Before Back in Black and world domination, AC/DC didn’t even have a name. Now, original singer Dave Evans has shared how the band landed on one of the most iconic names in rock history. Spoiler: it didn’t come from brainstorming or marketing—it came from a relative.
Evans, who fronted the band from their formation in 1973 until October 1974, recalled the early days in a new interview with Podpokas. Back then, the lineup—Malcolm and Angus Young, Colin Burgess, Larry Van Kriedt, and Evans—was still finding its feet. When they landed a New Year’s Eve slot at Sydney’s Chequers nightclub, they realised they needed a name—fast.
“We started tossing names around, but no one could agree,” Evans explained. “I had some really great names, but they didn’t like them.” Desperate for a solution, the band agreed everyone would bring three name ideas to the next rehearsal, throw them in a hat, and pick one at random.
But the hat never came into play. “When we arrived, Malcolm said, ‘My sister-in-law suggested a name: AC/DC,’” Evans recalled. The name, which stands for “alternating current/direct current,” was spotted on an electrical appliance.
Evans immediately saw the appeal. “It’s easy to remember, it was already on the side of so many appliances—free advertising,” he said. “And it means power. It made perfect sense.”
When Malcolm asked if they should go with it, everyone agreed unanimously. “We shook hands, and we were AC/DC. The three names I came up with? I went home and threw them away.”
While Evans left the band just a year later, replaced by the late Bon Scott, he played a key role in those formative years. His time with AC/DC saw the release of early singles ‘Can I Sit Next To You Girl’ and ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go,’ paving the way for the band’s future success.
As AC/DC continues their Power Up tour in 2025 including a few rumoured dates in Australia, Evans’ story is a reminder of the band’s scrappy beginnings. What started as a name scrawled on an appliance has become a global symbol of rock’n’roll power.
For Evans, those early days might have been brief, but they were pivotal. As the singer put it, “We were young, ambitious, and ready to take on the world.” As luck would have it, they later did just that.
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