Released: 15 August 1983Recorded: Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, April 1983
Label: Albert, Atlantic, Sony
Released in 1983, it followed the highly successful Back in Black and For Those About to Rock albums. Flick of the Switch is the third AC/DC album to feature lead vocalist Brian Johnson, and it is the band's eighth internationally released studio album, the ninth to be released in their native Australia. All songs on the album were composed by guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young and vocalist Johnson. AC/DC returned to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas to record their ninth album, the same studio where they had recorded Back in Black with Robert John "Mutt" Lange in 1980. Lange had produced AC/DC's three previous releases but this time the band chose to produce themselves. The album is notable for its "dry" sound, with very little of the polish that is evident on their previous effort For Those About to Rock We Salute You. The album's birth was a troubled one; after having problems with Malcolm as well as drugs and alcohol, drummer Phil Rudd was fired midway through the album's recording sessions, although he had completed his drum parts. Rudd had been struggling for some time; tour manager Ian Jeffrey recalls getting a phone call from a strung-out Rudd at four in the morning when the band was playing in Nebraska on the Back in Black tour and finding the drummer in his hotel room in a state of disorientated agitation. Eventually Rudd broke down crying and begged Jeffery "Don't tell Malcolm." Jeffery also reveals that Malcolm punched the drummer after he showed up two hours late for the band's show at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum and was unable to play the last song of the encore. The drum position was eventually filled by future Dio drummer Simon Wright after more than 700 auditions were held in the U.S. and UK. Simon Kirke of Free and Bad Company fame, and Paul Thompson of Roxy Music were two of the drummers auditioned. Wright appeared in the videos for "Flick of the Switch", "Nervous Shakedown", and "Guns For Hire". A second video for "Nervous Shakedown" was also shot at a pre-show rehearsal at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. He also toured for the album, and is seen in the pro-shot video recordings from that period. The videos, which were shot in an aircraft-hangar sized area, seemed to reflect the stripped-down sound of the album and flew in the face of the growing infatuation that the music business was developing with the glitz of MTV.
Band members:
Brian Johnson – lead vocals
Phil Rudd – drums
Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
Angus Young – lead guitar
Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
