Who Made Who (song)
Encyclopedia
"Who Made Who" is a song and a single by the Australia
n hard rock
band AC/DC
, taken from their 1986 album, Who Made Who
. The 12-inch single format of the single features an extended mix of the song and can be found in the Deluxe Edition of AC/DC's
Backtracks Boxset
, on Disc 1, Studio Rarities. It was one of only three new tracks on Who Made Who, because the album is not only a soundtrack to Stephen King
's Maximum Overdrive
, but a compilation album
featuring tracks from previous albums. The other two new tracks were instrumentals.
In the video to this song, directed by David Mallet
, fans and radio contest winners were dressed like Angus Young
, and carried red cardboard guitars similar to Angus's Gibson SG
. The video's plot features scientists replicating Angus by means of science fiction
technology; the lookalikes are shown en masse, marching in time to the song and raising their heads to chant the title phrase along with the chorus. A photo of Angus standing amid a group of his counterparts can be found inside the 2003 Digipak
release of Who Made Who.
In addition to the song itself, "Who Made Who" has also been played live, mostly throughout the subsequent world tour
and the Blow Up Your Video World Tour
. It was also played live with replacement drummer Chris Slade
throughout The Razors Edge World Tour, and with drummer Phil Rudd
(who returned to the band in 1994 after being fired from the group 11 years prior) for only one gig at the opening night of the Ballbreaker World Tour
in Greensboro, North Carolina
, after which the song was dropped and has not been played live ever since.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band AC/DC
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"...
, taken from their 1986 album, Who Made Who
Who Made Who
Who Made Who is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC, released in 1986 as the soundtrack to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive...
. The 12-inch single format of the single features an extended mix of the song and can be found in the Deluxe Edition of AC/DC's
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"...
Backtracks Boxset
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...
, on Disc 1, Studio Rarities. It was one of only three new tracks on Who Made Who, because the album is not only a soundtrack to Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American action-horror-science fiction film written and directed by novelist Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story, Trucks, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift.Maximum Overdrive is...
, but a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
featuring tracks from previous albums. The other two new tracks were instrumentals.
In the video to this song, directed by David Mallet
David 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...
, fans and radio contest winners were dressed like Angus Young
Angus Young
Angus 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,...
, and carried red cardboard guitars similar to Angus's 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...
. The video's plot features scientists replicating Angus by means of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
technology; the lookalikes are shown en masse, marching in time to the song and raising their heads to chant the title phrase along with the chorus. A photo of Angus standing amid a group of his counterparts can be found inside the 2003 Digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
release of Who Made Who.
In addition to the song itself, "Who Made Who" has also been played live, mostly throughout the subsequent world tour
Who Made Who World Tour
The Who Made Who Tour was a tour by Australian hard rock band AC/DC supporting their Who Made Who album. The tour took place in North America, beginning in New Orleans on 30 July 1986 and ending in Uniondale, New York on 20 September.-Tour dates:...
and the Blow Up Your Video World Tour
Blow Up Your Video World Tour
The Blow Up Your Video World Tour was a rock concert tour played by the hard rock band AC/DC , which had 4 legs spreading over the course of 11 months starting on 29 January 1988, in Perth, Australia and finishing on 13 November 1988, in Inglewood, CA. This tour would be the last to feature drummer...
. It was also played live with replacement 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...
throughout The Razors Edge World Tour, and with drummer 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...
(who returned to the band in 1994 after being fired from the group 11 years prior) for only one gig at the opening night of the Ballbreaker World Tour
Ballbreaker World Tour
The Ballbreaker World Tour was a rock concert tour played by the hard rock band AC/DC, which had 5 legs around the world lasting 11 months starting on 12 January 1996 in Greensboro, NC finishing on 30 November 1996 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The tour saw the return of drummer Phil Rudd to the...
in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, after which the song was dropped and has not been played live ever since.
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....
– 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 guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - 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... - 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.... - Simon Wright – 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 ....