Sunday, 18 October 2026
RIFFOLOGY
Powerage by AC/DC, album cover
Album

Powerage

by AC/DC
Released5 May 1978
LabelAtlantic
Popularity79.6
Also cited25 May 1978
hard rockrockblues rockarena rockclassic rock
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Apple Music ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

Powerage is AC/DC's fifth studio album, released on 5 May 1978 through Atlantic. It is the record where Cliff Williams first appears on bass, a line-up change that sits between Let There Be Rock and the band's next release, Highway to Hell.

It also breaks a few of the band's habits. There is no title track, and it was the first of their albums to reach the world with the same cover everywhere rather than a different sleeve for different markets. Filed under hard rock and blues rock, it makes a good stop for anyone tracing how the group moved from their mid-1970s records towards their biggest years. A remastered edition followed in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.

Powerage: tracklist, credits and charts

9 tracks · 39:24

Tracklist

  1. 1Rock ’n’ Roll DamnationScott, Young, Young3:35
  2. 2Down Payment BluesScott, Young, Young6:00
  3. 3Gimme a BulletScott, Young, Young3:21
  4. 4Riff RaffScott, Young, Young5:14
  5. 5Sin CityScott, Young, Young4:40
  6. 6What’s Next to the MoonScott, Young, Young3:28
  7. 7Gone Shootin’Scott, Young, Young5:04
  8. 8Up to My Neck in YouScott, Young, Young4:10
  9. 9Kicked in the TeethScott, Young, Young3:52
Produced by
Harry Vanda, George Young, Vanda & Young
Recorded at
Albert (Sydney), Vineyard (London)
Recorded
* September 1976 * February–March 1978
Engineered by
Mark Opitz
Label
Atlantic
Length
39:24

Line-up

  • Phil Rudd · drums (drum set)
  • Cliff Williams · electric bass guitar
  • Angus Young · electric guitar
  • Malcolm Young · electric guitar
  • Bon Scott · lead vocals

Singles

  • “Rock 'n' Roll Damnation” · 26 June 1978 (Aus)

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
UK Albums Chart · 197826
US Billboard 200 · 1978133
UK Rock & Metal Albums · 20249
Dutch Albums · 197815
Swedish Albums · 197819
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 197822
German Albums · 202426
Swiss Albums · 202432

Certifications

RegionCertification
Australia · 20133× Platinum
Canada · 2024Gold
France · 1980Gold
Germany · 1991Gold
Spain · 2000Gold
Switzerland · 1992Gold
United Kingdom · 2013Gold
United States · 1990Platinum

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

79.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
163k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
56k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Let There Be Rock (1977)If You Want Blood You’ve Got It (1978) →

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The best of 1978

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1978-05-25 (wikidata)
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz5 May 1978
Wikipedia infobox5 May 1978
Wikidata25 May 1978
US release5 May 1978earliest US date
UK / Europe release5 May 1978earliest UK or European date
35 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
—DEAtlanticother
1978GBAtlanticother
1978DEAtlanticother
1978PTAtlanticother
5 May 1978USAtlanticoriginal
5 May 1978CAAtlanticoriginal
5 May 1978GBAtlanticoriginal
19 June 1978AUAlbert Productionsother
1987USAtlantic075678154829other
8 February 1988AUAlbert Productions077774873420other
1989AUAlbert Productions9399746526020other
1990DEAtlantic075678154829other
25 April 1990JPAtlantic4988029003645other
20 September 1994USATCO Records075679244628other
23 September 1994XEATCO Records075679244628other
1995AUAlbert Productions724347708626other
21 December 1995JPATCO Records4988029401847other
17 October 2000XEElektra075679244659other
2003XEColumbia696998020412other
2003AUAlbert Productions0828768664520other
2003AREpic5099751076223other
2003USColumbia696998020429other
2003ATEpic5099751075929other
2003CAEpic696998020429other
2003GBColumbia888750366122other
29 April 2003AUAlbert Productions9397603365324other
29 April 2003USEpic696998020429other
5 May 2003XEEpic5099751076223other
14 October 2003USEpic696998020412other
19 December 2007JPAlbert Productions4547366035162other
19 November 2012XWEpic886443673465other
7 October 2014XWEpic886444889919other
2020XWColumbia886443673465other
2020XWColumbia886444889919remaster
2020XWColumbia886444889919other
Cover art sources

itunes · upscaled: minor: best source 1486x1486, upscaled to 1500 (x1.01)

SourceSizeVerdict
itunes ✓1486×1486upscaled: minor: best source 1486x1486, upscaled to 1500 (x1.01)
deezer1200×1200upscaled
coverartarchive1156×1194rejected
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled