Ever wonder who's responsible for that iconic AC/DC logo? Or for Angus Young being impaled by his own Gibson SG... or getting violently electrocuted... or sprouting devil horns and tail? Season 2, Episode 3 of AC/DC Beyond The Thunder sits down with veteran art director, Bob Defrin, the man responsible for helping one of the greatest bands of all time become one of the greatest brands of all time.

During the 70’s, Defrin became the "go-to" art director at Atlantic Records with a resume of musicians from Aretha Franklin to Eric Clapton and Foreigner. Then along came AC/DC, with a look that was more cartoon than classic. But after listening to this little known band from Australia, Defrin decided their artwork, “has to be like the music. It comes in and hits you over the head and leaves. That’s what the cover should do.”

During Episode 3, Defrin curates the stories behind every single one of his AC/DC album designs, cover to cover. Beginning with his earliest AC/DC assignment, Let There Be Rock, Defrin discusses the origins of one of the greatest, if not the greatest band symbols of all time, the gothic lettering treatment of the AC/DC logo. “I should’ve got a royalty deal on that one!” Jokes Defrin.

From the 70s golden era of AOR staples like Powerage, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), and Highway To Hell, all the way up through the 90s with The Razors Edge and Ballbreaker, Defrin’s rapport with the Young brothers became a consistently strong relationship, communicating through sketches, photoshoots and even phone calls. “If I had a concept that I wanted to use, I would call Malcolm or Angus and I would describe it to them. They were always involved in the covers, but not sitting over your shoulder telling you what to do. You wouldn’t know that you were talking to one of the major recording artists in the world. They were just delightful to work with. I loved doing AC/DC.”

Often described as direct, simple, powerful, and even shocking, Defrin pushed the special effects envelope on live album covers like, If You Want Blood (You've Got It) even before Photoshop. “We just drove (Angus’ guitar) all the way through his body, and it just came out the back,” laughs Defrin.

The famed designer also discusses his less-than-enthusiastic collaboration with the band during the 1980s, including their monstrous LP, Back In Black, and follow-up albums, For Those About To Rock and Flick Of The Switch. At that point, the band began to take more creative control. “I would have done something different...(but) what the art director is doing is unique. You're packaging somebody else’s talent, so you cannot let your ego get in the way of that.”

Prior to marketing today’s ubiquitous digital music downloads, Defrin’s creative mantra to live by: “A good cover is not going to help a good album. A bad cover can kill and album.” With the combination of the band's incredible music catalog and intense artwork, it seems as though AC/DC as a band and as a brand will outlive us all.

“A good cover is not going to help a good album. A bad cover can kill an album,” says Defrin - a creative mantra to live by that transcends its origins in the era when vinyl was king. With the combination of the band’s incredible music catalog and intense artwork, it seems as though AC/DC as a band and as a brand will outlive us all.

If you want Bob, AC/DC Beyond The Thunder’s got it!

AC/DC Beyond The Thunder kicked off its successful Season 1 in 2019 featuring well known actors, authors, athletes, comedians, musicians, media hosts, and even members of the band, all paying homage to one of the greatest bands of all time, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, AC/DC. Guests included Slash, Hall of Fame MLB pitcher Trevor Hoffman, SNL comedian Jim Breuer, US Military War Hero Mike Durant from the film ‘Black Hawk Down’, classically trained Croatian duo 2CELLOS, Dweezil Zappa and AC/DC drummer, Chris Slade. Season 2’s premiere episode featured the late great, Lemmy Kilmister.

Created by duo Gregg Ferguson & Kurt Squiers, AC/DC Beyond The Thunder originally set out to be a feature length documentary film. After shooting on the Highway to Hell for years, Ferguson and Squiers approached AC/DC’s management to seek partnership with the band for a world-wide commercial release. After countless attempts for a face-to-face, the duo sent a proof of concept edit for review, and while the band said they, “weren’t quite ready to make a historic film while still making history,” AC/DC liked what they saw. But with no partnership, and no music rights from the band, AC/DC Beyond The Thunder was, for all intents and purposes, shot down in flames.

Ferguson and Squiers decided to unearth these wonderful stories of extraordinary fans discussing their affinity for AC/DC and harness that energy into a podcast with sound engineer, Eric Kielb. From archival interviews to all new guest episodes AC/DC Beyond The Thunder is back…in black, serving up inspirational stories about the fans, for the fans, by the fans. For those about to listen, we salute you.

AC/DC Beyond The Thunder can be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any of your favorite podcast apps.