I was reminded of this story after I mentioned AC/DC's TNT last week on the heavy metal jukebox. When I was in middle school every year around Christmas the concert choir from the high school would come and put on a Christmas program. I think we were just glad to get out of regular classes for a while. This story happened when I was in sixth grade which would have put it in December of 1981. Anyway the choir does their program, everyone claps and the choir make their way off the stage. My class is sitting way up on the side bleachers so I know it will be a while until we get out. I look up on the stage and all of the choir are off the stage leaving just the drummer and bass player who are still with their instruments. Then a member of the choir comes on stage and appears like he's taking a microphone stand apart. Instead the drummer and bass player start playing this simple beat and doing opening chant from AC/DC's TNT. Then the guy with the microphone gets out about this much...
"See me ride out of the sunset
On your color TV screen
Out for all that I can get
If you know what I mean"
Then the choir director has sprinted up to the stage and grabbed the microphone from him. A bunch of us were cheering although it doesn't take much to amuse a bunch of sixth graders. I wasn't yet that big into metal. If I listened to anything it was just whatever came on the radio, but I did know what song this was. Every once in while I think back to that story and wonder-
1)How much trouble did those guys get into for doing that?
2)Did they remain AC/DC fans for a long time?
3)Did any of them ever play in a band?
I guess I hope that this was some sign of how much they liked music and that they kept their love of music. However it just may have been a foolish stunt by some kids who just didn't have anything else to do. Anyway just thought I'd share this one with you.
That's a terrific story! I was in the choir in 6th grade and lip-synched the whole time. Yeesh, I was also listening to top 40 then, but I was only steps away from Maiden's Killers and a step into a better world. I too wonder what those band members' fates in life were...
ReplyDeleteI purposely sang false on the choir so they asked each of us in turn to sing and I did it again ... so I managed to get kicked out and rather sit around and do buggerall...
ReplyDeleteLOL..........that cracks me up! I could see that happening as you described it. I'm sure they just got yelled at, but not in trouble so much.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in choir, everytime I couldn't remember the lyrics, I would just pretend to yawn so it didn't look like I didn't know the lyrics.
That's a great story! I love those times when rebelious rock n roll shows up! Good for them! I would have been cheering along also!
ReplyDeletethat's a great story! i remember in the air force, i was about to take the flag down for the day and our desk sgt played Jimi Hendrix's version of the Star Spangled Banner instead. thank God it was on a weekend and nobody caught it, except our boss who put an end to it after the first couple of chords. he didn't get into trouble though.
ReplyDeletePretty cool story. I would have been laughing my ass off. They were probably really into music, at least back then.
ReplyDeleteIf that had happened back in my day, the kids would've been suspended, and probably told to apologize to the student body. Yeah, the early 60s were a tad, how you say... tightassed.
ReplyDeleteHaa Haa thats really cool
ReplyDeleteWell, to answer your questions ...
ReplyDelete1) We got yelled at by the principal, our parents were told that we were "corrupting" our classmates, and we got kicked out of all after-school activities.
2) I'm an AC/DC fan to this day.
3) Playing drums on that day was my last performance on stage.
(Wouldn't that just be an amazing coincidence?!?)
-- david
You reminded me of an awesome AC/DC memory I have from when I was about the same age. It was summer and naively my parents let me and a cousin sleep in the camper parked beside our house. Of course that meant to us that we were free to come and go as we pleased. We snuck out at around 1 or 2 o'clock and walked to a nearby park. Just before we got there, we heard those opening bells of "Hell's Bells". Being stupid youngins with no taste, we were completely ignorant of what it was but we were mesmerized. We hid in the trees at the periphery of the park and watched teenagers drinking beer beside a bonfire. It corrupted us for our own teenage years to come!
ReplyDeleteClassic story. I think that the singer's memory of that day must be crystal clear as well. On a side note, I am producing a documentary on metal fans, we are about 50% done but would love commentary from some experts. We are currently filming in NJ, but we could figure something out.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you are interested. email is ruckfilms@aol.com
good luck with the blog, it is great.