Is there anyone on the planet still unaware that AC/DC have a new album coming out next week? For the avoidance of doubt, they do: it’s called Power Up, and Shot In The Dark is the 12-track album’s first single.
The band shot a video for Shot In The Dark with long-time collaborator David Mallet in Amsterdam earlier this year, back when the dreaded words ‘Covid-19’ still sounded like the name of a friendly robot from Battlestar Galactica, and they’ve now released some behind-the-scenes footage from the video set. In these bleak times, there’s something quite charming and sweet about a bunch of men in their 60s and 70s larking around in the pursuit of rock ’n’ roll, so this will put a smile on your face, promise.
With the video in the bag, ‘DC spent a further two weeks in Amsterdam rehearsing for a return to the road in the wake of the release of Power Up. Obviously, those plans are on hold, but the rehearsals did illustrate to all concerned that the band are fighting fight once again, following the return of Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd to the fold.
"We had set up to do a video,” Angus Young revealed, “and we thought we could get a rehearsal place and play – to see how we were live and if Brian's [hearing] technology was working.”
"We did Back in Black straight away,” Johnson recalled. “If I can do that, I can do anything. And I could hear everything. We went through Shot Down in Flames, Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be – the whole set. We did 15 days, non-stop. The guitars were so sweet. I said, ‘Angus, I can hear every little note you're playing.’ And he went, ‘Oh, I better start rehearsing more’… Angus' sense of humour. It was lovely.”
“The band was playing really well,” says Cliff Williams, who has also returned to the fold following his retirement in 2017 at the end of the Rock Or Bust world tour. “Brian was singing really well. ‘How about we do some shows?’ ‘Sure, let's get the ball rolling.’ And this damn virus hit. Everything was put on the shelf. We’ll put this record out and see what the future holds. Hopefully, it’s shows. That's what we’d love to do – even if it’s just a handful, just to get out there.”
Power Up will be released on November 13. The album was recorded in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien and engineer Mike Fraser, the same team who worked on the band’s Black Ice and Rock Or Bust albums.
