By the late 1960s, Alex Young (1938-1997), older brother of AC/DC guitarists Angus Young and Malcolm Young, was writing songs for his pop band Grapefruit, along with the British singer Gerry Marsden, and Tramp, which featured mick fleetwood in its early lineup. Toward the late ’70s, Young also wrote a song that AC/DC recorded yet never released, “I’m a Rebel.”
At the time, AC/DC were working on their third album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, and recorded a rough version of Young’s song while in Maschen, Germany, in 1976. On the demo, Young is on lead vocals, not bon scott, who was allegedly too drunk and sang backing vocals and played drums instead, and it was recorded without the usual AC/DC producers, younger brother George Young and Harry Vanda.
The lyrics were a straightforward rock anthem for rebellious youth.
They say I won’t make it to the top of the hill
Won’t take the fruit off the tree
And everybody says I’m out for the kill
They’re all laughing at me
They’re all laughing at me
I’m a rebel, rebel, don’t you just know it?
I’m a rebel, rebel
And they’re all laughing at me
They say I’m a danger to the public and all
I only wish they would see
I’m just the product of a screwed up world, but they’re all
They’re all laughing at me
They’re all laughing at me
Yet, for reasons unknown, Young asked the band not to release their version of the song, and they respected his wishes. At the time, AC/DC were also focused on releasing original material that they were producing within the band.Accept’s “I’m a Rebel”
In 1979, German heavy metal band Accept were experimenting with their sound and exploring something more commercial following their eponymous debut. The band needed a radio hit, and ended up recording “I’m a Rebel,” which they also used as the title of their 1980 album.
In search of a hit, Accept’s music publisher Rudi Holzhauer brought the tape of AC/DC’s demo of “I’m the Rebel” to the band. “I’ve got this song that might fit you guys,” guitarist Wolf Hoffmann remembered holzhauer saying “It’s catchy, it’s heavy, and it was written for AC/DC.”
Also, the opening track on I’m a Rebel, the song was released as the lead single and was used for the band’s first music video, which gave Accept a minor hit and more attention within the hard rock community.
“Nobody expected us to be a huge success overnight,” Said hoffmann, the last remaining original member of Accept, in 2002. “And then on record number two, I remember we tried, and everybody else tried to make it a little more radio-friendly, maybe—make a video for ‘I’m A Rebel.’ That’s the only song we ever covered. … That ‘I’m A Rebel’ song was a sort of leftover AC/DC song.”
“It was with that old AC/DC line-up.”
Young, who is credited under the pseudonym George Alexander, also came to the band’s studio to help coach them on how he thought the song should sound. After all was recorded, Hoffman said AC/DC’s version was even better than Accept’s.
“It was with that old AC/DC line-up,” said Hoffman. “It was awesome. It was incredible and way better than our version. I mean, I remember it today, it was way cool. We liked the song and said we’ll try it. This George Alexander (Young) guy came in and coached us a little bit on how he wanted it, and we played it.”
The song was later covered by Accept founding member and former lead vocalist Udo Dirkschneider’s band, U.D.O., on their 1998 album No Limits, along with a live version on their 2001 release Live From Russia.
In the AC/DC Vault
Though AC/DC never released “I’m a Rebel” on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, nor their 1997 Box sets of rarities, Bonfire (1997) and Backtracks (2009), there are some versions of the recording purporting to be the original 1976 demo by the band.
Today, “I’m a Rebel” is reportedly still archived at Albert Productions, the band’s then-record label.
“I think it’s a brilliant track, but I actually do remember that the original version demo with AC/DC had some magic that got a little bit lost when we re-recorded it,” Hoffman said in 2021. “And it’s still in the archives somewhere, but, of course, it’s locked away forever, and it’s never gonna see the light of day. But it does exist, because I still heard it a few years ago on somebody’s iPhone—namely, the guy who actually introduced us to that song was from our publishing company in Hamburg.”
He added, “And he’s since passed away, and it probably stayed on his iPhone and will never see the light of day.”
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