The guitarist Angus Young formed AC/DC alongside his late brother Malcolm back in 1973 and they became one of the best-selling bands of all time. The Hard Rock group sold an estimated amount of more than 200 million records worldwide and inspired countless generations of musicians with their music.
They are known for being one of the few famous groups that never changed their style. Since the start they play the exact same kind of music. Although Angus always had a broad musical taste, he wasn’t a big fan of a few bands, especially one from the 70s, that he said it was probably boring to watch live.
The band Angus Young said would be boring to watch in the 70s
The 70s certainly was a great decade for Rock and Roll music, when many sub-genres emerged and bands achieved their creative peak, releasing many incredible albums. The British Progressive Rock group Yes was one of those bands but Angus wasn’t really a big fan of their music as he told Classic Rock magazine in 1977.
“I don’t know anybody who’s gone to see any of those serious bands who’ve enjoyed it. They may say it was great, that the music was good, but somewhere during that set they were bored and were too scared to admit it. If I went to see somebody that was ‘musical’, I’d yawn my head off. I’d end up walking out to the bar. Bands like Yes would be a bore to see, unless they had some Sheila strippin’ off.”
He continued:
“Well, even then, Hawkwind done that! That shows ya what they gotta resort to and yet people take them seriously. Yes would probably come on with a fantastic light show. I’ve never seen them, but they probably use a light show to cover up that they’re bored. Their music is borin’, and they’re not makin’ people jump!” Angus Young said.
Yes was formed in 1968, five years before AC/DC. By 1977 they had already released eight studio albums, including the praised “Fragile” (1971) and “Close to the Edge” (1972). The year Angus gave this interview, AC/DC had released their fourth studio album, which was “Let There Be Rock”.
Yes was extremely influential but failed to sell a huge amount of records like AC/DC. They have sold an estimated amount of more than 30 million records worldwide. After their more Prog oriented phase in the late 60s and 70s, the band became more commercial in the 80s and 90s. That was crucial to help them reach a bigger audience.
Like the Hard Rock band, Yes also changed their line-up several times over the decades but continued to be successful. Until now, they released 23 studio albums, the most recent one being “Mirror to the Sky” released in 2023. Nowadays the band is formed by the classic members Steve Howe (Guitar) and Geoff Downes (Keyboards). They are accompanied bby Billy Sheerwood (Bass), Jon Davidson (Vocals) and Jay Schellen (Drums).