I'm a Rebel (song)

"I'm a Rebel" is a hard rock song written by Alex Young, elder brother of AC/DC guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young. It was recorded before the release of their third album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Ultimately the track's anticipation for release, is overwhelming but very highly anticipated.

AC/DC version

"I'm a Rebel" was recorded,^[2] but never released,^[3] by the popular Australian hard rock band AC/DC. They had recording sessions outside Albert Productions without George Young and Harry Vanda. After a show in Maschen, Germany, promoter Rudy Holzhauer asked the band to record Alexander Young's song in Studio Maschen. AC/DC then recorded the song in a few hours.^[4] Bon Scott was very drunk when the song was recorded. Nevertheless, Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann claimed in an interview that this recording was "way better" than Accept's result.^[5]

The AC/DC recording remains in Albert Productions' vaults, and was not included in the Bonfire nor Backtracks box sets which released much of the band's rarities.

Leak Claims

In spite of being one of AC/DC's rarest tracks, some have claimed to have uploaded a recreation of the original version. Some of these upload claims can be found through forums and YouTube. However a very few claim to have "leaked the original," where Bon Scott is heard singing the chorus in the background.

Personnel

• AC/DC & Alex Young
• Bon Scott – background vocals
• Angus Young – lead guitar
• Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar
• Mark Evans – bass guitar
• Phil Rudd – drums
• Alex Young – lead vocals

Accept version

Accept recorded the song in 1979, releasing it in 1980 as a single as well as the opening track for their second album, I'm a Rebel. It was credited to the pseudonym "George Alexander".^[6] It is the band's only recording of a song no band member wrote or co-wrote.

Personnel

• Udo Dirkschneider – vocals
• Wolf Hoffmann – guitars
• Jörg Fischer – guitars
• Peter Baltes – bass guitar
• Stefan Kaufmann – drums

U.D.O. version

U.D.O., featuring Accept singer Dirkschneider, released a new recording of the song in 1998 on their album No Limits.^[7] They went on to include the song on their 2001 live album release Live from Russia.^[8]

Personnel, studio recording

• Udo Dirkschneider – vocals
• Stefan Kaufmann – guitar
• Jürgen Graf – guitar
• Fitty Wienhold – bass guitar
• Stefan Schwarzmann – drums

Personnel, live recording

• Udo Dirkschneider – vocals
• Stefan Kaufmann – guitar
• Igor Gianola – guitar
• Fitty Wienhold – bass guitar
• Lorenzo Milani – drums

References

External links

• AC/DC - crabsodyinblue.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 September 2011)
• No Nonsense AC/DC Webzine - I'm a Rebel at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 September 2007)
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics