Crazy Stories about Angus Young (AC/DC) and The Rolling Stones

Dive into the wild and unforgettable on-stage experiences of Angus Young, the electrifying guitarist of AC/DC. From literally setting himself on fire during a performance to passing out mid-spin from intense energy, this episode highlights stories of Angus's incredible dedication and showmanship. Discover why he is truly a rock legend who keeps the show going no matter what.

The Chaotic Altamont Free Concert: Rolling Stones' Darkest Day

Dive into the chaos of the Rolling Stones' infamous free concert at Altamont Speedway in 1969. What was intended to be a West Coast Woodstock spiraled into madness with a controversial choice of security, the Hell's Angels, paid in beer. As violence erupted and an 18-year-old concertgoer was tragically stabbed on camera, this event marked a dark turn in rock history. Discover the details and aftermath of what is now known as the anti-Woodstock.

Transcript

 Well, well, well. Welcome, welcome, Rock fans. This is PJ Pat. Thanks so much for joining and, really appreciate your, loyalty and, curiosity, I must say, for anything Rock. So, this podcast episode will be really interesting. I have two doozy of stories regarding Angus Young from, of course, ACDC. And the story around that infamous concert at Altamont that the Rolling Stones pulled off, or barely pulled off I should say, back in the 60s.

And, uh, so stay tuned for that. Gonna play that, but in a bit, I will read you a little excerpt here. I'm looking at this magazine in my hands. The 50 greatest songs from Guns N Roses and the stories behind them. So just want to give you a little gem here regarding Rocket Queen. One of my favorite songs on their first album, Appetite for Destruction, released in 1987, of course.

And here goes something like this. The last track on Appetite for Destruction is essentially two killer songs for the price of one. The first is a blast of snake hip rock and roll with an uncharacteristically funky undercurrent. In parenthesis, reha Chili Pepper's guitarist John Fui claimed Axel told him guns are trying to copy his own band.

The second is an escalating heartfelt tribute to the rocket queen of the title, Axel.

Axl's friend, Barbie Von Greif, I hope I'm spelling that right, Greif, G R E I F, or Gref, who by all accounts acted as one woman's support system through some tough time. But it's the bit that joins the two parts that sealed Rocket Queen's notoriety. The groans and the squeals that erupt as Slash peels off a fluid solo aren't staged.

Axl persuaded one of the band's friends, by band's friends, he means Stephen Adler's girlfriend. I know this because I've seen interviews of, at least Stephen talking about it. Adriana Dawn Smith. To have full sex with him in a recording booth while the tape rolled. In parenthesis, the fact that Smith was Stephen Adler Ah, there you go.

Stephen Adler's fiancé didn't seem to trouble him. Well, it didn't seem to trouble Axel. I'm not so sure about Stephen Adler. Apparently he wasn't around. Apparently, there was three and a half hours of audio on a reel to reel. Three and a half hours. Wow, Axl's a beast. Smith told Classic Rock in 2007, adding that she directed the coitus.

The great debut album of the decade had got the climax it deserved. Absolutely true, and deservably so, I may say. Okay, so, I want to treat you both to these stories from the stones, and ACDC, let's roll.
Angus Young Story:

 Angus Young, the schoolboy, uniform wearing, duck walking, guitar shredding legend of ACDC right here on this vintage guitar school magazine of September 1993 right here. We're gonna talk about a crazy story about this man. Now this guy's got so many crazy stories, but one of my absolute favorites is the time that Angus literally set himself on fire on stage.

Yup, not even kidding. So here's the scene. It's 1970s, and ACDC is doing what they do best, tearing it up on stage in some small club. Angus, as usual, is bouncing around like a maniac, doing his iconic duck walk and generally making every other guitarist look lazy. But then, mid song, someone in the crowd decides to toss a firecracker onto the stage.

Now this is just, now this isn't just any other firecracker. Now this is just, this isn't, now this isn't. Now this isn't any just Now I gotta say this isn't just any little sparkler. No No this thing is more like a mini dynamite stick and so where does it land right in Angus's lap and Boom, the firecracker goes off and suddenly Angus's pants are literally on fire.

So what does Angus do? Does he freak out? Does he stop the show? No! The man, the legend himself, just keeps on rockin The guy just keeps on playin He's stompin around, still shredding, while his bandits are yelling Angus, you're on fire, you're on fire! And he's yeah, I'm always on fire, thinking they're just hyping him up.

Finally, someone rushes over with a bucket of water and douses him mid solo. And what does Angus do? He doesn't miss a single beat, a single note. Once the flames are out, he just looks down at his charred pants and keeps on rockin like nothing happened. An absolute legend, I say. But wait, 

this wasn't But wait, it gets better. This wasn't the only time Angus went full on rock and roll chaos on stage. There's another story where he actually passes out during a show. Not from partying, mind you, but from going so hard during his famous spinning on the floor move. Angus is lying on a floor Angus is lying on spinning in circles like a human tornado while the band's jamming out. Suddenly he stops spinning. The crowd's going wild thinking it's part of the act, but nope, Angus is legit blacked out, passed out. from spinning too much. Rody's had to drag him off stage, pour water on him to wake him up. And then you guessed it.

He jumps right back on stage and finishes the set. What a legend. I'm guessing a couple of beers the night before has something to do with it, what do I know? Now this dude doesn't stop for anything fire. Nope. Passing out. Nope. Exhaustion. Forget it. Angus Young is like an Energizer bunny of rock and roll, but riffs, honestly.

What makes Angus such a legend is not just the killer solos or the schoolboy outfit, it's the fact that this guy gives everything he's got every single time he's on stage. Whether he's dodging firecrackers or recovering from a blackout, Angus always finds a way to keep the show going. If you ever had a chance to see ACDC live, I'm telling you, it is an experience.

Seeing Kiss Live in the 70s, it's something you'll never forget. I highly recommend. Go check them out. Who knows how long these legends will last now. They're getting up there. But go check them out if you have a chance. I know the ticket prices are insanely freaking pricey. But do what you gotta do, without having to sell your liver.

So the next time you see a video of Angus duck walking across the stage, just remember this dude survived literal fire and probably a hundred other things that we don't even know about. So rock and roll doesn't get hardcore, much more hardcore can it. 

Now this dude doesn't get any more legendary. doesn't get any more legendary than this. Angus Young, the human fireball, spinning tornado dude. Man, we love him on top of his wrist. We just love his energy, and thank God they're still around. ACDC!

The Stones story:

 Alright, buckle up. This is a story about this band right here, the Rolling Stones, on the cover of this vintage Guitar Legends magazine that's gonna blow your mind away. It is definitely a story of pure rock and roll madness. So let's go back to December 6th, 1969, and their infamous free concert at Altamont Speedway in California.

So here's the deal. The Stones want to do a West Coast version of Woodstock, pretty much. A huge free concert to wrap up their US tour. Sounds great, right? Well, it started going sideways immediately, the venue kept changing last minute, and they finally landed on Altamont Speedway, which, let's be real, wasn't exactly built for something like this.

But the real kicker? They decided to hire the Hell's Angels, yes you got that right, the biker gang, Hell's Angels, as security. And get this, they paid them 500 worth of beer. I guess, uh, to the angels it's a pretty sweet deal. That's 500 or more than they had the night before. Yep, well anyways, instead of trained security professionals, they went with a biker gang fueled by alcohol.

Bold move, Stones. Bold move. 

Now this idea wasn't totally out of nowhere. The angels had done security for some Grateful Dead shows before. But, uh, this wasn't your typical deadhead kind of crowd, high on weed, I'm just gonna chill on the grass type of place. Over 300, 000 people showed up, way more than expected, and the scene quickly spiraled into chaos.

People were drinking, doing drugs, and basically losing their minds. By the time the Rolling Stones hit the stage, things were already pretty sketchy. The angels, who were supposed to be keeping the peace and controlling the crowd, were riding their motorcycles through the crowd and swinging pool cues at anyone who got too close.

Talk about a way to kill a vibe.

And then there was the music. Mick Jagger gets up to perform Sympathy for the Devil, and no joke, fights start breaking out left, right, and center, right in front of him. 

At one point, Mick actually stops singing and says to the crowd, Hey brothers and sisters, cue LeTan, will ya? Okay, maybe if you can get past that terrible British accent, you can kind of imagine how it went down. 

But the worst part came during Under My Thumb. A guy named Meredith Hunter, just 18 years old, got into an altercation with the Angels. Witnesses say he pulled a gun, which, okay, Right? Right from the start. Bad idea. But the angels overreacted in the most violent way possible. One of them stabbed him to death in full view of the stage.

The whole thing was caught on film, by the way, because the Stones were making a documentary called Give Me Shelter. So yes, this tragedy was immortalized on camera, believe it or not, making it even more infamous.

The concert was supposed to be a celebration of peace and love, but it turned into what people now call the anti Woodstock of all Woodstock.  Even the Grateful Dead who were supposed to play took one look at the chaos and said, Nope, we're outta here. They bailed out without ever taking the stage, knowing that the Hale's Angels had done security for them in the past, but not this time.

After Altamont, the Rolling Stones faced a ton of backlash. Critics called it the end of the 60s dream. And Mick Jatter later admitted they made some pretty terrible decisions. No duh. So what's the moral of the story? Maybe don't hire a biker gang to handle a crowd of 300, 000 people.

And definitely don't pay them in beer. You know what I mean?

So what's the moral of the story, you ask? Maybe don't hire a biker gang and pay them 300, 000 beer.

So what's the moral of the story you ask? Maybe don't pay a biker gang to

So what's the moral of the story you ask? Well, how about this? Maybe don't pay a biker gang to handle a crowd of 300, 000 people and pay them in beer? How about start with that? Okay. Let me know if you can think of any crazy stories in the sixties in terms of live events like this, but this has definitely got to be up there. I'd be curious to check into the comments, like, and subscribe. I'm going to come with more of these crazy stories. we'll see in the next one.