The Reason AC/DC Had To Apologize To George Harrison

Malcolm and Angus Young brothers formed AC/DC in 1973 and thought that the name symbolized their energetic and powerful musical performances. They then stylized the band’s name with a high voltage sign that separates the ‘AC’ and ‘DC.’

By 1974, AC/DC began building a live reputation with gigs in several venues. The Young brothers then decided to shift from their glam rock image and pursue a harder blues-rock sound. In 1974, Bon Scott joined to replace Dave Evans, who the Young brothers thought wasn’t suitable for this new sound.

By October 1974, AC/DC had recorded their debut studio album ‘High Voltage,’ and they released it in February 1975. Their second record, ‘T.N.T.,’ also has a song named ‘High Voltage,’ which caused the band to apologize to the Beatles’ George Harrison.

AC/DC Stole The Audience Noise From George Harrison’s Live Album

AC/DC released the song ‘High Voltage’ first in Australia as a single in July 1975. It was also the eighth track of their second Australian album, ‘T.N.T.’ Written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott; the song remains a staple in AC/DC’s music career.

The song shares its name with AC/DC’s first Australian and international albums. Although the drummer Phil Rudd is credited with recording ‘High Voltage,’ the drums in the song were recorded by the session drummer Tony Currenti before the recordings of AC/DC’s debut album ‘High Voltage.’

However, it seems there is also another lesser-known fact about ‘High Voltage.’ According to Pop Matters, the audience noise from the music video for ‘High Voltage’ was stolen from George Harrison’s live album titled ‘Concert For Bangladesh.’ Following this incident, the director Larry Larstead, who worked with AC/DC for the ‘High Voltage’ music video, apologized to George Harrison for stealing the audience noise, as he revealed in his book.

You can watch the music video for AC/DC’s ‘High Voltage’ below.