Monsters of Rock Concert Programme Donington 1981 AC/DC Whitesnake Slade

Monsters of Rock 1981

This item is the official programme for the Monsters of Rock concert on Saturday 22nd August 1981, held at Donington Park, England, UK

The programme is in great condition considering it is now 30 years old.

The programme includes 10 pages of black & white 'live' pictures of AC/DC and interview with Angus, plus pictures and information on each of the support bands.

It also has a great red, black & white cover featuring the 'Monsters of Rock' devil logo and the names of the artists appearing.

Some info of that memorable day;

Lineup: AC/DC, Whitesnake, Blue Oyster Cult, Slade, Blackfoot, More

The show got off to a slow start with sets from More and Blackfoot - neither of whom managed to inspire the crowd greatly. Slade were on next and they were just the right act for the time - they got the crowd singing along to ' Merry Xmas " and generally hit the right spot . Obviously they had transcended their glam roots and managed to successfully transmute into a heavy enough outfit to satisfy a crowd of headbangers ! A major commercial achievement on their part and well done considering it was still daylight -its always hard to get a crowd going in the daylight hours.

Next up was the acclaimed hard rock act Blue Öyster Cult . This band had been around for a long time and had achieved some success in the mid 70s with their mix of heavy rock and prog orientated lyrics - a sound which tended to set them apart from most run of the mill metal bands. Unfortunately things hadn't been going well for the band in the weeks preceding Donington , their drummer- Albert Bouchard ,one of their main composers and who sang on a number of their songs , had been increasingly unreliable, showing up late for almost all the UK shows . The day before Donington he flew back to the states ( either having left voluntarily or been sacked ) leaving the band with roadie Rick Downey as a stand in ( Downey had played the opening numbers in Bouchard's stead at several gigs previously but this was the first show that he had played the entire set with the band ).

The band of the day title was taken from under AC/DC’s nose by the mighty blues rock of Whitesnake. Coverdale and co were one of the best live bands around in the early eighties.AC/DC were let down by over-long gaps between songs. Also, apart from ‘THE’ Bell, their stage show was a bit sparse. Their shows at later Donington’s were much better.

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