ac dc stiff upper lip world tour 2000

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How Brotherly Love Got AC/DC Back to Basics on ‘Stiff Upper Lip’

AC/DC rocked back into action with Stiff Upper Lip on Feb. 28, 2000, almost exactly a quarter century since the release of their Australia-only debut High Voltage . This 13th studio album proved once again that millenniums could come and go, but it would take a lot more than some silly Y2K hysteria to slow down this hard-rock institution.

In fact, that textbook AC/DC approach to blue-collar rock 'n' roll on steroids was never more in evidence than on Stiff Upper Lip . This was likely because, for the first time in 12 years and only the second time in 20, guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young were leaning on their elder brother George to handle production duties, just as he had (alongside longtime Easybeats partner Harry Vanda) for the group’s first handful of career-defining LPs back in the late '70s.

This decision to go back to the basics was not one taken lightly, but rather one specifically motivated by AC/DC’s dissatisfaction with producer Rick Rubin during the protracted Ballbreaker sessions five years earlier. Though it was hard to argue with the results , Rubin’s exacting perfectionism and snail-paced recording style simply rubbed singer Brian Johnson , bassist Cliff Williams, drummer Phil Rudd  and especially the Young brothers the wrong way.

It’s therefore no wonder that reconnecting with George for Stiff Upper Lip brought forth some of Malcolm and Angus’ most direct, unencumbered and unembellished songwriting instincts. The dozen tracks they captured in a matter of weeks at Vancouver, Canada’s Warehouse Studios notably replaced unbridled bombast with unusual restraint that, in many ways, harked back to the band’s founding musical principles. Tellingly, Warehouse became AC/DC’s go-to recording studio thereafter.

Watch AC/DC Perform 'Satellite Blues'

Sure, the first single and title track possessed the requisite double-entendres, irresistible chorus and clever music video that was naturally expected from AC/DC. But such predictable, if tried-and-tested, musical tricks were in short supply thereafter – despite the urgent charge of second single “Safe in New York City” (which predated the events of 9/11 by some 18 months), “Give it Up” and even the catchy third single “Satellite Blues.”

Instead, AC/DC presented a slew of decidedly understated standouts (“Can’t Hold Me Back,” “Can’t Stand Still,” “All Screwed Up”), consistently deliberate tempos (“House of Jazz,” “Can’t Stop Rock ’n’ Roll,” “Damned”), and some of the downright bluesiest licks ever heard in the band’s long, long career (“Meltdown,” “Come and Get It” and, again, “Satellite Blues”).

At first, it seemed fans needed a little more time to be convinced of the group’s surprisingly spartan approach on Stiff Upper Lip , which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard charts after shifting 130,000 units in its first week. That's comparably modest by AC/DC standards, seeing as Black Ice would sell more on its first day in 2008.

Once the band's formidable touring machine finally kicked into gear that August, however, nearly 140 shows spread over the ensuing 12 months duly pushed Stiff Upper Lip beyond AC/DC’s customary platinum sales plateau.

In other words, AC/DC had once again triumphed by simply being themselves.

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24 Years Ago: AC/DC Bring Back the Grit on ‘Stiff Upper Lip’

Happy anniversary to AC/DC 's Stiff Upper Lip .

Before AC/DC started working on the follow-up to their 12th U.S. album Ballbreaker , the band members agreed they didn’t want to return to the meticulous, demanding work ethic of the Rick Rubin-produced disc. Not that there was anything wrong with the songs on Ballbreaker per se, but in the studio Rubin was a perfectionist, and asked the band to do as many as 50 takes of some of the songs, a move that left the Australian legends frustrated and exhausted.

So for album No. 13, Stiff Upper Lip , which came out Feb. 28, 2000, AC/DC decided to get back to their down and dirty roots, writing and recording quickly to recapture the bluesy, blustery and immediate vibe of their first few albums.

“We really wanted to write a basic hard rock and roll album that had a toe tapping kind of swing to it,” guitarist Angus Young told me shortly before the album was released. “I really think less is best when you make a record. As more technology comes into the recording process there’s always that temptation to dabble, and that’s what we ended up doing with Ballbreaker ."

AC/DC, "Stiff Upper Lip" Music Video

“I’ve always looked at that as a quick fix,” he continued. “Instead of going in and getting your mikes set up and getting a great drum sound, then playing, these guys go, ‘Oh, you have to have ‘X’ effects gadget number 52. We’ve got the Austrian Alp drum sound here.’ Even the names of some of these gadgets are hilarious. The one that I’ve always remembered is the old Big Bottom Exciter. And somebody told me the guy actually came up with the name as a joke after a heavy night of drinking. And he panicked when he came out of his hangover and went running up the road yelling, ‘No, I didn’t mean it!’ So, I’ve always viewed a lot of gadgetry and toys and stuff as something that can be a distraction and not help you at all. You’ve really got to try to work with the environment you’re in and make the best thing you can without all the bells and whistles.”

To help recapture the no-frills rock and roll foundation they started with, AC/DC hired producer George Young -- brother of Angus and rhythm guitarist Malcolm, multi-instrumentalist for Australian band the Easybeats and co-producer of AC/DC’s first four international releases – to work with them on the album. Not only did was Young able to tap back into the recording style he weaned the band on, he was able to generate a new enthusiasm in the studio.

“From the very early years, George was instrumental in helping us find out sound,” Angus Young said. “When Malcolm and myself were kids George showed us what we could do in the studio. He showed us a lot of the basic stuff, and he was always great -- helping with the songs and explaining everything. When you’re a young kid, you don’t know the difference between a verse and a chorus, let alone a drum break or a middle eight. He helped with a lot of that stuff. But he also gave us that room to be who we wanted to be -- not a hit producer’s idea of what he thought we should be. It just made sense to work with him again because he’s literally family and he knows us better than anyone and that made the whole process really fun.”

AC/DC, "Safe In New York City" Music Video

It actually wasn’t until 1979, six years after their formation, that AC/DC worked with a producer besides Young — Mutt Lange — on 1979’s Highway to Hell . They remained with Lange until 1983’s Flick of the Switch , which they self-produced. All of the Youngs enjoyed the reunion for Stiff Upper Lip , and Angus said it was George Young, himself, who suggested AC/DC start, errr, seeing other people.

“He thought it would be really good for us to see how different producers work,” Young explained, "‘Look, it’s good experience. There are a lot of people out there who know rock and roll, and have different ways of doing it.’ But he always kept a hand in it. Whenever we were writing he would always say, 'What’d’ya got? What are you up to?’”

AC/DC started writing Stiff Upper Lip in March 1998 and spent 18 months coming up with the songs. Ironically, the band put in extra time because some of the material they worked on sounded too calculated or a bit too lightweight. They wanted to make sure that everything on the album sounded hard-hitting and impulsive.

“A lot of clean, soft things were becoming popular while we were writing so we went for something dirty and sleazy,” Young said. “We just felt like the world was getting a bit sterile of late, so let’s give them a good ol' wham, bam, rock 'n' roll album. That’s what we concentrated on. In our case, we’ve deliberately done things just to go against the grain.”

AC/DC recorded Stiff Upper Lip in Vancouver at Bryan Adams’ Warehouse Studio. The band entered in September 1999 with 18 songs and emerged three months later, having tracked 13, including the non-CD track “Cyberspace.” The main objective during the sessions was to maintain a strong and primitive energy. “It’s basically bare bones stuff and it’s cooking,” Young said. “If a guitar solo came winging out of somewhere and it smokes, it adds to the atmosphere. We didn’t overthink anything. We got into each track with, ‘One, two, three, four!’ And off you go!”

“One of the most exciting things to see is Angus doing a lead,” vocalist Brian Johnson added. “And it’s not in the way you’d think. Angus had one of those wheelie office chairs in the studio, and the floor was beautiful, shiny wood. Angus would be playing, and he’d get excited as we all did when we did our bits. The f---ing chair wouldn’t stand still! He was playing, and the thing would fly down the hallway. It’s an experience to see that, I gotta tell you. And it was great to watch George when he would hear the magic take George is very quiet, and usually he just sits there. But boy, when he hears the right thing, he’s up on his feet. shouting… That’s rock and roll right there!”

READ MORE: How Old Legendary Rockers Were When They Made Their Masterpiece

Upon its release, Stiff Upper Lip debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard album charts, selling 130,000 copies in its first week. Bolstered by the singles " Stiff Upper Lip " and " Safe in New York City ," over the next year, the album went platinum. That was also thanks in part to a rigorous touring schedule, which considered of more than 130 shows in just 12 months. The frantic pace took its toll; it would be another eight years before AC/DC released their 14th international album Black Ice , which came out in 2008 and put the band right back at the top of the hard rock hierarchy.

Loudwire contributor Jon Wiederhorn is the author of  Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends , co-author of  Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal , as well as the co-author of Scott Ian’s autobiography,  I’m the Man: The Story of That Guy From Anthrax , and Al Jourgensen’s autobiography,  Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen  and the Agnostic Front book  My Riot! Grit, Guts and Glory .

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Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff

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2000 'Stiff Upper Lip" North American Tour, Leg 1

Thu. 14 sep. 2000 : las vegas, nv usa (thomas & mack arena).

Coming soon.

Supported by: Slash's Snakepit

Tickets: $35.00 / 45.00

Promoter: Evening Star Productions

Capacity: 12,598

Attendance: 9,456

Fan reviews:

By Colin Hartridge, : Last week was my 50th birthday, and being a long time AC/DC fan, I wanted to do something memorable for my b-day. I booked a room at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and went to the AC/DC show at Thomas & Mack Center. All I gotta say is that I had a **FANTASTIC** 50th birthday celebration, one of the best vacations I've ever had! The concert sound was of course what you'd expect to hear in an arena, but the band worked with it in their favor, to churn out some good old fashioned, loud & proud 70s Arena Rock. I wasn't disappointed in any way -- the lighting, special effects and musicianship were world class, and any reports of AC/DC being "tired old geezers just going through the motions" is crap, pure and simple. These guys were absolutely killer -- and Malcolm Young's guitar sound can STILL peel paint! :))) Yow! I'd seen AC/DC about 22 years ago in Vancouver when Bon Scott was the lead singer (they opened for Aerosmith), and Angus Young has no less energy today than he did back then. The guy's a powerhouse. Someone who was sitting beside me hit the nail on the head as far as Angus's guitar influence, though: listen closely to his solos and you can hear echoes of the ever-lovin' ALVIN LEE! I'm not kidding! The only glitch occurred as a result of the fact that I had ordered my ticket online through tickets.com, and like a dummy I'd ordered the $35 seats instead of the $45 seats. Bad move! Well, when I got to the arena, my seat was the VERY last row up in the nosebleeds -- I couldn't have picked a shittier seat if I'd tried my damnedest!! I said to myself, "Self -- this well and truly SUCKS!", and I tracked down the venue's Guest Services counter to see if I could exchange my ticket for a better one. As luck would have it, they did have a few single seats still available: one right beside the stage and one at the back above the soundboard. One of the gals at the Guest Services even went to the trouble to take me down to the first choice seat, to see if I liked it! (She said, "No problem!") Fortunately I picked the seat by the soundboard for SOUND reasons (I only had to pay the difference of $10), and had the pleasure of seeing every single detail of all the lighting effects, Jumbotron, big cannons etc. as if it was a private show for yours truly. Many thanks go to the nice gals at Thomas & Mack for letting me upgrade my seat! It had to be the best seat in the house! The show was a rocker, just the way I like it!

By Paul Stackhouse, : Damn I hate "For Those About To Rock..." The only sure thing about an AC/DC concert is when you hear the intro to this, the night is almost over. 8 times now I have seen the band since the FTATR Tour back in '82, the previous 7 in the UK, and every time they have closed with this song, and every time the crown are left hoping, praying, begging for more!!! As others have noted, the guys are definitely getting better with age. The sound was much better that last time I saw them ('96 in Brian's home town of Newcastle-upon Tyne, not Edinburgh as one reviewer said) His voice was much stronger and the sound in general was clearer. The three "new" songs that they played (Stiff Upper Lip, Safe In New York City and Meltdown were, in my opinion, the weakest of the set. The opening Riffs of SINYC are great, but the song itself, as with the other two, didn't come over as well as some of the older stuff. The set list was in keeping with other gigs. I though that the arena was good - I had flown in from Portland, Oregon for the show - if the mountain won't come to Mohammed and all that!! and the show was fantastic. The lights, pyrotechnics etc were good. Highlight songs for me were "Shoot to Thrill", "Dirty Deeds", "Bad Boy Boogie". I would have liked to have seen "High Voltage" and half expected "Sin City" given the venue. Still the weekend in Vegas was a bonus - I reckon that AC/DC were the only genuine thing in Vegas though - Slash and his band were just 30+ minutes of screaming and swearing (calling the crowd MotherF#@$%@#S ad nauseum) Brian on the other hand spent 2 hours coaxing and working with the crowd. I don't think I saw 1 girl with original tits (including the 2 or 3 who got them out for the crowd during "The Jack"). The whole town is just unreal!! Still seeing AC/DC again was fantastic, for those of you reading this who have never seen them, or who are not sure about going to see them, read all of these reviews and believe it, THEY ARE THE BEST LIVE BAND IN THE WORLD PERIOD. Here's hoping that they tour again, soon!!!!!

All AC/DC concerts in Las Vegas, NV

• 11 Aug. 1986: Las Vegas, Thomas & Mack Center
• 21 Jun. 1988: Las Vegas, Thomas & Mack Center
• 24 Jul. 1988: Las Vegas, Thomas & Mack Center
• 17 Aug. 1996: Las Vegas, Thomas & Mack Arena
• 14 Sep. 2000: Las Vegas, Thomas & Mack Arena
• 9 Apr. 2010: Las Vegas, MGM Grand Garden Arena
• 5 Feb. 2016: Las Vegas, MGM Grand Garden Arena

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Stiff Upper Lip

For anyone suffering a bout of post-millennial malaise, Stiff Upper Lip was a reminder that unhinged, elemental rock 'n' roll was the cure. While the blues were never too far from the surface in the band's strutting, cocksure discography–there was a touch more of the bayou here than anything since the Bon Scott era. Brian Johnson kicks off the album at least two octaves below his normal growl, before Malcolm comes in with a greasy riff and just like that–the band is blasting out another fist-hammering classic, "Stiff Upper Lip." No true fan of the band would tell you that AC/DC is about reinvention. They are about unwavering passion and belief in the power of rock 'n' roll. You can hear it in "Can't Stand Still"–a forceful boogie rock number where even the band itself has to applaud Angus' work at the end. The mid-album peak of "Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll" is not only a musical highlight but its message seems to define the band itself.

February 28, 2000 12 Songs, 47 minutes ℗ 2000 Leidseplein Presse B.V.

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We found the best prices for ac/dc european tour with the pretty reckless.

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For those about to rock, we’re here to help you find tickets.

From May through August, AC/DC is embarking on their European ‘Power Up Tour’ in support of their 2020 album with special guest The Pretty Reckless where they’ll perform in countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, France, and more.

“We are thrilled to finally announce the Power Up European Tour,” the band shared on X , formerly Twitter.

“Angus (Young), Brian (Johnson), Stevie (Young), and Matt (Laug) will be joined by (former Jane’s Addiction bassist) Chris Chaney to carry the torch for Cliff (Williams).”

This summer run will be the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band’s first time official trek since the 2016 ‘Rock Or Bust World Tour.’

Most recently, the “Thunderstruck” rockers dusted off their guitars for the 2023 Power Trip Festival where they performed alongside heavy mainstays Metallica , Tool , Iron Maiden , Guns N’ Roses, and Judas Priest .

And if you want to see them live overseas this summer, we found tickets for a handful of gigs.

At the time of publication, prices start at $103 USD before fees on Vivid Seats.

Other shows have tickets starting anywhere from $104 to $529 before fees.

Want to take the “Highway To Hell” with Angus, Brian, and the band?

We’ve got everything you need to know and more about AC/DC’s 2024 European ‘Power Up Tour’ below.

All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.

AC/DC European tour tickets 2024

A complete breakdown of all AC/DC concert dates, venues and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found here:

(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and include additional fees at checkout .)

Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand. 

They offer a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and your tickets will be delivered prior to the event.

AC/DC set list

On Oct. 7, 2023, AC/DC played their first show in over seven years at Power Trip.

Although it was a festival gig, they didn’t skimp and played 24 tracks.

Here’s what they took to the stage that night, courtesy of Set List FM .

01.) “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” 02.) “Back in Black” 03.) “Demon Fire” 04.) “Shot Down in Flames” 05.) “Thunderstruck” 06.) “Have a Drink on Me” 07.) “Hells Bells” 08.) “Shot in the Dark” 09.) “Stiff Upper Lip” 10.) “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” 11.) “Shoot to Thrill” 12.) “Sin City” 13.) “Givin the Dog a Bone” 14.) “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” 15.) “You Shook Me All Night Long” 16.) “Dog Eat Dog” 17.) “High Voltage” 18.) “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” 19.) “Riff Raff” 20.) “Highway to Hell” 21.) “Whole Lotta Rosie” 22.) “Let There Be Rock”

23.) “T.N.T.” 24.) “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

AC/DC new music

Way back in November 2020, AC/DC dropped “POWER UP.”

Their 17th studio album — comprised of 12 raucous tracks — fits right in with the band’s earlier output.

Rockin’ bangers like “Realize,” “Shot In The Dark” and “Wild Reputation” are on par with anthems like “Dirt Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” and “T.N.T.”

This is truly a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of record.

If you want to have your face melted off by the Aussie rockers once again, you can find “POWER UP” here .

AC/DC band members

According to the band’s statement on social media, here’s who you’ll see onstage — maybe even in their trademark schoolboy uniforms — should you catch them live in Europe.

Angus Young lead guitar, occasional backing vocals (1973–present) Brian Johnson lead vocals (1980–2016, 2018–present) Stevie Young rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2014–present; touring 1988) Matt Laug drums (2023–present) Chris Chaney bass guitar (2024–present)

The Pretty Reckless

At all shows, AC/DC will be joined by frontwoman Taylor Momsen’s band.

Formed in 2009, the hard rockin’ group is known for megahits like “Heaven Knows” and “Make Me Wanna Die.”

If you want to hear them for yourself, you can find The Pretty Reckless’ complete discography here .

Hard rockers on tour in 2024

Can’t make it to Europe?

That’s totally cool — many of the heaviest acts around are touring all over North America this year.

Here are just five of our favorites you won’t want to miss live.

•  Metallica

•  Iron Maiden

•  Judas Priest

• Alice Cooper with Rob Zombie

•  ZZ Top with Lynyrd Skynyrd

Who else is on the road? Check out our list of the 50 biggest concert tours in 2024 here to find out.

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