Living On The Edge

In early 1989, the band started working on some new material, but this time Brian wasn’t participating. At first fans started to suspect that the Young siblings had ousted the singer, but the real problem was later revealed that Brian was in the middle of getting divorced out in the States, which took up most of his time. While Angus and Mal were working, Simon decided to quit the band and join Dio. According to Angus it was because he always loved Dio and he always had a hard time fitting in with AC/DC. Simon later joined the band Rhino Bucket after Ronnie James Dio decided to rejoin Black Sabbath.

In came ex-Gary Moore drummer Chris Slade on temporary basis at first but since he fitted in great, AC/DC decided to hire him on a more permanent base. With the new line-up in place, the band headed for Ireland to start recording the new album. They originally wanted George Young to produce but he had other commitments. So the band hired Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn, who had previously produced for Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. The actual recording took in Vancouver in Fairbairn’s own studios. The whole process took just six weeks to complete.

The first release from the new album was “Thunderstruck” which rocketed up to number 13 in UK charts. The single was accompanied by a promotional video directed by David Mallet. The album, titled “The Razors Edge”, was released in September of 1990 through their new label ATCO. The album proved to be a huge seller, reaching number 4 in UK and peaking at number 2 in the US. They also released two Top 40 singles in UK, namely “Moneytalks” and “Are You Ready?”. Both were accompanied by promo videos.

Two long-form video collections were released at this time, “Who Made Who”(videos from 1980-1986) and “Clipped”(videos from “Blow Up Your Video” and “The Razors Edge”).

In November, the band announced UK and US tour dates for the New Year. Tragedy struck on January 18, 1991 in Salt Palace in Salt Lake City when three teenagers were crushed to death as the crowd surged towards the stage when the band’s show began.

In August 1991, AC/DC set a new record by becoming the first and only band to headline the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington. The supporting were Metallica, Motley Crue, Queensryche, and the Black Crowes. Followed by Donington ’91, AC/DC performed at 20 shows in 18 cities, all part of the Monsters Of Rock festival. This included a free show at the Tushino Airfield in Moscow that attracted an estimated 500,000 fans to see AC/DC, Metallica, Pantera, the Black Crowes, and E.S.T. This last date celebrated the failure of the attempted Communist counter-coup in the Soviet Union was to be the basis for a long overdue event in 1992: a live album featuring Brian.

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