France Album Sales: AC/DC

Back In Black (1980) Era

After doubting of their future due to Bon Scott passing, AC/DC decided to keep going with a new singer Brian Johnson. It was already the band third singer as they started with Dave Evans in their very early days before recording original material.

In July 1980, only five months after Scott death, Back In Black was already fully recorded and available in every good retailer of the world. The catchy lead single You Shook Me All Night Long was Top 40 in both US & UK, perfectly starting the album promotion. The band was no more the underground act of 76-78 years, not even the successful 1979 group, they were now a major selling force. In fact, Back In Black debuted straight at #1 in UK and was a multi-million seller with a #4 peak in the US.

In France, the album was also #1 of its first full monthly chart and #2 the following month of September. Hells Bells second single was just as big, after the album dropped to #14 and #15 in October/November, it shot up to #6 in December chart thanks to this song and #3 in January. Continuing to sell well until June, the set sold 340,000 copies in 1980 and 240,000 units in 1981, becoming the band highest selling record.

Obviously, those massive sales added to the tragic events boosted AC/DC full catalog. It is known that Back In Black, Highway To Hell, If You Want Blood You’ve Got It, Let There Be Rock, High Voltage and Powerage all went Gold during 1980. What is not known is when during 1980 they reached the plateau. It is a key indication of which album was the highest sellers among their catalog. There have been 102 Gold albums awarded in 1980, below I listed all AC/DC records concerned with the order number that reflects when they were awarded:

1 If You Want Blood You’ve Got It
2 Highway To Hell
59 Let There Be Rock
72 Back In Black
86 High Voltage 
89 Powerage 

Top 3 Most Streamed Tracks on Spotify

1. Back In Black – 51,169,000
2. You Shook Me All Night Long – 33,002,000
3. Shoot To Thrill – 14,240,000
4. Hells Bells – 13,215,000