The One AC/DC Song ANGUS YOUNG Struggles to Play Live

Summary

• Thunderstruck started as a warm-up exercise, but turned into an essential and technically demanding part of AC/DC’s live shows.
• Angus Young spends an hour warming up before shows, just to make sure his left hand can handle the riff.
• Unlike most AC/DC songs, Thunderstruck demands precision and consistency, one slip and the hypnotic feel is gone.

Few bands are as famously built on no-nonsense riffs as AC/DC. For Angus Young and his brother Malcolm, there was no mystery to their formula: loud guitars, open chords, and choruses made for the crowd to scream in unison.

Since the Bon Scott era, every song followed this raw blueprint that helped the band steer clear of trends and survive the test of time.

Still, among all the steady grooves and straight-ahead power, there’s one track that demands more than just raw energy from the guitarist.

Featured on The Razor’s Edge (1990), Thunderstruck became a signature anthem of the Brian Johnson years, and an endurance test for anyone holding the pick.

That famous opening lick, looped endlessly through most of the track, actually began as a simple warm-up exercise Angus used to run through on acoustic guitar. He had no idea it would turn into a global hit.

The catch is: that “warm-up” turned into a mandatory part of every AC/DC show, and there’s no room for sloppiness. The riff requires near-surgical precision.

One tiny slip, and the hypnotic effect vanishes. To keep it tight, Angus admitted he blocks off a full hour before each show just to warm up his left hand:

“When we play that song live, I have to sit down for an hour and make sure my fingers are properly warmed up to tackle it. It’s relentlessly tricky. I need to be completely confident every time I play it,” he said in a statement published by Rock Celebrities.

Unlike other looser guitar parts in AC/DC’s catalog, Thunderstruck is more of a technical study in disguise. It sticks to one string and a simple scale, but every note has to come out clean, with consistent attack and no loss in momentum.

On the original recording, Angus skipped the usual stage tricks and picked every note by hand, giving the riff even more bite and clarity.

Even today, with dozens of classics under his belt, Angus knows Thunderstruck stands apart.

For someone who’s always preached that simplicity is the safest path in rock, this riff is one of the rare times when flexing a bit of technique is actually worth it, as long as your fingers don’t freeze up mid-solo.

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