Classic Rock
AC/DC reveals the rejected Highway to Hell original cover
AC/DC continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Highway To Hell, one of its most iconic records. The band released on Instagram the original cover of the album, which was rejected by the label Atlantic Records at the time of release in 1979. In the end, the art was used only in the Australian version of the album.
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On the post they said:
In the original art, the AC/DC logo is darker, and the disc title written in yellow on the neck of a bass. Also, of course, the familiar fan photo is on fire.
The album
It was the band’s fifth studio album released internationally and the sixth to be released in Australia. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died early the following year on 19 February 1980.
By 1978, AC/DC had released five albums internationally and had toured Australia and Europe extensively. In 1977, they landed in America and, with virtually no radio support, began to amass a live following.
The band’s most recent album, the live If You Want Blood, had reached number 13 in Britain, and the two albums previous to that, 1977’s Let There Be Rock and 1978’s Powerage, had seen the band find their raging, blues-based hard rock sound.
Although the American branch of Atlantic Records had rejected the group’s 1976 LP Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, it now believed the band was poised to strike it big in the States if only they would work with a producer who could give them a radio-friendly sound
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