Editing AC/DC (section)

===1976–1977: Initial success and record deal===
[[File:ACDC-Hughes-long ago.jpg|thumb|alt=Angus, about 24, in mid-leap, right leg cocked, back arched while playing guitar. Scott holds microphone above his head, another tattoo partly visible.|Scott (''centre'') pictured with Angus (''left'') and bass guitarist [[Cliff Williams]] (''back''), performing in [[Belfast]] in 1979]]

Browning sent promo material to contacts in London, which came to the attention of [[Phil Carson]] of [[Atlantic Records]]. AC/DC signed an international deal with Atlantic in 1976.<ref name="McFarlane" /> On their arrival in London in April,<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> their scheduled tour with [[Back Street Crawler (band)|Back Street Crawler]] was cancelled due to the death of that group's guitarist, [[Paul Kossoff]].<ref name="Kimball" /> As a result, AC/DC returned to playing smaller venues to build a local following until their label organised the Lock Up Your Daughters tour sponsored by ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine, starting in June 1976.<ref name="Fricke 2">{{cite magazine |first=David |last=Fricke |author-link=David Fricke |date=15 April 2015 |title=Flashback: AC/DC Refuses to Give Up and Rocks On |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-acdc-refuses-to-give-up-and-rocks-on-631/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone Australia]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203045623/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-acdc-refuses-to-give-up-and-rocks-on-631/ |archive-date=3 December 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=27 December 2023}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> At the time, [[punk rock]] was breaking and came to dominate the pages of major British music weeklies, including ''[[NME]]'' and ''[[Melody Maker]]''. AC/DC were sometimes identified with the punk rock movement by the British press, but they hated punk rock, believing it to be a passing fad. Browning wrote that "it wasn't possible to even hold a conversation with AC/DC about punk without them getting totally pissed off".{{sfn|Browning|2014|p=165}}

The first&nbsp;AC/DC album to have worldwide distribution was a 1976 combination of tracks taken from the ''High Voltage'' and ''T.N.T.'' [[LP record|LPs]].<ref name="McFarlane" /> Also titled ''[[High Voltage (1976 album)|High Voltage]]'', it was released through Atlantic in May 1976,<ref name="McFarlane" /> eventually going on to sell over three&nbsp;million copies in the US by 2005.<ref name="AutoJ4-4">{{Cite web |title=American Album Certifications – AC/DC – ''High Voltage'' |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=AC%2FDC&ti=High+Voltage&format=Album&type=#search_section |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) |access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> The track selection was heavily weighted towards the more recent ''T.N.T.'', including only two&nbsp;songs from their first&nbsp;LP.{{sfn|Atlantic Records|1976a}} Their third&nbsp;studio album, ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'', was released in September–November 1976,{{efn|The album was released on 20 September 1976 in Australasia,<ref name="Disco 4">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142522/https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=4 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' (Australia) |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=27 June 2024 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=4 |url-status=live }}</ref> and released in Europe on 12 November 1976.<ref name="Disco 5">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142057/http://ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=5 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=5 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} in both Australian and European versions.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=56}}{{sfn|Engleheart|Durieux|2006|p=166}} Track listings varied worldwide; the international version of the album included the ''T.N.T.'' track "Rocker", which had previously not been released internationally.{{sfn|Atlantic Records|1976b}} The original Australian version included "[[Jailbreak (AC/DC song)|Jailbreak]]". This was later more readily available on the 1984 compilation [[extended play]] ''[['74 Jailbreak]]'',{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=57}} or as a live version on 1992's ''[[Live (AC/DC album)|Live]]''.{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=185}} ''Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'' was not released in North America until 2 April 1981, by which time the band were at the peak of their popularity.{{sfn|Masino|2015|p=137}}

After a brief tour of Sweden, they returned to London, where they set new attendance records during their residency at the [[Marquee Club|Marquee]].<ref name="Kimball" />{{sfn|Elliott|2018|p=49}} They continued to tour throughout Europe and then Australia. In January 1977, they started recording their fourth&nbsp;studio album, ''[[Let There Be Rock]]''.{{efn|The album was released less than 2 months later on 21 March 1977 in Australasia,<ref name="Disco 6">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815061504/http://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=31 |title=AC/DC Discography: ''Let There Be Rock'' (Australia) |first1=Arnaud |last1=Durieux |publisher=ac-dc.net |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=15 August 2019 |url=https://www.ac-dc.net/discography1/acdc_discography.php?discography_id=31 |url-status=live }}</ref> and internationally on 23 June 1977.{{sfn|Albert Productions|Epic Records|2003}}}} Early the same year, they returned to Britain and began a European tour with [[Black Sabbath]]. While Scott and [[Ozzy Osbourne]] quickly became friends, other members of each group were less cordial. In one incident, [[Geezer Butler]] allegedly pulled a [[switchblade]] at Malcolm during their show in Sweden in April. Accounts of the incident differ, but AC/DC were taken off the rest of the tour.<ref name="AutoJ4-5">{{Cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/let-there-be-rock-the-album-that-nearly-killed-ac-dc |title=''Let There Be Rock'': The Album that Saved AC/DC's Career |last=Wall |first=Mick |author-link=Mick Wall |date=7 May 2016 |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024073817/https://www.loudersound.com/features/let-there-be-rock-the-album-that-nearly-killed-ac-dc |archive-date=24 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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