AC/DC's Concert History
Opera House, Sydney, Australia
Sunday, May 26, 1974
Set List:
Concert Notes:
2SM free concert - Supporting Stevie Wright
AC/DC turn an invitation into a big break as they take to the stage at Sydney's Opera House in support of Stevie Wright. 2,500 are in attendance, but thousands more are reportedly turned away never to see the performance that prompts "Go-Set" to label the band "a force to be reckoned with."
Myself and my girlfriend Denise were part of the crowd waiting outside and hoping to get in.
I was 14, Denise 15, and we had travelled into the City by train from Liverpool with a couple of other friends.
This was a free concert and there were heaps of people lining up and just hoping they would get in.
2SM were becoming reknown for both their free and large scale outdoor concerts, so it was also exciting to be part of that.
We'd been in the queue for a while, and then the two of us were allowed through, our other friends missed out.
I'd been to the Opera House before, my father had worked on the building. He was a French Polisher.
I also went to the official opening, so the venue itself was pretty special to me.
We sat down near the stage, maybe 4 or 5 rows back, but on the right side from the middle.
We were all there to see Stevie Wright do the full version of Evie and had no idea about this other group AC/DC.
They came out to a quiet cheer, and then they started to play...there was this kid with skinny legs, he looked as though he had just come from school. He was moving around the stage like Chuck Berry, I even think they may have done a Chuck Berry song or two, and then they played their own song "Can I Sit Next To You Girl".
I remember joining in with the chant, yelling out "Can I Sit Next to You" but saying boy and not girl.
Denise and I felt that these guys were good, no they were great!!! and we stood up to give a standing ovation...
We looked around and nobody else was standing, but we figured this band, with the kid, deserved all the applause we could give...so we continued 😊
I should add that the photo linked to this date could almost be of the back of my head...
From that day onwards I was smitten. Here was this band that played music with a great feel, and beat, along with the crazy kid who could play guitar.
It was great Aussie music that us girls could really get into.
Music was my "thing", so we sat and enjoyed the powerful performance by Stevie Wright. The passion and pain came from his heart, and we cried silent tears as the words "Ohhhh Evie, I'm nothing without you..."
Denise and I left the Opera House when the show finished, we were blissfully high on the performances we had seen.
AC/DC had a presence, a great sound, and that cheeky school kid. The lead singer, Dave Evans, was a handsome man, all dressed in satin, so we thought that they dressed up like other bands of the day, Skyhooks, Mother Goose, Split Enz and so on.
I found out that they were releasing a single, so every day or so I checked in with Boyden's Record Store (at Liverpool) to see if they had received any stock yet.
Within a few weeks the single arrived, and I became the proud owner of the single of the band that we saw for free on that day at the Opera House in 1974.
I also still have that record, and it's in very good condition, like all of my vinyl, and unless someone is prepared to pay $10,000 for it, I guess the 7" vinyl, and my story will be something for my family to enjoy.
A PS, one of our history teachers from school, Mrs Irina White, was married to Mr David White, a 2SM DJ and Manly supporter, " The Mighty Whitey"...she had backstage access and took one or two kids from our school with her to the concert as well.
So there's my first AC/DC story, and my most recent one occurred on Sunday night 6 December 2015 at Ethiad Stadium in Melbourne, some 41 years later...
Life is Good...Let There Be Rock 😈
Credits:
Notes thanks to .
Attendees:
RosieRazor
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