Formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1973, AC/DC is one of the best-selling bands of all time, with an estimated 200 million records sold worldwide. However, like any band, they had to work incredibly hard to achieve this success. After all, ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top,’ isn’t it? In the 70s, before the release of their acclaimed albums, AC/DC supported many bands, because it was one of the only ways back then to reach new audiences.
The curious thing is that they were the opening acts for many bands who would become even bigger later or that nowadays would certainly be AC/DC’s opening act. So we selected 20 groups that the Australian Hard Rock group opened for.
20 famous bands that AC/DC opened for before they were big
Lou Reed (1974)
Yes, that’s right. AC/DC really was Lou Reed‘s opening act back in 1974. It was the band’s first major tour at Sydney’s Hordern Pavillion. They supported Stevie Wright (Australian singer) and the former Velvet Underground frontman on eight dates. Curiously, it was during the stop in Adelaide that they met their future vocalist Bon Scott for the first time.
Without Bon Scott obviously AC/DC wasn’t still that powerful, but the Young brothers were already showing what they could do.
Suzi Quatro (1976)
Two years later, they opened for the influential American singer and bassist Suzi Quatro. The show happened at the Rhein-Ruhr-Halle in Duisburg for the “Bravo Disco” concert. Other support acts that night were Slik and Shaun Cassidy.
At the time AC/DC already had their first classic line-up with Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Bon Scott, Phil Rudd and Mark Evans.
Rainbow (1976)
Although AC/DC was a few times older than Rainbow in 1976, the Ritchie Blackmore band already was known not only for the famous previous Deep Purple guitarist. But also for their praised first two albums with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. At the time AC/DC was invited to be their opening act in Europe and Dio would say a few decades later that the Australian band really impressed them. But the guitarist Ritchie Blackmore said a few times he is not a big fan of the band.
In an interview available on Deep Purple’s official channel (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), Dio said: Bon was one of the badass people I’ve ever known in my life. He was not only badass, he was a great guy. He toured with us when I was in Rainbow, they were our opening act, AC/DC. Cozy (Powell) and I were knocked out every night.”
Black Oak Arkansas, Ted Nugent and Brand X (1976)
Also in 1976, AC/DC had the chance to be in the line-up of the famous Reading Festival. They played on the third day, which was headlined by the American band Black Oak Arkansas.
They played before Ted Nugent and Brand X, which was a band the drummer Phil Collins was part of when he had spare time from Genesis.
In 1979 they would again open for Ted Nugent at the Madison Square Garden. It would be the first time the band played in that venue.
Kiss (1977)
The amount of bands which would become huge that opened for Kiss in the 70s is insane and AC/DC is one of them. The Australian group was the opening of the American band in 1977 during the “Alive II” tour.
They were invited to go on the road with them after the bassist and singer Gene Simmons had the chance to see them performing in a club in the United States. A few years ago he was asked which was the best band that opened for Kiss and his choice was AC/DC.
“Best set? AC/DC on their first tour. A band that didn’t pay attention, shares the same philosophy. No matter what any other band is doing, thine own self be true. I’ve said it before bit it’s more truer now than ever. A lot of the people look the same and act the same and do the same thing. Rap, country — there’s a lot of sameness going on. Every once in a while, you see a band like AC/DC. Nobody’s like them,” Gene Simmons told SiriusXM in 2018.
Black Sabbath (1977)
In 1977, when Black Sabbath was promoting their album “Technical Ecstasy” (1976), AC/DC toured with the band but things didn’t end up well. They were kicked out of that tour because of a discussion between Malcolm Young and Geezer Butler.
There are a few versions of it, one given by Mark Evans, who says Malcolm for some reason knocked out Geezer but Butler himself said that nobody got hurt. In an interview with Classic Rock back in 2016, Geezer affirmed he never pulled a knife to threaten Malcolm Young. “No, I didn’t pull a knife.”
“I always had flick-knives when I was growing up, because everybody used to go around stabbing each other in Aston. Flick-knives were banned in England, but when we were playing in Switzerland I bought one. I was just flicking it, when Malcolm Young came up to me and started slagging Sabbath…”
Aerosmith (1977 and 1978)
Another famous group that AC/DC opened for in 1977 was Aerosmith, who helped them a lot. They opened the shows of the American band in Europe and would also open a few shows for them in the United States the following year.
They got along so well and Steven Tyler helped them so much that he was their choice to induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2003. During his speech he said: “AC/DC is the ultimate finger aimed at the establishment”.
Curiously, the 1978 show, when they opened for Aerosmith at the Long Beach Arena in California, was the first one the Metallica co-founder James Hetfield ever went to in his life.
Foreigner (1977 and 1978)
Another band AC/DC opened for in 1977 and 1978 was Foreigner which was also younger than the Australian group but already had really famous records. Apparently, in 1978 Foreigner was not happy with AC/DC being part of the Summer Jam festival which also had Aerosmith.
But Steven Tyler defended them at the time saying that Aerosmith would be out of the festival if they dropped AC/DC from the bill. That was one of the many times Tyler helped the band. So that’s why the Young brothers were so grateful to him and Aerosmith.
Alice Cooper (1978)
In 1978, AC/DC was promoting their praised album “Powerage” and they had the chance to be Alice Cooper‘s opening act. At the time the godfather of Shock Rock music already was quite famous and known for the theatrical elements of his live show.
Blue Öyster Cult (1978)
Also during their tour to promote “Powerage” in 1978, AC/DC had the chance to be the opening act for the American band Blue Öyster Cult. According to BÖC’s singer and guitarist Eric Bloom the Australian band wasn’t very happy at the time. The reason was because they didn’t get all the lights and sound they wanted.
He recalled that in an interview with Classic Rock in 2020, saying: “They were pissed off at the time that they didn’t get all the lights and sound and whatever.”
Thin Lizzy (1978)
Another incredible band AC/DC opened for in 1978 was the Irish group Thin Lizzy, led by the late legendary bassist and singer Phil Lynnot.
At the time AC/DC already had changed their line-up, replacing the bassist Mark Evans. Cliff Williams was the chosen one and he was part of the band until recently when he decided to retire.
Journey (1979)
In 1979, AC/DC had the chance to be the opening act for Journey, band led by the guitarist Neal Schon and vocalist Steve Perry. The American singer always praised the late singer Bon Scott and said they blew Journey off stage every night during those shows.
In an official statement for Bon Scott’s website, Perry recalled the experience of seeing him singing live and described his voice as a cross between “Steve Marriott and a cat”.
“I walked over to stage left to see what the heck was happening. There he was, Bon Scott with a bottle of Jack, no shirt, Levis and cowboy boots. (He was) singing like a cross between Steve Marriott and a Cat. His voice was so fucking powerful that he changed me for ever. He lived what he was,” Steve Perry said.
UFO (1979)
AC/DC was the opening act for the British Hard Rock band UFO in 1979 when the band led by Phil Mogg was selling millions of copies of their praised live album “Strangers in the Night”, released during the same year.
During that tour Michael Schenker already wasn’t part of the band. Besides Phil Mogg, the line-up had: Paul Chapman (Guitar), Pete Way (Bass), Paul Raymond (Keyboards, guitar) and Andy Parker (Drums).
Cheap Trick (1979)
In 1979, AC/DC opened for the American band Cheap Trick and they got along really well.
The Australian band even would appear often during the encore and they would perform together Chuck Berry’s classic “Johnny B. Goode”.
The Who (1979)
Also in 1979, AC/DC had the chance to open for The Who, only a year after the group tragically lost their drummer Keith Moon at the age of 32. The show happened at Nuremberg, Germany during the Open Air Festival. That bill also had Scorpions and Cheap Trick (Which played before AC/DC).
Heart and Nazareth (1979)
AC/DC was part of the line-up of the Mississippi River Jam II in 1979. They played that day before Heart, UFO and Nazareth.
The festival happened at the John O’Donnell Stadium in Davenport, Iowa.
Rolling Stones (2003)
With the release of “Highway To Hell” and “Back In Black” AC/DC would never have to be an opening act for no one else. However, in 2003 they accepted The Rolling Stones invitation. They opened their show at the O.Vision Zukunft Spark in Oberhausen, Germany. It was the first of four concerts supporting them during that year.
Angus & Malcolm Young would also go on stage with the Stones to perform “Rock Me Baby” on each date. They are all good friends and Keith Richards is a huge fan of the group.