Big Gun
Encyclopedia
"Big Gun" is a song by AC/DC
. It was released as a single in 1993 and can be heard on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger
movie Last Action Hero
, as well as during reruns of the Savage Nation
talk show as bumper music. It was later released on the 2009 box set Backtracks
. It became the band's first No. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1993.
AC/DC has only played the song live once during 1996 rehearsals but never at an official show, even though it is considered a fan favourite.
, begins with Schwarzenegger breaking an entrance door to an AC/DC concert. As he walks around the crowd and the stage, observing each band member, Angus kicks his cap
towards him. When Schwarzenegger puts on the cap, his clothes morph into Angus' trademark school uniform costume and signature Gibson SG
. He then starts imitating Angus' on-stage antics throughout the video, including a scene in which Angus Young actually climbs up on Schwarzennegger's back and rides around the stage perched on his shoulders while continuing to play his guitar chords. The video also features a young Shavo Odadjian
, the future bassist for the Armenian-American
alternative metal
band System of a Down
.
The video was similar to the one for "You Could Be Mine
" (released to promote Terminator 2: Judgement Day), where Schwarzenegger interacted with Guns N' Roses
.
The video was released on Family Jewels Disc 3, part of the 2009 box set Backtracks
. It was not released on the original Family Jewels, because it contains scenes from the movie and therefore had licencing issues.
As well as its worldwide release on the Last Action Hero
soundtrack, the song could be found on iTunes with the rest of the soundtrack, making it the only song by AC/DC on iTunes
. However, it was recently removed from iTunes along with "Two Steps Behind
" (Def Leppard
).
* Live in Moscow.
This was the last song to feature then-drummer Chris Slade
, before being asked to leave AC/DC a year later so that Phil Rudd
could return to the band.
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
. It was released as a single in 1993 and can be heard on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
movie Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
, as well as during reruns of the Savage Nation
Michael Savage (commentator)
Michael Savage is a conservative American radio host, author, and political commentator. He is the host of The Savage Nation, a nationally syndicated talk show that airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
talk show as bumper music. It was later released on the 2009 box set Backtracks
Backtracks (AC/DC album)
Backtracks is a box set by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was announced on 29 September 2009 and was released on 10 November 2009. This is a collection of the band's studio and live rarities together in one boxset. There are two editions; a Deluxe Edition and a Standard Edition...
. It became the band's first No. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1993.
AC/DC has only played the song live once during 1996 rehearsals but never at an official show, even though it is considered a fan favourite.
Music video
The music video, directed by David MalletDavid Mallet (director)
David Mallet is a British director particularly noted for his work on music videos, including David Bowie's innovative "Ashes to Ashes", Rush's "Distant Early Warning, and Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free" videos. He has also served as a producer on television programmes including...
, begins with Schwarzenegger breaking an entrance door to an AC/DC concert. As he walks around the crowd and the stage, observing each band member, Angus kicks his cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
towards him. When Schwarzenegger puts on the cap, his clothes morph into Angus' trademark school uniform costume and signature Gibson SG
Gibson SG
At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
. He then starts imitating Angus' on-stage antics throughout the video, including a scene in which Angus Young actually climbs up on Schwarzennegger's back and rides around the stage perched on his shoulders while continuing to play his guitar chords. The video also features a young Shavo Odadjian
Shavo Odadjian
Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian is an Armenian American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music video director/editor, music producer, and artist/painter. He is best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and occasional songwriter of the Grammy Award-winning rock band System of a Down...
, the future bassist for the Armenian-American
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
band System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
.
The video was similar to the one for "You Could Be Mine
You Could Be Mine
"You Could Be Mine" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their 1991 fourth studio album Use Your Illusion II. It was released as the band's seventh single, and the first from the Use Your Illusion albums, in June 1991...
" (released to promote Terminator 2: Judgement Day), where Schwarzenegger interacted with Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
.
The video was released on Family Jewels Disc 3, part of the 2009 box set Backtracks
Backtracks (AC/DC album)
Backtracks is a box set by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was announced on 29 September 2009 and was released on 10 November 2009. This is a collection of the band's studio and live rarities together in one boxset. There are two editions; a Deluxe Edition and a Standard Edition...
. It was not released on the original Family Jewels, because it contains scenes from the movie and therefore had licencing issues.
As well as its worldwide release on the Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
soundtrack, the song could be found on iTunes with the rest of the soundtrack, making it the only song by AC/DC on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. However, it was recently removed from iTunes along with "Two Steps Behind
Two Steps Behind
"Two Steps Behind" is a 1993 song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their album Retro Active and Last Action Hero Soundtrack. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" (Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
).
Charts
| Year | Country | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Australia | ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
No. 19 |
| 1993 | Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
Austrian Singles Chart | No. 23 |
| 1993 | France | French Singles Chart | No. 14 |
| 1993 | Germany | German Singles Chart | No. 20 |
| 1993 | Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
Dutch Singles Chart | No. 18 |
| 1993 | Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
Norwegian Singles Chart | No. 8 |
| 1993 | Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
Swedish Singles Chart | No. 11 |
| 1993 | Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
Swiss Singles Chart | No. 5 |
| 1993 | UK | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
No. 23 |
| 1993 | US | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
No. 65 |
| 1993 | US | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 1 |
CD maxi-single (US)
- "Big Gun" (Angus YoungAngus YoungAngus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
, Malcolm YoungMalcolm YoungMalcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
) – 4:25 - "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"For Those About to Rock " is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. The song was first released on AC/DC's eighth studio album For Those About to Rock We Salute You in 1981, and later as a single in 1982. The single's B-side contains an edited live version of "Let There Be Rock", recorded...
"* (Brian JohnsonBrian JohnsonBrian Johnson is an English singer and lyricist who has been the lead singer for the rock band AC/DC since 1980. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 along with the other members of the band....
, Young, Young) – 6:42 - "Shoot to ThrillShoot to Thrill"Shoot to Thrill" is the second song on the album Back in Black by hard rock band AC/DC. This song is also the second track of AC/DC Live and AC/DC Live: 2 CD Collector's Edition, and is included on the Iron Man 2 soundtrack.-Music video:...
"** (Johnson, Young, Young) – 5:45
CD maxi-single (UK)
- "Big Gun" (Young, Young) – 4:25
- "Back in BlackBack in BlackBack in Black is an album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is the seventh Australian and sixth internationally released studio album by the band....
"* (Johnson, Young, Young) – 4:26 - "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"
* (Johnson, Young, Young) – 6:42
Personnel
- Brian JohnsonBrian JohnsonBrian Johnson is an English singer and lyricist who has been the lead singer for the rock band AC/DC since 1980. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 along with the other members of the band....
– lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Angus YoungAngus YoungAngus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Malcolm YoungMalcolm YoungMalcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - Cliff WilliamsCliff WilliamsClifford Williams is an English bassist and backing vocalist, who has been a member of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC since mid-1977. He had started his professional music career in 1967 and was previously in the British groups Home and Bandit. His first studio album with AC/DC was Powerage...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Chris SladeChris SladeChris Slade is a Welsh rock drummer.-Career:Slade has worked with Gary Numan, Tom Jones, Olivia Newton-John , and Uriah Heep. He was a member of Manfred Mann's Earth Band from 1972 to 1978...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
This was the last song to feature then-drummer Chris Slade
Chris Slade
Chris Slade is a Welsh rock drummer.-Career:Slade has worked with Gary Numan, Tom Jones, Olivia Newton-John , and Uriah Heep. He was a member of Manfred Mann's Earth Band from 1972 to 1978...
, before being asked to leave AC/DC a year later so that Phil Rudd
Phil Rudd
Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd is an Australian drummer. He is best known for his membership of rock band AC/DC from 1975 until 1983, and again from 1994 to present. After the 1977 departure of bass guitarist Mark Evans, he became the only Australian-born member of the band...
could return to the band.