AC/DC musical on the cards?

AC/DC: soon to be packing them into theatres?
AC/DC: soon to be packing them into theatres?

We've heard a strange rumour that a new musical based on the music of AC/DC could be in development. Gossipy email newsletter Popbitch reports that this has a working title of It's A Long Way To The Top and will have a plot based on a combination of the band's history and the tepid Mark Wahlberg movie Rock Star.

Several bands' back catalogues have been used as the basis for musicals in the past - the Queen-inspired We Will Rock You and Abba-infused Mamma Mia! are probably the two most successful shows of this ilk - but MusicRadar finds it hard to imagine theatre audiences responding well to some of AC/DC's material.

Let Me Put My Love Into You, for example, doesn't sound like matinee fare, while Givin The Dog A Bone - the band's ode to a woman who's 'no Playboy star' - is unlikely to go down well in the West End either. And as for Squealer… well, we'd rather not go there.

Still, let's look on the positive side: the whole thing could be a massive wind-up, and even if it isn't, at least there's no suggestion that Ben Elton is involved.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.