Friday, October 17, 2014

THE PHILL RUDD MYSTERY - Part 2

First Rock or Bust Promotional Photo - Fans Edited Version, the way it SHOULD be!

As you all know Phil Rudd didn't show up in London for the AC/DC Rock or Bust video shoot. Officially he had to go back to New Zealand due to some undisclosed family matters... Well, apparently, Phil was not in London for the first day of the video shoot either.

Is Phil really out of the band and some historic/hard core fans think? We don't know. A source inside Sony says he will be back for the tour but, unfortunately, for obvious reasons, Sony cannot be trusted on this.

These are the facts:

1- Phil was in Vancouver for the recording of the "Rock or Bust" album. (He was seen in the hotel)
2- Phil was not in London for the video shoot.
3- Bob Richards, his "substitute", didn't use a SONOR drum kit which proves that in the video editing process they will not try to include him "digitally", most probably.
4-The first official new AC/DC promotional photo does not include any drummer

After Malcolm's retirement, losing another pillar such as Phil Rudd will not make fans happy, especially those who have been following the band for decades. But we must be realistic. There majority of the fans will go to concerts to see Angus and Brian and listen to Highway to Hell or Thunderstruck. And let's not forget there is a new generation of fans ready to buy concert tickets anyway... Lots of concert tickets...


Monday, October 13, 2014

THE CRAZIEST AC/DC FANS IN LONDON - TOUR WARM UP


AC/DC Pre Tour Warm up Party in London 4 October 2014 (courtesy of Christian Rnafg Spurk and Atze Datze

If you've been following the AC/DC Abruzzo blog in the last few years you had a taste of the excesses that AC/DC fans can reach.

During our 20 month trip around the world following AC/DC we've told you lots of stories about fans,  each one with a different story and each one with his/her own peculiar way to show their love for AC/DC. Some of these hard core fans of course were in London for the Rock or Bust video shoot on the 4 October 2014.

Now, you know the AC/DC Abruzzo philosophy and attitude and you know that we've travelled the world sleeping in airports, train stations, cheap hostels, cars, most of the times without a ticket to the concert (because the shows were sold out) etc. But we were not the only ones! Also in London... And we have decided to create a top 5 list of the "Craziest AC/DC fans" of the London 2014 video shoot and pre-tour warm up party.

So with this post we don't intend to say that crazy fans are better fans than "normal". They are just "crazier" and, generally speaking, it's a lot fun to hang around them. ;)

So here we go.

#5 The German Fans

The German fans show up everywhere there is an AC/DC show/event. You will recognize them immediately thanks to their blue jeans jackets covered with AC/DC patches, autographs and "live memorabilia"...

They bring their AC/DC passion around the world and combine it with their love for beer and stadiums chanting. Great company and great fun! A large group of German fans corageously came to the London shoot without ticket and their faith was rewarded as they all managed to get in. Hat's off.


Some of the ticketless German fans

#4 Carole from Canada

Carole was spotted at many AC/DC shows during the Black Ice Tour: from Dublin 2009 to Sydney 2010 and all around Europe. Originally from Canada AC/DC is her number one priority. And she's got lots of AC/DC stories to tell... Apparently, she also came to London without a ticket but managed to find one.
Carole

#3 Jean Philippe and Vincent "Dirty Shoes"

These two characters from France have proven their loyalty to AC/DC in the most hard core way during the Black Ice Tour and they rank, with only a few others, in the +50 Black Ice concerts league. From waiting outside the Stockholm hotel of the band at - 10 °C in February 2009 to coming to London in 2014 for the video shoot 3 days before, just to have chance to meet again the band. From what we witnessed during the Black Ice World Tour, taking a photo with Jean Philippe outside the band's hotel was one of Angus' daily routines... No joke. Of course they were in London, apparently without Sony invitation either (but this was not officially confirmed)...

Dirty Shoes in London with Cliff

Angus super-happy to meet Jean Philippe again after 3 years


#2 Matthew Nagra (representing the Nagra clan from Vancouver)

We met Matthew and his dad Mark for the first time in Wilkes Barres for the Dress Rehearsals private show in 2008. Since then we have been meeting them all around the globe, from Glasgow, Scotland to Perth, Australia. Matthew bought his flight from Vancouver to London 48 hours before the video shoot and, of course, he came to London ticketless.

Matthew Nagra, Brian Johnson and Mark Nagra in Vancouver


#1 Christian from Buenos Aires, Argentina

The first time we met Christian was in Sofia, Bulgaria the day before the show. He told us that he had gotten a loan from his bank in order to follow the band in Europe. He came with us to Bucharest, Romania (by night train) and then we helped him with tickets in Udine, Italy. Hard core stuff. He also ended up in the official AC/DC DVD Live at River Plate.

For the video shoot in London he came directly from Buenos Aires, Argentina, booking a very expensive flight, of course without any ticket/invitation for the shoot (but he managed to get in anyway). A real lesson of Rock'n'Roll attitude and unconditional love for AC/DC!

Christian and Matthew in London just after receiving the confirmation there were extra tickets for the video shoot