AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' Video Surpasses One Billion Views On YouTube

AC/DC's music video for the song "Thunderstruck" has surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The David Mallet-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in November of 2012, was filmed at London's Brixton Academy on August 17, 1990. The audience members were given free t-shirts with the words "AC/DC - I was Thunderstruck" on the front and the date on the back, and these t-shirts were worn by the entire audience throughout the filming of the video.

"Thunderstruck" was the lead single from AC/DC's 1990 album "The Razors Edge". The song reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

In the 2003 re-release of "The Razors Edge", AC/DC guitarist Angus Young explained in the liner notes how the song came about: "It started off from a little trick that I had on guitar. I played it to Mal [AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young] and he said, 'Oh, I've got a good rhythm idea that will sit well in the back.' We built the song up from that. We fiddled about with it for a few months before everything fell into place. Lyrically, it was really just a case of finding a good title, something along the lines of 'Powerage' or 'Highway To Hell'. We came up with this thunder thing and it seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That's the basic idea."

"Thunderstruck" joins other hard rock and heavy metal artists who have made it to the Billion Views Club: METALLICA ("Nothing Else Matters"),GUNS N' ROSES ("Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain"),LINKIN PARK ("Numb") and QUEEN ("Bohemian Rhapsody").

AC/DC's latest album "Power Up", was released in November 2020. The LP features AC/DC's current lineup of Brian Johnson (vocals),Phil Rudd (drums),Cliff Williams (bass),Angus Young (guitar) and Stevie Young (guitar). It was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and 2014's "Rock Or Bust".

"Power Up" landed at the No. 1 spot in 18 countries, including in the U.S., where it sold over 117,000 copies in the first week. "Power Up" marked AC/DC's sixth No. 1 album in Australia where the band is the only Australian group in history to have had a No. 1 album across five decades: "Back In Black" (1980s),"Ballbreaker Live" (1990s),"Black Ice" (2000s),"Rock Or Bust" (2010s) and "Power Up" (2020s).

"Power Up" was the fastest-selling album of 2020 in at least three of its biggest markets — U.S., Australia and the U.K. — where it debuted at No. 1.