1980

• 16 - 23: 7 additional French dates.

• 20: Appearance at the Midem in Cannes, France to receive a series of album awards. "If You Want Blood You’ve Got It" and "Highway To Hell" are certified Gold in France. "If You Want Blood You’ve Got It" is certified Gold and "Highway To Hell" is certified Silver in the UK and "Highway To Hell" is certified Gold in Canada.

• 25: Single, "Touch Too Much / Live Wire (Live) - Shot Down In Flames (Live)", released in the UK.

• 25 - 27: Bon Scott’s last concerts at the Newcastle Mayfair and Southampton Gaumont.

• 7: Appearance on the English TV show "Top Of The Pops" playing "Touch Too Much."

• 9: First Spanish appearance on the TVE show "Aplauso" in Madrid, playing "Beating Around The Bush," "Girls Got Rhythm" and "Highway To Hell." The band gives a Press conference the next morning.

• 13: Bon Scott records a version of "Ride On" with French act Trust, which will not be released until 1998 on a promo-only CD-Single of the French band.

• 19: Bon Scott dies in London. After a night of drinking at the Music Machine, he is left overnight by a friend in a car and chokes on his own vomit. He is dead on arrival at Kings Hospital the next day.

• 1: Bon Scott is buried in Fremantle, Australia.

• 14: Single, "Touch Too Much / Live Wire (Live)", released in Germany. Also released in France and Japan.

• Several names are either considered or rumored for the job of replacing Bon. Among those are Stevie Wright (Ex-Easybeats), Alan Fryer (Future Heaven), Gary Holton (Ex-Heavy Metal Kids) and Terry Slesser (Ex-Back Street Crawler & future Geordie).

• AC/DC tracks down ex-Geordie frontman Brian Johnson who passes an audition in their rehearsal studio in Pimlico, playing "Nutbush City Limits" and "Whole Lotta Rosie".

• 8: Brian Johnson is officially announced as the band’s new singer.

• Rehearsals at London’s E’Zee Hire Studios.

• Mid April - May: Recording of "Back In Black" in Nassau, Bahamas (Compass Point Studios) with Robert John "Mutt" Lange producing. Recording is completed in seven weeks.

• Rehearsals in London.

• 29 - July 6: 6 warm-up dates in Benelux. First AC/DC concert with Brian is in Namur, Belgium.

• 4: Promotional video clips for "Back In Black" are filmed in Breda, Holland.

• 13 - October 11: US/Canadian Tour, 64 dates. Supported by Streetheart, Gamma, Humble Pie, Def Leppard, Nantucket, Krokus, Johnny Van Zant, Blackfoot and Saxon. One date supporting ZZ Top in Toledo, their last ever supporting slot.

• 21: "Back In Black" released in the US.

• 31: "Back In Black" released in the UK.

• 9: "Back In Black" tops the UK charts for two consecutive weeks.

• 11: "Back In Black" released in Australia.

• 15: Single, "You Shook Me All Night Long / Have A Drink On Me", released in Germany.

• 22: Single, "You Shook Me All Night Long / Have A Drink On Me", released in the UK. Single is also released worldwide.

• 23: "Back In Black" enters the US Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #4 in January.

• 25: Single, "You Shook Me All Night Long / What Do You Do For Money Honey", released in Australia.

• 19 - November 16: UK Tour, 24 dates. Including 3 dates at the Hammersmith Odeon and 3 dates at the Victoria Apollo. Supported by Starfighters. The whole tour is sold-out.

• Single, "You Shook Me All Night Long / Back In Black", released in Japan.

• 19 - December 20: 1st leg of the European Tour, 24 dates covering Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France and Switzerland. Supported by Whitesnake and Maggie Bell.

• 21: Single, "Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution / Hells Bells", released in the UK.

• AC/DC reach the 10 million mark in albums sold worldwide. A party is thrown at London’s Cockney Pride to celebrate.

• 10: "Let There Be Rock – The Movie", released in France.

• Single, "Back In Black / What Do You Do For Money Honey", released in the US and Canada. Single also released in Portugal, Spain and Ireland.

• At the end of the year, all AC/DC albums are certified Gold in France ("Back In Black" is certified Platinum) and sales total 2 million in France alone.