Sunday, 18 October 2026
RIFFOLOGY
Back in Black by AC/DC, album cover
Album

Back in Black

by AC/DC
Released25 July 1980
LabelAtlantic
Popularity95.0
hard rockrockarena rockblues rockheavy metal
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Apple Music ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

Back in Black is AC/DC's seventh studio album, released on 25 July 1980 through Albert Productions and Atlantic. It arrived just after the band's commercial breakthrough with Highway to Hell, but Bon Scott died in February 1980 from alcohol poisoning, and the Young brothers weighed up whether to carry on. They did, bringing in Brian Johnson, formerly of Geordie, as the new singer.

Johnson wrote the album with Angus and Malcolm Young, and the band recorded it in the Bahamas over seven weeks with Mutt Lange, who had also produced Highway to Hell. The mixing was done at Electric Lady Studios in New York, and the plain black sleeve was chosen as a sign of mourning for Scott. It has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, and a yearlong tour followed, making AC/DC one of the biggest acts of the early 1980s.

Back in Black on Riffology

riffology.co →
Podcast · Episode 13 · 60 min
AC/DC – Back In Black
0:00 / 59:49
Back In Black: AC/DC’s Resurrection
Album deep dive
Back In Black: AC/DC’s Resurrection
25 July 2024

Back in Black: tracklist, credits and charts

10 tracks · 41:31

Tracklist

  1. 1Hells BellsJohnson, Young, Young5:09
  2. 2Shoot to ThrillJohnson, Young, Young5:14
  3. 3What Do You Do for Money HoneyJohnson, Young, Young3:33
  4. 4Given the Dog a BoneJohnson, Young, Young3:30
  5. 5Let Me Put My Love Into YouJohnson, Young, Young4:12
  6. 6Back in BlackJohnson, Young, Young4:13
  7. 7You Shook Me All Night LongJohnson, Young, Young3:28
  8. 8Have a Drink on MeJohnson, Young, Young3:57
  9. 9Shake a LegJohnson, Young, Young4:03
  10. 10Rock and Roll Ain't Noise PollutionJohnson, Young, Young4:12
Produced by
Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Mutt Lange
Recorded at
Compass Point (Nassau)
Recorded
April–May 1980
Mixed by
Brad Samuelsohn
Engineered by
Tony Platt
Label
Atlantic
Length
41:31

Line-up

  • Phil Rudd · drums (drum set)
  • Cliff Williams · bass guitar
  • Angus Young · guitar
  • Malcolm Young · guitar
  • Brian Johnson · lead vocals

Singles

  • “You Shook Me All Night Long” · 15 August 1980
  • “Hells Bells” · 31 October 1980 (EU)
  • “Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution” · 7 November 1980 (UK)
  • “Back in Black” · December 1980 (US)

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
UK Albums Chart · 1980–20241
US Billboard 200 · 1980–20244
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1980–20241
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1980–20241
French Albums (IFOP) · 1980–20241
German Albums · 1980–20241
UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1980–20241
Swiss Albums · 1980–20243
Austrian Albums · 1980–20246
US Top Rock Albums · 1980–20246
All 19 charts
Norwegian Albums · 1980–20248
Finnish Albums · 1980–20249
Swedish Albums · 1980–202412
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · 1980–202413
New Zealand Albums · 1980–202424
Danish Albums · 1980–202427
Dutch Albums · 1980–202427
Spanish Albums · 1980–202433
Polish Albums · 1980–202439

Certifications

RegionCertification
Argentina · 20033× Platinum
Australia · 201312× Platinum
Austria · 1991Platinum
Brazil · 2024Gold
CanadaDiamond
Denmark · 20243× Platinum
France · 20012× Platinum
Germany2× Platinum
Italy · 20254× Platinum
New Zealand · 20246× Platinum
Poland · 20243× Platinum
Spain · 1981Gold
Switzerland2× Platinum
United Kingdom · 20182× Platinum
United States · 202427× Platinum

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

95.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
18k
ListenBrainz listeners
404k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
331k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Highway to Hell (1979)For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (1981) →

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz25 July 1980
Wikipedia infobox25 July 1980
Wikidata25 July 1980
US release25 July 1980earliest US date
UK / Europe release31 July 1980earliest UK or European date
59 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
—ZAAtlantic6001491177022other
—USAtlanticother
—USATCO Records075679241825other
—CAAtlantic075678147227other
—USATCO Records075679241825other
—CAAtlantic075678147227other
—USAtlanticother
1980JPAtlanticother
1980CAAtlanticother
1980PTAtlanticother
1980USAtlanticother
1980—Atlantic075678147210other
1980ESAtlanticother
1980USAtlanticother
1980DEAtlanticother
25 July 1980USATCO Records0696998020740original
25 July 1980USAtlanticoriginal
31 July 1980GBAtlanticother
1 August 1980XWColumbia0886444889841other
11 August 1980AUAlbert Productionsother
1985JPAtlanticother
1986USAtlanticother
1987AUAlbert Productionsother
1987USAtlanticother
February 1987XEAtlanticother
10 December 1988JPAtlantic4988014724333other
1989AUAlbert Productions9399746525429other
1990DEAtlanticother
1990XEAtlantic075678147227other
1990XEAtlantic075678147227other
1994USATCO Records075679241825deluxe
1994USATCO Records075679241825other
16 December 1994CAATCO Records777499228313other
1995AUAlbert Productions724347708923other
21 December 1995JPATCO Records4988029402141other
1998XEEMI724349515321other
July 1999XEATCO Records075679241825other
20 November 2000XEAtlantic075679241856other
2003AUAlbert Productions9397603364921other
2003USAlbert Productions696998020726other
2003AUAlbert Productions0828768664926other
2003CAAlbert Productions696998020726other
2003AUAlbert Productions9397603385421other
2003CAEpic777496069476other
2003ZAEpic6007689620431remaster
2003USColumbia886973680629other
2003DEAlbert Productions888750366429other
2003AREpic5099751076520other
18 February 2003USAlbert Productions696998020726other
18 February 2003CAAlbert Productions696998020726remaster
3 March 2003XEAlbert Productions5099751076520remaster
14 October 2003USAlbert Productions696998020719other
8 February 2005USEpic827969082829other
8 April 2005AUAlbert Productions9397603385421other
23 January 2008JPAlbert Productions4547366035216other
8 May 2009XEAlbert Productions5099751076513other
19 November 2012XWEpic886443673441other
7 October 2014XWColumbia886444889841other
2020XWColumbiaother
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1428x1428, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓1428×1428upscaled: minor: best source 1428x1428, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
itunes1428×1428upscaled
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled