It had been ten long years since the sound of Angus Youngโs Gibson SG last rattled the tartan soul of Scotland. A decade without cannons, duck walks, and โOi! Oi! Oi!โ chants echoing through the valleys. But on this stormy night in Edinburgh, the boys were back in town, and Murrayfield was about to be turned into the biggest, loudest pub gig the country had ever seen.
This wasnโt just a concert โ it was a homecoming of sorts. AC/DC may have been born in Australia, but their DNA is dripping with Scottish heritage. Bon Scott grew up in Kirriemuir, Angus and Malcolm Young were born in Glasgow, and half the songs in their catalogue sound like they couldโve been written after a messy night on the Buckfast.
So when the lights went down and that first riff tore through the stadium, it wasnโt just music โ it was Scotlandโs national electricity bill skyrocketing in real time.
Pre-Show Mayhem: Bagpipes, Pints & Devil Horns
You could feel it hours before the gates opened. The streets of Edinburgh were buzzing with fans in ripped denim jackets plastered with faded patches, schoolboy outfits bought off eBay, and enough red devil horns to make it look like Beelzebub had thrown a stag do in the city centre.
Walking up to Murrayfield, the bagpipers had ditched โScotland the Braveโ in favour of โThunderstruckโ โ which, on a set of pipes, sounds absolutely unhinged but also somehow perfect. Stag dos clashed with families three generations deep, and the pubs within a mile radius were rammed tighter than a Reading Festival portaloo on Sunday morning.
Inside the stadium, it was the usual stadium gig extortion racket:
- ยฃ7.80 for a lukewarm pint of Carling ๐บ
- ยฃ6.50 pies that tasted like theyโd been microwaved since the Black Ice tour ๐ฅง
- Merch stalls flogging ยฃ40 T-shirts, ยฃ90 hoodies, ยฃ25 caps, and a ยฃ15 programme that mostly featured Angus pulling the same three faces heโs pulled since 1975 ๐ค
By 8:15pm, the anticipation was boiling. The crowd โ 67,000 strong โ stomped their feet, chanted โAngus! Angus!โ and waved banners that read things like โScotlandโs on the Highway to Hellโ and โ10 Years Too Bloody Long.โ
Then the lights cut. The screens flickered. And all hell broke loose.
The Setlist: A Riff-Fueled Journey Through Rock History ๐ธ๐ฅ
AC/DC donโt mess about with artsy intros or moody build-ups. They come out, plug in, and set the world on fire. Hereโs how the night went down, song by song, riff by riff.
1. If You Want Blood (Youโve Got It)
An absolute sledgehammer opener. As soon as those opening chords hit, the stadium became a riot. Brian Johnson stomped out in his flat cap looking like a Geordie uncle whoโd just downed six pints, and roared with all the gravelly power of a jet engine.
2. Back in Black
No warm-up needed. Straight into the anthem thatโs sold more copies than pints of Tennents in Scotland. The crowd sang so loud that Brian couldโve gone for a pint and let them handle it.
3. Demon Fire
A newer track off Power Up, and surprisingly, it didnโt feel out of place. Angus ripped a solo that could strip paint off the Forth Bridge.
4. Shot Down in Flames
Vintage AC/DC sleaze. Brian swaggered around, spitting out the lyrics while Angus duck-walked across the entire stage.
5. Thunderstruck
The moment the entire nation had been waiting for. 67,000 people yelling โTHUN-DER!โ in unison was enough to register on the Richter scale. I swear Edinburgh Castle shook.
6. Have a Drink on Me
Felt almost like an instruction to the crowd. Pints flew, beers were downed in one, and at least one kilt went airborne in celebration.
7. Hells Bells
The giant bell descended, tolling doom across Murrayfield. Pure theatre. Everyoneโs necks snapped back as that riff dropped.
8. Shot in the Dark
Another Power Up track โ Brianโs vocals tore through it with surprising ease. Sounded heavier live than on record.
9. Stiff Upper Lip
A cheeky deep cut. The fans lapped it up like Irn-Bru on a hangover.
10. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Brian prowled the stage like a villain in a Carry On film. Everyone shouted โDirty deeds!โ so loud it probably scared pigeons in Glasgow.
11. Shoot to Thrill
One word: carnage. This one turned the stadium into a pit. Moshers went for it, people fell over, and security looked overwhelmed.
12. High Voltage
A beautiful old school nod. Felt like time-travel back to Bon Scottโs heyday.
13. Sin City
Played with a darker, bluesier edge. Murrayfield lapped it up.
14. You Shook Me All Night Long
Every couple in the stadium screamed it like it was their first dance song. Cheesy? Yes. Brilliant? Also yes.
15. Whole Lotta Rosie
Cue the inflatable Rosie bouncing above the stage. She looked more terrifying than ever, towering over the crowd like a demonic Love Island contestant.
16. Let There Be Rock
Angusโs moment. A ten-minute solo where he duck-walked, writhed on the floor, and somehow ended up playing while lying flat on his back. The manโs an alien.
ENCORE:
- Highway to Hell
The place exploded. Brianโs growl, Angusโs riff, 67,000 fists in the air. Utter perfection. - For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
The cannons rolled out, fireworks lit up the Edinburgh night sky, and with every โFIRE!โ the entire stadium shook. There wasnโt a single person not screaming along.
Angus Young: The Eternal Schoolboy ๐๐ฉ
Thereโs no overstating it: Angus is the heart of AC/DC. The manโs 69 years old and still plays like a caffeinated teenager. His duck walk is still absurdly energetic, his solos still face-melting, and his stage presence magnetic.
At one point during โLet There Be Rockโ, he collapsed dramatically on the stage, twitching while shredding, before popping up like Lazarus reborn in a school uniform. The cameras zoomed in on his sweat-drenched blazer, and the crowd went feral.
Brian Johnson: Voice of the Thunder โก๐ค
If anyone doubted Brian could still hack it after his hearing issues, they were silenced. The man sang like his life depended on it. Sure, some high notes were more growl than scream, but thatโs the beauty of AC/DC โ imperfection IS the perfection.
โScotland, itโs been too bloody long!โ he roared. The crowdโs response was deafening. If you werenโt there, imagine 67,000 Glaswegian aunties telling you off for being late to tea.
Crowd Carnage: Kilts, Pints & Inflatable Chaos ๐ฅด๐บ
The Scottish crowd lived up to its reputation. Highlights included:
- A bloke in a kilt crowd-surfing during โT.N.T.โ, mooning half the South Stand.
- A giant inflatable Bon Scott head making its way across the crowd.
- Entire sections pogoing like it was still 1979.
- Random chants of โHere we, here we, here we f***ing go!โ between songs.
- Beer showers so heavy that by the time โThunderstruckโ hit, it felt like indoor rain.
Security spent most of the night either laughing or panicking.
Merch & Money Madness ๐ธ
AC/DC know their worth, and fans happily paid for it:
- Standard T-shirt: ยฃ40
- Tour hoodie: ยฃ90
- Caps: ยฃ25
- Programme: ยฃ15
- Angus devil horns (light-up): ยฃ20
- Beer: ยฃ7.80
- Water: ยฃ3.50 (aye, water more expensive than Irn-Bru)
By mid-gig, half the merch stalls were sold out of small and medium sizes. One fan was tamping when he had to buy a large hoodie that looked like a tent, muttering โonly in Scotland, mun.โ
What Went Wrong? (The Ugly Bits) ๐ฌ
Letโs be honest โ no gig is flawless, and Murrayfield had its hiccups:
- The sound at the back of the stadium was a bit muddy early on.
- Queues for drinks were brutal โ 30 minutes for a pint.
- One merch stall card machine broke down, causing near riots.
- Brian started โHighway to Hellโ slightly late โ not that anyone cared.
- A few fans fainted in the crush and had to be pulled out.
But letโs face it: none of this mattered once the cannons went off.
The Finale: Fire, Cannons & Glory ๐
The encore was biblical. Cannons blasting during โFor Those About to Rockโ rattled chests, fireworks split the sky, and 67,000 voices sang together as one. Edinburgh turned into the loudest place on Earth for those final moments.
As the band waved goodbye, Brian tipped his cap, Angus blew kisses, and the cannons smoked behind them. It felt less like an ending and more like a promise: AC/DC will never die.
Final Thoughts
After ten years away, AC/DC returned to Scotland not as tired old legends, but as living gods of rock. Murrayfield didnโt just host a gig โ it hosted a resurrection.
The riffs were heavy, the beer was overpriced, the kilts were flying, and the cannons were deafening. In short: it was everything an AC/DC gig should be.
For those about to rock, Scotland salutes you. ๐โก
๐ง Verdict: 10/10 cannons fired.
๐ท Wallet damage: catastrophic.
๐ Mosh pit madness: kilts and chaos.
๐ด Legacy: AC/DC proved theyโre still the loudest, sweatiest, most electrifying band on Earth.
