Album
Flick of the Switch
Flick of the Switch is AC/DC's ninth studio album, released through Atlantic in August 1983. It was the third record to feature Brian Johnson on vocals, following Back in Black and For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), and it was the last with drummer Phil Rudd until he came back for Ballbreaker in 1995.
The album did not match the sales of those two predecessors and is seen as the start of a commercial dip for the band. That makes it an interesting stop in the story: a hard rock record made in the shadow of their biggest successes, and the last of its line-up before Rudd's long absence. It was reissued in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series, which gives newcomers an easy way in.
Flick of the Switch: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 37:09Tracklist
- 1Rising PowerJohnson, Young, Young3:44
- 2This House Is on FireJohnson, Young, Young3:24
- 3Flick of the SwitchJohnson, Young, Young3:15
- 4Nervous ShakedownJohnson, Young, Young4:28
- 5LandslideJohnson, Young, Young3:59
- 6Guns for HireJohnson, Young, Young3:25
- 7Deep in the HoleJohnson, Young, Young3:21
- 8Bedlam in BelgiumJohnson, Young, Young3:53
- 9BadlandsJohnson, Young, Young3:39
- 10Brain ShakeJohnson, Young, Young4:01
- Produced by
- AC/DC
- Recorded at
- Compass Point (Nassau)
- Recorded
- April–May 1983
- Mixed by
- Tony Platt
- Engineered by
- Tony Platt
- Label
- Atlantic
- Length
- 37:09
Line-up
- Phil Rudd · drums (drum set)
- Cliff Williams · bass guitar, background vocals
- Angus Young · electric guitar, guitar
- Malcolm Young · electric guitar, background vocals, guitar
- Brian Johnson · lead vocals
Singles
- “Guns for Hire” · September 1983
- “Flick of the Switch” · March 1984 (US)
- “Nervous Shakedown” · July 1984 (UK)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1983 | 4 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1983 | 15 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1983 | 3 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1983 | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1983 | 4 |
| German Albums · 1983 | 6 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1983 | 8 |
| Swedish Albums · 1983 | 8 |
| Austrian Albums · 1983 | 9 |
| Dutch Albums · 1983 | 10 |
All 12 charts
| Canadian Albums · 1983 | 12 |
| Swiss Albums · 1983 | 28 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2013 | 3× Platinum |
| France · 1984 | Gold |
| Germany · 2000 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1990 | Gold |
| United States | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
69.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
106k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
28k
Deezer fans (all editions)
More from AC/DC
Full discography →
High Voltage
1975
T.N.T.
1975
High Voltage
1976
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
1976
Let There Be Rock
1977
Powerage
1978
If You Want Blood You’ve Got It
1978
Highway to Hell
1979
Back in Black
1980
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
1981
’74 Jailbreak
1984
Fly on the Wall
1985
Who Made Who
1986
Blow Up Your Video
1988
The Razors Edge
1990
Live
1992
Ballbreaker
1995
Bonfire
1997
Stiff Upper Lip
2000
Black Ice
2008
Backtracks
2009
Iron Man 2
2010
Live at River Plate
2012
Rock or Bust
2014
Power Up
2020
The best of 1983
All of 1983 →
Kill ’Em All
Metallica · 1983
The Final Cut
Pink Floyd · 1983
Piece of Mind
Iron Maiden · 1983
Bark at the Moon
Ozzy Osbourne · 1983
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Iron Maiden No me puedes dejar así / Decídete 1983
No me puedes dejar así / Decídete
Iron Maiden · 1983
Iron Maiden Lo mejor de Iron Maiden 1983
Lo mejor de Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden · 1983
Show No Mercy
Slayer · 1983
Born Again
Black Sabbath · 1983
Metal Magic
Pantera · 1983
Works
Pink Floyd · 1983
Another Perfect Day
Motörhead · 1983
More on Atlantic
The label →![[Led Zeppelin IV] by Led Zeppelin, album cover](/img/2e61da88-39e9-3473-81d2-c964cb394952/300)
[Led Zeppelin IV]
Led Zeppelin · 1971
Back in Black
AC/DC · 1980
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin · 1969
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin · 1969
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin · 1970
Highway to Hell
AC/DC · 1979
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin · 1975
Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin · 1973
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
AC/DC · 1976
Whole Lotta Love
Led Zeppelin · 1970
Acoustically
Led Zeppelin · 1972
Let There Be Rock
AC/DC · 1977
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1983-08-19; musicbrainz + wikidata 1983-08-15 (4 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 August 1983 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 19 August 1983 | |
| Wikidata | 15 August 1983 | |
| US release | 15 August 1983 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 19 August 1983 | earliest UK or European date |
30 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | PT | Atlantic | other | |
| 1983 | US | Atlantic | other | |
| 15 August 1983 | DE | Atlantic | 07567801001 | original |
| 15 August 1983 | US | Atlantic | original | |
| 15 August 1983 | CA | Atlantic | 07567801001 | original |
| 19 August 1983 | XE | Atlantic | other | |
| 23 August 1983 | AU | Albert Productions | other | |
| 23 August 1983 | AU | Albert Productions | other | |
| 1987 | AU | Albert Productions | 5099974667123 | other |
| 1987 | US | Atlantic | 075678010026 | other |
| 10 March 1988 | JP | Atlantic | 4988014365239 | other |
| November 1988 | XE | Atlantic | 075678010026 | other |
| 1989 | AU | Albert Productions | 9399746525924 | other |
| May 1990 | XE | Atlantic | 075678010026 | other |
| 4 November 1994 | XE | ATCO Records | 075679244826 | other |
| 1995 | AU | Albert Productions | 724347709128 | other |
| 21 December 1995 | JP | ATCO Records | 4988029402349 | other |
| 17 October 2000 | XE | Elektra | 075679244857 | other |
| 2003 | CA | Epic | 696998020924 | other |
| 2003 | XE | Columbia | 888750366726 | remaster |
| 2003 | US | Albert Productions | 696998020924 | remaster |
| 2003 | AU | Albert Productions | 9397603365829 | other |
| 2003 | XE | Epic | 696998020917 | other |
| 30 June 2003 | XE | Epic | 5099751076728 | other |
| 1 July 2003 | US | Epic | 696998020924 | other |
| 14 October 2003 | US | Epic | 696998020917 | other |
| 23 January 2008 | JP | Albert Productions | other | |
| 19 November 2012 | XW | Columbia | 886443673427 | other |
| 7 October 2014 | XW | Columbia | 886444889766 | other |
| 2020 | XW | Columbia | 886444889766 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |