Spot where AC/DC filmed "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N' Roll)"
What happened here?
On 23 February 1976, AC/DC climbed onto the back of a flatbed truck on Swanston Street and filmed what would become one of the most iconic music videos in rock history. Directed by Paul Drane for the ABC television program Countdown, the clip for "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was made on a budget of roughly $300 — and without a permit.
The original plan had been to get council approval for the truck to drive down the street, but the permit was rejected on the day of filming. Undeterred, Drane gathered the band and told them to jump on the truck anyway, running the risk of being stopped by police. They never were. The truck simply rolled south down Swanston Street alongside regular traffic, at one point being overtaken by a passing tram.
Bon Scott played bagpipes on the back of the truck, joined by three members of the Rats of Tobruk Pipe Band — Les Kenfield, Alan Butterworth, and Kevin Conlon. The unlikely pairing of screaming electric guitar and wailing bagpipes gave the song its unmistakable character, and the video captured the raw, unpolished energy that defined AC/DC in their early years.
The performance was mostly done in the middle of Swanston Street between the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne Town Hall, and St Paul's Cathedral. A second version was also filmed the same day, with the band miming the song on boxes in Melbourne's City Square in front of a small crowd of less than a hundred onlookers standing around with their arms crossed.
The flatbed truck clip has since been viewed tens of millions of times and is widely regarded as Countdown's most famous segment. In 2004, Corporation Lane — a narrow alley just off Swanston Street — was officially renamed AC/DC Lane in honour of the band's connection to Melbourne. The street and the surrounding stretch of Swanston Street remain a pilgrimage site for rock fans from around the world.
