AC/DC - Thunderstruck

When the electrifying opening hammer-on riff of AC/DC’s "Thunderstruck" erupts, time stops and pure adrenaline takes over. Released in 1990 on The Razors Edge, this hard-rock anthem was born from genuine terror when guitarist Angus Young’s small airplane was struck by lightning mid-flight! To capture that lightning in a bottle for the music video, directors packed London’s Brixton Academy with fans wearing "I Was Thunderstruck" t-shirts, capturing Angus's legendary duck-walk from glass camera platforms installed right beneath the stage floor.

Though born in the stadium era of the 1990s, the video found a colossal second life when uploaded to YouTube on November 11, 2012. Time Capsule: In 2012, the world was undergoing a massive cultural shift. London was celebrating the Summer Olympics, pop culture was playfully bracing for the Mayan "end of the world," and Psy’s "Gangnam Style" was breaking the internet. Yet amidst this modern digital boom, AC/DC proved that raw, sweat-soaked rock 'n' roll was timeless, setting "Thunderstruck" on a path to cross the coveted one-billion-views threshold.

Decades later, Angus’s dizzying B-string fretwork and Brian Johnson’s roaring vocals remain the ultimate, untouchable testament to high-voltage sonic power!

• Current Status & Recent News: AC/DC returned to full-scale touring with their 2024 "POWER UP" tour across Europe—their first major tour in eight years—featuring core members Angus Young and Brian Johnson alongside Stevie Young, touring bassist Chris Chaney, and drummer Matt Laug.
• Active Tour Details: Following a sold-out 2024 European stadium leg, the band extended the "POWER UP" tour into 2025 with a major North American stadium leg scheduled from April through May 2025.
• Chart & Streaming Legacy: "Thunderstruck" (from 1990's The Razors Edge) has surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify and over 1.4 billion views on YouTube, while the band's landmark 1980 album Back in Black remains one of the top-selling albums in music history with over 50 million copies sold worldwide.
• Financial Insights: Lead guitarist and co-founder Angus Young has an estimated net worth of $160 million, while frontman Brian Johnson is estimated at $60 million, driven by continuous global stadium touring revenue, high-value merchandising, and enduring catalog royalties.