🗲 Sydney in the Sign of the Signs 🗲 High Voltage !

         

  Anonymized St. Kilda picture protecting the usual innocent. No animals were harmed.
Right picture by Philip Morris.

 

 

Attention - Warning !  Koala, Demolition and Blue Roo

Let's talk about the AC/DC symbolism we encountered during our road trip, following AC/DC from Melbourne to Sydney.  Australia is the land of huge warning signs.  Officially, authorities favor over-clarity rather than minimalism, as larger signs reduce cognitive load and reaction time, thereby lowering the risk of accidents.  Maybe the region simply has the highest myopia rate in the world (estimated at 55% by 2050).  Down the road we got warned again, with road signs definitely outnumbering the kangooroos or koalas.  What follows is a snapshot of symbols and AC/DC related iconography all along the road.

High Voltage.  Let's start with the chosen sleeve image for the High Voltage album.  An obvious choice: a high voltage power station, omnipresent in Australian society.  Not forgetting the famous "Blue Roo", a kangooroo Albert's put on the labels of early presings, not exclusive to AC/DC, sign of "Australian Recording".  

Demolition.  Before the show in Sydney, we wanted to visit its most infamous landmark—the house where Angus and Malcolm grew up.   At least, that’s how the local government saw it when they allowed a developer to demolish it. A sad and unfortunate decision.  The Young family moved into 4 Burleigh Street in Sydney's inner west suburb of Burwood in 1965 after migrating from Scotland to Australia.

"Welcome Home" Angus ... 

The Burwood council tried to make amends by organizing a musical gathering and unveiling yet another mural. An event we ghosted on purpose.  We went the day after, only to find more meaningful signs:

2 contemporary manifestations of the New School Boy in and around Burleigh St

 

On the corner of Burleigh street, a Greek orthodox church, St Nectarios, proudly displaying two bells.  Is this where Malcolm and Angus got the inspiration for Hells Bells?  The Youngs must have passed these bells daily on their way to school, maybe even cheekingly ringing them, or being sleep deprived when they chimed early in the morning.

  

St Nectarios church, just around the corner of Burleigh Street, displaying 2 bells

Another strong, often overlooked symbol are the classic suit, tie and cap Angus sports at each show.  Beautiful outfits, tastefully matched to the local nation's national colors.  Not any different in Australia, where Angus hit the stage in one of both official Australian flags, the Aboriginal flag.  Harold Thomas, aboriginal designer of the flag in 1971 narrates the symbolic meaning of the flag colours:

• Black – "represents the Aboriginal people of Australia"
• Yellow circle – "represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector"
• Red – "represents the red earth, the red ochre used in ceremonies and Aboriginal peoples' spiritual relation to the land"

The multicolor cap Angus wore on rare occasions remains a mystery, but it's a great wink to the Who Made Who video.

    

A respectful uniform choice in Melbourne.  "Aboriginal lives matter" in AC/DC Lane 

 

 

Who Made Who - respect to the tailors!  

Enough warnings and signs for now.  Get ready for the reports of the Sydney shows!