Music Diary – 20th September

Welcome to my Music Diary – today for the 20th September!

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)

On the 20th September 1976 the third studio album „‚Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ by AC/DC was released. But NOT in the USA! The American fans had to wait until 27th March 1981 – one year after the passing of singer Bon Scott and during „Back in Black“ charted worldwide. So it’s not suprising that „‚Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ has been certified six times Platinum in the United States (sold more than six million copies) after the successful comeback album „Back in Black“ (one of the best selling albums in music history) with new singer Brian Johnson was released just one year earlier in Summer 1980. So „Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ became the third highest sold AC/DC album in the USA (after „Highway To Hell‚ and ‚Back In Black“).

There are some interesting things about the release of „Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ – read more about this (different covers, song listings etc.) in my AC/DC category here!

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AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Malcolm Young, Mark Evans, Bon Scott, Angus Young, Phil Rudd

In 1976 the third AC/DC album was released. „Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap„. And like the last LPs „High Voltage“ and „T.N.T.“ this one was also edited in two versions for Australia and the rest of the world.

The Australian album was released on the 20th September 1976. It features nine songs, two of them were only available on this version for a long time. These tracks are „R.I.P. (Rock in Peace)“ and „Jailbreak“.

The international version of „Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ has also nine songs, but a different track listing. „Rocker“ from the „T.N.T.“ album is here included and also the song „Love at first Feel„. Interesting, because this tune was in Australia released one year later as a single with „Problem Child“ on the B-side.

Talking about delays:
It took almost five years that „Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ was also finally available in the USA. The LP hit the stores on 27th March 1981 – one year after the tragic death of singer Bon Scott. So it is not a big surprise that many people were completely confused that time after the megaseller „Back in Black“ with the new singer Brian Johnson on vocals entered the charts worldwide.

Remarkable:
As already mentioned before, the cover of the two versions are completely different. The Australian edition features a comic drawing of Bon Scott and Angus Young (as you can see listed below). The international version has a cover from Hipgnoisis, an  English art design group based in London. This company did also remarkable sleeves for bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Genesis, just to name a few.

Lost song:
During the recording sessions for „Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap“ the song „I’m a Rebel“ was recorded. The lyrics were written by the Young brothers Angus, Malcolm and Alex. Unfortunately this track was never released by AC/DC, but two versions appeared over the years: The German Metal band Accept covered this rarity for their album of the same name.

And finally also the version with Alex Young on lead vocals (backing by AC/DC and Bon Scott) can be found on the internet – here it is:

Get your copies here (Europe/Germany):

 

Get your copies here (USA):