Mumbai: AC/DC are possibly Australia’s greatest export to the world of rock music and are certainly among the most rock definitive acts to have ever gotten on stage. Their 41-year-old career is looking to come to a close with reports suggesting that founding member and guitarist Malcolm Young is battling debilitating illness following a recent stroke. News broke out on Tuesday when a friend close to the band said that AC/DC, honouring a three-decade-old pact, would not tour or write any more music, since Malcolm would no longer be in a condition to do so.
One person who is particularly saddened by this development is actor Saif Ali Khan. “This is really sad. But I suppose things should end. They really had some life. Two actually. After vocalist (Bon) Scott died, they managed to find (Brian) Johnson to take his place and it was then that they put out one of their most amazing albums Back in Black,” Saif said, who maintains that AC/DC are his favourite band.
AC/DC was formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. The band have a massive fan following around the world and have sold over 200 million album copies globally. Vocalist Brian Johnson spoke with The Telegraph and preferred not to confirm future plans but said that they aren’t disbanding. “We’re going to pick up some guitars, have a plonk, and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas. If anything happens, we’ll record it,” he was quoted as saying.
Fans have been anticipating a 40-city world tour to commemorate their 40-year career, but the current situation makes that a bleak possibility. Saif believes that AC/DC is most defined by their earlier works in Back in Black and For Those About To Rock We Salute You, and not by their last album Black Ice. “What makes AC/DC one of the greatest bands is their timing, which is the key to guitar-playing. They play in half beats and off beats. They are simple chords with very complicated timing,” Saif said, in an earlier interview.
“Take a song like Whole Lotta Rosie. It’s ‘1-2-3-4-AND,” he said, and started humming the chords while snapping his fingers to give the corresponding rhythm. “It’s not on the 4, its on the ‘AND’, and that just sounds great. That’s hard to play, you know. Technically it isn’t, but rhythmically it is.”
The actor has spent a good amount of time watching DVDs of the band’s live performances and mastering the chords of the songs. He even played a few AC/DC numbers when he jammed with Parikrama during a multi-city tour in 2008. Even as thousands of his fans have heard him play AC/DC tunes, among his keenest audience members is wife Kareena Kapoor. “When I do pick up the guitar to play for her, I tend to play the same AC/DC songs followed by the same kind of scales. It’s just something that comes rather naturally to me,” he says.
