The Monday morning that rocked Melbourne

Fifty years ago, Monday traffic in Melbourne was brought to a halt by a guitarist in a schoolboy uniform, bagpipers in kilts, a truck full of amplifiers, and a rock band on the brink of world domination.  

On 23 February 1976, AC/DC rolled down Swanston Street on the back of a moving flatbed truck to film the music video for It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll).  

Half a century later, the clip remains one of the most gloriously chaotic and unmistakably Melbourne moments ever committed to film.

The premise was simple. A truck, a camera crew, a handful of permits (barely any, to be honest – it was a time!), and a band with something to prove. The budget was famously shoestring. The result was rock history.

The flatbed truck was driven by 20-year-old ABC stagehand Simon Evans, who at the time had no idea he was steering a future cultural landmark through the city.

“One of the senior stagehands said that there was a job coming up, if I wouldn’t mind driving the truck into the city to meet up with the camera crew and the film crew. He said, "It's a beast of a truck. Do you mind driving it?"

“I used to go out in that truck collecting sets and installing them for shows, and I think they asked me because they knew I wouldn’t crash it," Simon laughs.

Simon said “why not?”, thinking it was just another day at work. It was not. With band members, film crew, sound recordists and rock history perched behind him, Evans focused on one thing: protecting the precious cargo!

“I just had to take off very smoothly and I knew that the film cameraman and the sound recordists were on the back sort of amongst the band filming away. I was just taking it easy, very careful with the boys on the back!” Simon says.

The now-iconic clip was the handiwork of director Paul Drane, who was working on Countdown at the time.

“We were looking for a new way to show the song on Countdown, and I was asked to come up with an idea for the video clip.”  

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Paul says inspiration came from an unlikely source.

“I’ve always loved Moomba, so I thought it would be great to have the band going down Swanston Street, just like a Moomba float.”

And just like that, rock and roll met civic parade.

Paul filmed the legendary clip in just two takes, with curious onlookers unintentionally cast as extras.

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“We didn’t set up the onlookers, the crowds in the clip were purely curious people who were in the city at the time.”

For Simon, the memory is less about how legendary the video became and more about the moment.

“I remember Bon there, with the bagpipes under his arm. They were such nice guys, and it was such an unusual film clip. It was great to meet them.”  

Paul agrees. “Bon was just a lovely guy. Full of energy and so professional.”

Half a century later and the legacy of that rolling rock performance continues to echo through Melbourne, with the band’s influence showing no signs of fading.  

Whether it’s the band’s city-conquering Power Up tour last year, AC/DC Lane’s striking new lighting upgrade, or the extraordinary Guinness World Record spectacle of 374 bagpipers belting out It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll) in Fed Square, this city is still marching to AC/DC’s beat.

Back in 1976, none of that was guaranteed. It was just a truck, a song, and a gamble that rock and roll belonged in the streets as much as on the stage. Melbourne agreed then. It still does now.

Fifty years later, it is still a long way to the top. But for one unforgettable Monday, Swanston Street got a little closer.