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People are only just realising how iconic rock band AC/DC got their name

Home> Entertainment> Music

Updated 00:15 28 May 2024 GMT+1Published 20:39 27 May 2024 GMT+1

People are only just realising how iconic rock band AC/DC got their name

The meaning behing AC/DC's name has been infront of us all this time

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

Pretty much anyone who's ever picked up an instrument has had the intrusive thought that they ought to start a band.

Even if you've got all the gear and an actual idea of what to do with it, you've then got to come up with the sort of name that people would want to tattoo on themselves.

Coming up with a good name is harder than you think, and sometimes you'll find another band has got there before you.

It's what happened with Blink-182, who were originally called Blink before being told that an Irish band of the same name was threatening to sue them.

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Picking a good name for the band is important, as Dave Grohl has said that he named the Foo Fighters after a World War Two term for UFOs but would probably have picked something different if he'd known how huge they'd become as he thinks it's 'the stupidest f**king band name in the world'.

How do you think they came up with this name? (Francesco Prandoni/Getty Images)
How do you think they came up with this name? (Francesco Prandoni/Getty Images)

Franz Ferdinand got their name from a racehorse named after the Austrian archduke whose assassination kicked off the First World War.

Linkin Park named themselves after Lincoln Park but altered the spelling so they could get the right domain name on the internet, and even Spinal Tap had to put thinking into coming up with a 'suitably duff name'.

Now you know all of this trivia, it's time to tackle what on Earth iconic Australian rock band AC/DC were thinking when they went for that name.

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There's no denying it's a damn cool name, but it had to come from somewhere.

They just about beat the guy from Art Attack to claiming the name. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
They just about beat the guy from Art Attack to claiming the name. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

The answer has been right in front of you this whole time thanks to that lightning bolt in the logo, the name AC/DC comes from electricity.

The AC means alternating current and the DC means direct current, put them together and you have one hell of a rock band.

More specifically, the band name was created in 1973 when Angus and Malcolm Young were shown the 'AC/DC' symbol on the adapter for their sister Margaret's sewing machine.

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Since they wanted to put some energy and power into their performance the name AC/DC seemed pretty damn fitting, and from there a legend was born.

They're not the only ones to come up with the name AC/DC either, as Art Attack host Neil Buchanan's band was called the same thing.

However, they had to change the name after the more famous rock band started getting popular in the UK, switching over to the name 'Marseille'.

Featured Image Credit: Francesco Prandoni/Getty Images/Paul Natkin/Getty Images

Topics: Music, Weird

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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