Since they burst onto the scene in 1976 with their first internationally released album, High Voltage, AC/DC have been the incumbent cheeky chappies of rock, gleefully filling the void that The Beatles left with their split in 1970. Backing up their brazen attitude with equally as frenetic music that strips rock music down to its most anthemic, unadulterated form, the power of their riffs and the simplicity of their grooves has led to them being one of the most influential groups of all-time.
While AC/DC’s no-frills music and direct personalities have endeared them to the masses for decades, on occasion, their characters have also landed them in hot water. Perhaps the most astounding instance of this was when the band’s rhythm guitarist extraordinaire, Malcolm Young, incurred the wrath of metal legend, and a figure not to be messed with, Geezer Butler, the bassist of Black Sabbath.
It’s no secret that the original lineup of Black Sabbath were not to be trifled with, due to them growing up on the mean streets of post-war Birmingham. In typical AC/DC style, according to Malcolm, him riling Butler up was nothing more than an accident. Yet, it stuck with him until the end.
Due to the impact of High Voltage, AC/DC were hired as the opening act for Black Sabbath on their 1977 tour of Europe promoting Technical Ecstasy. However, things took a turn for the worst one night when Butler pulled a knife on Malcolm.
Speaking to Q in 2003, Young recalled his version of events: “We were staying in the same hotel, and Geezer was in the bar, crying in his bear, ’10 years I’ve been in this band, 10 years-wait till you guys have been around 10 years, you’ll feel like us.’ I said ‘I don’t think so.’ I was giving him no sympathy. He’d had many too many [drinks] and he pulled out this silly flick knife.”
Brilliantly, it was Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne who diffused the fraught face-off. “As luck would have it, Ozzy walked in,” Young continued. “He goes, ‘You f-kin’ idiot, Butler-go to bed!’ Ozzy saved the day, and we sat up all night with him.”
Years later, in a 2016 interview with Classic Rock, Butler denied pulling a knife on Young: “No, I didn’t pull a knife. I always had flick-knives when I was growing up because everybody used to go around stabbing each other in Aston. Flick-knives were banned in England, but when we were playing Switzerland, I bought one.”
Somewhat counteracting his previous point, the bassist said: “I was just flicking it when Malcolm Young came up to me and started slagging Sabbath. I was just playing with the knife. I was really excited to get one again.”
“I was having a drink and flicking my knife – like you do – and he came over and said, ‘You must think you’re big, having a flick-knife.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And that was it. Nobody got hurt.”
Despite Butler’s protestations, it seems that he really did pull a knife, and that he felt like he was provoked by the AC/DC guitarist. Either way, despite Osbourne stepping in, AC/DC were eventually removed from the tour due to the incident.
Editors’ Picks
- AC/DC
- Black Sabbath
- Geezer Butler
- Hard Rock
- heavy metal
- High Voltage
- Malcolm Young
- Ozzy Osbourne
- Technical Ecstasy
