Nov. 17 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
Nov. 19 - East Rutherford, NJ - IZOD Center
Nov. 21 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
Nov. 23 - Minneapolis, MN - Xcel Energy Center
Nov. 25 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
Nov. 28 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
Nov. 29 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena
Nov. 30 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
Dec. 02 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
Dec. 06 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
Dec. 10 - Phoenix, AZ - US Airways Center
Dec. 12 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
Dec. 14 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
Dec. 16 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
Dec. 18 - Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena

Vote AC/DC in De Afrekening (II)

2008-09-10T23:04:00.003+02:00

Hey! Great news! Thanks to your support AC/DC entered #21 in "De Afrekening", an important Belgian alternative music chart. This even without a hardcopy single released! This week, you can vote again to push the song even higher! You can still vote here on your favorite top 3.

Hi! Fantastisch nieuws! Dankzij jullie support kwam AC/DC op nr. 21 binnen in De Afrekening. En dat zonder dat er een hardcopy single in de winkel ligt! Stemmen voor je favoriete top 3 (met Rock & Roll Train op 1) kan nog altijd hier.

Angus & Brian with Howard Stern

2008-09-10T18:38:00.004+02:00

Howard Stern welcomed Brian and Angus earlier this week in his radio studios. The boys are talking about the new album, their deal with Walmart (guaranteeing sales of 3 million albums at a low price, thus making the Black Ice album affordable for a broad audience), smoking, Jerry Springer's house, Aston Martins, tobacco spray and much more.

Apart from Howard Stern's silly questions and interventions (this guy is clearly in some pre-Freudian phallus phase), it is funny to hear how US politics don't seem to bother them. On the other hand Brian, living in Florida, suggests to use "She's got balls" as an anthem for Hillary Clinton's campaigns. This Howard keeps interupting the guys all the time. If I had them in my Bedlam in Belgium studio, I'd rather ask something more about the new album.... In part 5 you can hear them singing along to the Rock & Roll Train song!

Listen to the interview on Youtube:
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

Op Youtube kan je nu luisteren naar een Howard Stern sessie met Brian en Angus. Beide bandleden spreken voluit over hun deal met Walmart (waardoor ze in één pennentrek 3 miljoen albums verkopen en tegelijkertijd hun muziek aan een zachte prijs aan Joe Sixpack verkopen), roken, het huis van Jerry Springer, de Auston Martins van Brian, en tabakspray.
Howard Stern stelt de hele tijd gigantisch belachelijke vragen (de man zit duidelijk in een Freudiaanse fallusfase). Het is leuk om te horen hoe de boys niet echt wakker liggen van de Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen, maar Brian suggereert wel dat Hillary tijdens haar campagnes "She's got Balls" als anthem had moeten gebruiken. Moest AC/DC in de Bedlam in Belgium studio binnenwandelen zou ik gegarandeerd meer vragen gesteld hebben over het nieuwe album... In het vijfde deel zingen ze mee met Rock & Roll Train!

Vote AC/DC in de Afrekening!

2008-09-05T21:37:00.004+02:00

Vote here to get AC/DC's Rock&Roll Train in "De Afrekening" charts on Studio Brussel, the hottest alternative music charts in Belgium. Fill out the top 3 and don't forget to put AC/DC on #1! If you forgot how the song sounds: visit ACDCROCKS.COM and rock your heart out!

Good night!

Vul hier je favoriete top 3 in om Rock&Roll Train van AC/DC in De Afrekening te stemmen. Vergeet niet om AC/DC op #1 te zetten! Als je vergeten bent hoe de song klinkt: go to ACDCROCKS.COM en rock your heart out!

AC/DC Release Party

2008-08-31T12:09:00.005+02:00

Hello! Good news for Belgian AC/DC fans! Not only the album will available as from 17 October already, Sony-BMG plans a release party for the new Black Ice album and the No Bull -The directors cut- DVD somewhere mid October.
No tickets will go on sale for this event, but this blog will announce how to win tickets for this exclusive event.
Dutch fans can also expect an explosive release party in Utrecht (16 October at Stairway to Heaven) with a performance of Dutch AC/DC coverband Action in DC!

Goed nieuws voor Belgische AC/DC fans! Het nieuwe album zal niet enkel al vanaf 17 oktober in de winkel liggen, Sony-BMG plant ook een release party voor het nieuwe Black Ice album en de No Bull - The directors cut- DVD ergens midden oktober.
Tickets voor dit event zullen niet te koop worden aangeboden, maar op deze blog zal aangekondigd worden hoe je tickets kan winnen om dit exclusieve event bij te wonen.
Nederlandse fans kunnen ook een explosieve release party verwachten op 16 oktober in Utrecht (Stairway to Heaven) met een optreden van de Nederlandse AC/DC coverband Action in DC!

Angus and Brian on the new album

2008-08-29T16:47:00.004+02:00

Exclusive!!! EXCLUSIEF!!!!

Listen to Angus Young and Brian Johnson on the new Black Ice album (soundbites):

http://rapidshare.com/files/141067411/Angus_Young_on_Black_Ice_1_1.mp3.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/141067412/Brian_Johnson_On_Black_Ice_1_2.mp3.html

Luister naar Angus Young en Brian Johnson over het nieuwe album (soundbites).

No Belgian show on 20 March....

2008-08-28T19:34:00.005+02:00

Nearly stonedeaf after listening to the new song over and over again, new rumours still manage to reach our ears.
A Belgian show is rumoured on a Belgian concert blog to be scheduled on 20 March 2009! Venue would be the Sports Palace in Antwerp. Usually it is difficult to get an overall good sound -without to much echo - in this place, but that shouldn't be too much of a burden with AC/DC's solid and loud riffs.
To my knowledge, it would be the first time AC/DC ever plays this venue.
You'll get an update if this news gets confirmation.

Update: (sooner than expected: that day a silly Dutch Crooner sings at the venue)

Ik ben bijna zo doof als een pier door het grijsdraaien (wat een nostalgische uitdrukking voor een digitale geluids'drager') van de nieuwe single. Desondanks vangen onze grote oren hier een daar toch nog een gerucht op: er zou een Belgische show komen op 20 Maart 2009! Plaats van afspraak zou het Sportpaleis in Antwerpen zijn, een zaal waar goed overall geluid vaak een utopie is maar waar AC/DC met zijn strakke en luide riffs geen problemen zal hebben om daar voor te zorgen. Voor zover ik weet zou het de eerste keer zijn dat AC/DC daar optreedt. U natuurlijk een update als dit bevestigd wordt.

Update: (sneller dan verwacht) die dag vult Marco Borsato het Sportpaleis.....
We blijven in blijde verwachting.

New band space on YouTube

2008-08-27T21:07:00.004+02:00

Visit the bands YouTube page to enjoy some cool videos of AC/DC's performances. You can listen to the full length ROCK N ROLL TRAIN song on the AC/DC official website.

Phil

Rock & Roll Train

2008-08-27T20:54:00.005+02:00

Good evening! An exciting morning it will be....
Listen to the first airing of the new single on these Belgian radiostations:

Classic 21: from 07 AM http://www.classic21.be/
Studio Brussel: between 07u30 en 8 AM http://www.stubru.be/
Radio Donna: between 4 and 7 PM http://www.donna.be/
Q Music: between 5 and 6 PM http://www.qmusic.be/

Sorry: for the moment there won't be any hardcopy release or online release (iTunes). The band continues to resist online distribution.
ENJOY!
Phil

Een fijne avond: luister morgen naar volgende radiostations voor de radio release van de nieuwe AC/DC single!

Classic 21: vanaf 07u ‘s ochtends http://www.classic21.be/
Studio Brussel: tussen 07u30 en 8u http://www.stubru.be/
Radio Donna: tussen 16u en 19u http://www.donna.be/
Q Music: tussen 17u en 18u http://www.qmusic.be/

Het is jammer maar er zal voorlopig van deze single geen hardcopy release komen en ook geen online distributie via iTunes. De band weerstaat vooralsnog aan de lokroep om hun muziek online te verdelen.
ENJOY!
Phil

30 seconds fragment

2008-08-26T14:31:00.003+02:00

It seems that the band has removed the 30 second fragment from its MySpace. It is however still available through YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmOsTKLdows
Het lijkt erop dat de band het fragment van de nieuwe track van zijn MySpace website heeft gehaald. Het fragment is op YouTube nog te vinden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmOsTKLdows

Black Ice

2008-08-26T13:55:00.003+02:00

Hello! Some news today: the artwork of AC/DC 's new album Black Ice will be released in 3 colour versions of the bands logo. Apart from the different logo colours, they seem to have a different album cover artwork. Take a look at Jon Talismans Blog for a first glimpse!

For people like myself who are more interested in the music rather than the package, here's the tracklisting for the Black Ice album:
1. Rock ’n Roll Train (1st single: radio release 28 August)
2. Skies On Fire
3. Big Jack
4. Anything Goes
5. War Machine
6. Smash N Grab
7. Spoilin’ For A Fight
8. Wheels
9. Decibel
10. Stormy May Day
11. She Likes Rock N Roll
12. Money Made
13. Rock N Roll Dream
14. Rocking All The Way
15. Black Ice

There is a 30 sec fragment available on the bands official MySpace website. It's probably taken from Rock 'n Roll Train, but we will know for sure soon enough: this Thursday! Greetz!!!

Hi! Meer nieuws vandaag over het nieuwe album: Black Ice zal gereleased worden in 3 verschillende albumcovers. Het AC/DC logo zal in zilvergrijs, geel en rood beschikbaar zijn. Los daarvan lijkt het artwork van de volledige album cover ook verschillend te zijn. Neem een kijkje op de blog van Jon Talisman voor een afbeelding van de drie covers.

Voor mensen zoals ik die eerder kicken op de muziek dan op de packaging, zie hier de track listing van Black Ice:
1. Rock ’n Roll Train
2. Skies On Fire
3. Big Jack
4. Anything Goes
5. War Machine
6. Smash N Grab
7. Spoilin’ For A Fight
8. Wheels 9. Decibel
10. Stormy May Day
11. She Likes Rock N Roll
12. Money Made
13. Rock N Roll Dream
14. Rocking All The Way
15. Black Ice

Van één van deze 15 songs is deze track op de officiële AC/DC MySpace een 30 sec fragment. Naar alle waarschijnlijkheid komt dit uit Rock 'n Roll Train, we zullen het deze donderdag weten!!! Greetz!!

Bedlam in Kontich 1977

2008-08-25T21:11:00.005+02:00

"Stage was stage, Cops enraged, Crying for more, It was war, war, war"

The above is an excerpt from the lyrics to the song Bedlam in Belgium on the Flick of the Switch album (August 1983). The song defininately marked Belgium as an (infamous) spot onto the AC/DC World Map! For the last day of the EU leg of the Let There Be Rock-tour (9 October 1977), AC/DC was scheduled in Dancing Thierbrau in Kontich, Belgium. Kontich had a strict 11 p.m. noise curfew, but the band was still performing. A small riot broke out when the local police tried to prevent the band from playing. Cops followed Angus, who had jumped off stage duckwalking, into the crowd and hit him. The song also suggests fire arms being shown to enforce silence.
Who could tell me more about this show in Kontich? It would be nice to have an eyewitnes of this Bedlam in Belgium. Please leave a comment. Cheers!

Bovenstaand fragment is afkomstig uit de song Bedlam in Belgium (zoveel als Beroering in België - What's new?) van het album Flick of the Switch (Augustus 1983). Met deze track heeft België zich nogal schaamtelijk op de AC/DC wereldkaart gezet! Op de laatste dag van het Europese luik van de Let There Be Rock-tour (1977), stond AC/DC geprogrammeerd in Dancing Thierbrau te Kontich, waar het op dat moment na 11 uur 's avonds muisstil moest zijn. Dat was natuurlijk buiten de band gerekend: die wilde plichtsbewust de show afmaken. Het kwam tot een opstootje wanneer de lokale politie het optreden probeerde stil te leggen. Eén agent ging Angus achterna, die van het podium al duckwalkend door het publiek probeerde te ontsnappen, en verkocht hem een lap. De song maakt verder ook melding van agenten die met hun pistool zwaaien om een einde te maken aan het nachtlawaai.
Wie kan er meer vertellen over deze show in Kontich? Het zou fijn zijn om een ooggetuige van deze Bedlam in Belgium aan het woord te laten. Post gerust een comment. Cheers!

Welcome to Bedlam in Belgium!!!

2008-08-23T22:38:00.004+02:00

Good evening, in case you accidentally landed on this new AC/DC blog.
I called it Bedlam in Belgium, in honour of a song the band wrote after a heavy concert night in Kontich city, near Antwerp, Belgium. I will come back to you with the story behind... don't worry.

Also more is to be expected on the forthcoming album "Black Ice", to be released by 20th October. I can tell you that the album might be already in-store on Friday 17th or Saturday 18th.

Please tell your friends, bookmark and come back for regular updates on the band, the new album and of course a brand new TOUR! I didn't sort out yet if the blog should be in English only or also in Dutch. Truth is that my first objective is to inform the Belgian fanbase. I think they deserve the right to be informed!

Rock on! Phil

Een fijne avond gewenst aan de toevallige voorbijganger die op deze blog belandde. U bent verzeild geraakt op een nieuwe Belgische blog over AC/DC. Ik heb de blog "Bedlam in Belgium" genoemd, naar een song die de band geschreven heeft na een zwaar feestje in Kontich, nabij Antwerpen. Daarover vertel ik u graag later meer.

Ook over het langverwachte nieuwe album "Black Ice" zal op deze blog weldra meer informatie te vinden zijn. Het album wordt wereldwijd gereleased op 20 oktober, maar ik kan jullie alvast vertellen dat jullie waarschijnlijk al op vrijdag 17 of zaterdag 18 naar de winkel kunnen hollen om het te gaan kopen.

Men zegge het voort, bookmark deze blog en kom zeker eens kijken want het is de bedoeling dat hij vaak wordt geupdate met het heetste van de naald over de band, het album en de TOUR. Ik ben er nog niet uit of de blog ook in het Engels moet. Het is alleszins wel de bedoeling om de Belgische fans te geven waar ze recht op hebben.

Rock on! Phil