Highway to spell: an ABC of AC/DC
A is for Angus, B is for Bon, H is for Highway, and T is for TNT: for those about to read, we salute you.
A is for Angus, B is for Bon, H is for Highway, and T is for TNT.
For those about to read, we salute you, as headbanging preschoolers on the “highway to spell” will soon be plugging into The AC/DC AB/CD High-Voltage Alphabet, a children’s book written and illustrated by Byron Bay artist Paul McNeil.
The project came about when AC/DC guitarist and co-founder Angus Young was shown a copy of McNeil’s previous kids’ book, M is for Metal, while he was in Sydney in late 2020 to promote the band’s 17th album, Power Up.
Tickled by the concept and the opening pages – “A is for Angus, whose riffs are a hit / He’s a grown man in a schoolboy outfit” – Young got in touch with the publisher to ask for a few more copies of the 2006 title, co-written with journalist Barry Divola.
When McNeil jokingly suggested an AC/DC-themed book, he was shocked when the duck-walking riff maestro said yes.
“Everyone knows the clichéd and popular things about them, but I started reading books and I was really overwhelmed by just how close-knit AC/DC is as a family,” McNeil told The Australian.
“I changed my take on it from being corny, funny, ‘rock’ and crude to being respectful, because they were respectful around (the deaths of) Bon, Malcolm, George and all the family members,” he said. “I wrote it with love, really.”
The artist has tucked away plenty of nods to the band’s storied history, including Margaret Young’s name etched on a “Sister” brand sewing machine on “L is for Logo”; she was the one who suggested AC/DC as her brothers’ band name after seeing the initials on a voltage label.
Two iconic Sydney venues make an appearance: Chequers Nightclub, where the band played its first gig at the end of 1973, as well as The Bondi Lifesaver, another favourite early stomping ground.
McNeil found a clever way out of the trickiest letter to illustrate, too: “X is for xylophone, that doesn’t sound right / We’re a rock band, let’s use some bagpipes.”
After dropping off a few spare copies of M is for Metal to the famed schoolboy’s house, publisher Brian Taranto was thrilled to enjoy a long visit with Angus and his wife, Ellen, while gently prodding the private rocker to consider writing his own book one day.
The AB/CD children’s title will be published by Love Police Books on November 11, and as for sales projections, Taranto is playing his cards close to his chest.
“People keep having children, I’ve noticed, and they all need to learn the alphabet,” said the publisher with a smile. “Our expectation is modest, but we are in a position [where], should this become a behemoth and attempt to sell 100,000 copies around the planet? Bring it on, baby!”
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