Things really must be bad - AC/DC are No 1 again

This article is more than 11 years old
Angus Young (r) and lead vocalist Brian Johnson of AC/DC
Angus Young (r) and lead vocalist Brian Johnson of AC/DC. Photograph: Joerg Koch/AFP/Getty images

First Gordon Brown and Mervyn King, the Bank of England's governor, admitted that Britain was on the verge of recession. Then food sales were reported to have seen their biggest fall for 20 years. Last night came final and irrevocable proof that the country is entering tough economic times, unseen since the 80s: AC/DC have returned to the top of the album charts for the first time in 28 years.

Even by the standards of a band whose commercial success is a given - the venerable Australian rockers have shifted more than 80m records since forming 35 years ago (in the midst of the 1973 oil crisis) - the circumstances of their 16th studio album's British success seem striking.

At one point last week, AC/DC's Black Ice was outselling its nearest competitor, Kaiser Chiefs' Off With Their Heads, by two to one, despite the fact that they declined to release it as a digital download, preferring vinyl and CD.

Those keen to draw wider inferences from its success might note that the last time AC/DC made No 1 in Britain, the country was on the brink of recession. Back In Black, the album that marked their commercial breakthrough and went on to become the second biggest-selling of all time, was released in 1980, just as inflation had reached 20% and unemployment inched towards 2 million.

When the economy recovered, AC/DC's popularity receded, albeit becoming merely immense instead of phenomenal: their "flop" 1985 album, Fly On The Wall, still sold more than 1m copies, a not unimpressive figure, but a fraction of Back In Black's 30m sales or the 5m copies that Black Ice sold in the last seven days.

But right on cue the album that returned the band to its heyday was The Razors Edge, released in 1990 - just as Britain headed towards its last recession.

AC/DC's appeal in unpredictable times is straightforward. People crave something uncomplicated and dependable in a time of uncertainty, and rock music has never produced a band so uncomplicated and dependable as AC/DC.

For 35 years, they have done exactly the same thing - which in guitarist Angus Young's case involves dressing like a naughty schoolboy - unaffected by changes in fashion or band personnel.

Not even the death of lead singer Bon Scott could stop AC/DC cranking out hard-edged, wilfully basic blues-rock, decorated with lyrics in which the phrase "rock 'n' roll" figures heavily, but not as heavily as sniggering innuendo about scrotums.

Small wonder that people turn to AC/DC in their millions when the world appears on the brink of chaos. Here is escapism into a world untroubled by sub-prime mortgages, record public finance deficits and the baleful state of the FTSE 100, but escapism of the most comfortingly consistent kind.

Western capitalism might collapse but at least Young can be relied on to perform a song about either rock and roll or testicles while wearing shorts, blazer and cap. Alas, what he can't be relied on to do is support those who delve into the sociological implications of AC/DC's appeal. "What we do, you're not going to look into it with depth, y'know," he suggested recently . "Because if you look into it with depth, you're not going to get it."

Highway to hell

1973: AC/DC form in Sydney, Australia.
Economy: Start of the oil crisis, which saw the price quadruple

1980: AC/DC release breakthrough album Back In Black
Economy: Inflation in UK reaches 20% and unemployment nears 2 million

1990: AC/DC score comeback with The Razor's Edge
Economy: Recession in UK imminent

2008: AC/DC top UK album charts
Economy: Biggest world recession in decades looms