Proceedings of the 24th Association of Public Authority Surveyors Conference (APAS2019) Pokolbin, New South Wales, Australia, 1-3 April 2019 Let There Be Rock: The AC/DC Phenomenon Volker Janssen APAS Publications Officer
[email protected] ABSTRACT In a successful career spanning more than 45 years, AC/DC have persistently ignored trends in popular music and resolutely stuck to their bluesy, stripped-to-the-bone brand of high- voltage rock ’n’ roll. This paper investigates the AC/DC phenomenon by examining song lyrics and connotations, the band’s work rate, and the vocalist debate (Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson). Furthermore, a group of 82 hardcore fans is examined to get a better understanding of their passion for the band, and it is outlined how the AC/DC brand is increasingly being marketed to a larger consumer base not limited to music lovers. It was found that the word ‘rock’ is by far the most prominent in AC/DC song titles but lyrically almost half of all AC/DC songs revolve around sex. While the frequency of album releases slowed considerably over time, the band generally played 150 live gigs following each studio album. Bon Scott material continues to account for at least 45% of the songs included in typical AC/DC live sets. Analysis of a questionnaire revealed how committed the cohort of hardcore fans is. They generally became serious fans in their early teens, prefer the older material, experienced their first gig during early adulthood and enjoyed up to 124 gigs since. This paper also demonstrates how one can collect, analyse, interpret and present data.