A most unusual new world record was set this week as 374 bagpipers gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square and belted out AC/DC’s rock and roll classic “It’s a Long Way to the Top”, which has always stood out among rock classics because of the use of the ancient instrument on it. Billed as “The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash,” the same location, on Swanston Street, was the scene of the Australian hard rock band’s 1976 film clip in which they played the hit on the back of a flatbed truck travelling slowly through downtown traffic with music blaring from speakers.
Federation Square is close to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and AC/DC were scheduled to play their first Australian gig in a decade on Wednesday (12th November). The only band member who played on the truck originally, guitarist Angus Young, is now 70, and is performing on the latest Australian tour. Thousands of spectators were also in the square for the world record attempt. The original truck performance featured the Rats of Tobruk Memorial Pipes and Drums, and two of the three members, Les Kenfield and Kevin Conlon, were present and playing in the record attempt, with Kenfield saying, “It didn’t strike you at the time how big this event is until now. Now it’s one of the greatest things — probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Above: 9 News Australia’s report on the concert and the record breaking event
While some readers may possibly regard attending an event with so many bagpipers playing as the “Highway To Hell”, the crowd took it more as a “Shoot To Thrill”, and once the record was confirmed, the cheering crowd were treated to the massed pipers playing “Happy Birthday” and an impromptu “Amazing Grace”, with many using their phones to record the moment. The record was certified by the Australian Book of Records, breaking a record set by 333 pipers in Bulgaria in 2012. At the time of publication the Guinness World Records, which confirmed the Bulgarian record, had not made any certification.
Above: AC/DC literally rocked Melbourne as their concert registered on earthquake detection monitors
P.S. AC/DC did not disappoint at the concert either; around 80,000 fans witnessed one of the most powerful concerts ever recorded, literally, with the Seismology Research Centre, situated just over two miles from the venue, detecting vibrations in the 2-5 hertz range during the performance. Adam Pascale, chief scientist at the centre, explained exactly what was happening. “We’re picking up the ground motion, we’re not picking up the sound from the air,” he told ABC News. “So you’ve got speakers on the ground pumping out vibrations and that gets transmitted through the ground, but also the crowd jumping up and down is feeding energy into the ground.” For Those Who Are About ToDid Rock, We Salute You.
