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Vintage ballpoint signatures, "Bon, AC/DC," "Phil Rudd," "Malcolm Young, AC/DC," "Cliff Williams, AC/DC," and "Angus Young, AC/DC,” on an off-white 11.75 x 8.25 sheet. The consignor notes that the autographs were obtained at the ABC Cinema in Colchester, England, on May 18, 1978, during the band’s Powerage UK tour. In very good to fine condition, with light creasing and intersecting folds.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and a detailed letter from the original recipient that reads: ‘It may be hard to believe now, but it actually happened on Thursday 18th May 1978. The band that night was AC/DC and the venue was the old ABC Cinema on St John’s Street in Colchester, now the Playhouse pub. It was to be the first of two visits to our town, the second coming later that year when they returned to play the University as part of the BBC’s Rock Goes To College series.
On this occasion though, local promoter John Hessenthaler had booked the Aussie heavy rockers, and I was asked to go along and work as a roadie, helping the band’s own crew unload — and later reload — their truck packed full of amps, speakers and gear.
The place was buzzing long before the doors opened. There was that electric feeling you only got in the late seventies when rock music still felt dangerous and unpredictable. Watching the equipment come in, knowing who it belonged to, made it all feel slightly unreal. These were records I’d played loud at home, and now I was helping carry the very amps that created that sound.
The show itself was loud, raw and relentless. AC/DC hit the stage with an energy that seemed barely controllable, driving the crowd into a frenzy from the first song. From the side of the stage, you could feel the sheer force of it — the heat from the lights, the pounding drums, and the wall of sound coming from stacks we’d only just finished setting up.
After the concert finished and the last echoes faded, the work started again. We helped load everything back into the truck, hauling cases and coiling cables in the cool night air behind the venue, everyone exhausted but still running on adrenaline.
Once it was all packed away, the atmosphere changed completely. The band invited us and the road crew to sit down with them and soon stacks of pizza boxes appeared. We sat wherever we could — on steps, flight cases and bits of staging — sharing food and winding down together. Rock stars, crew and local helpers all mixed in, laughing and talking after a successful night.
At one point I worked up the nerve to ask for their autographs. I didn’t have anything proper with me, so I found a scrap of paper lying around and handed it over. One by one they signed it without hesitation. To them it was probably just the end of another gig, but to me it felt like holding a piece of history.
It wasn’t glamorous — just tired faces, pizza boxes and ringing ears — but standing there among the band and crew after helping make the night happen, I knew I’d experienced something special that would stay with me forever.’
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