Cliff Williams | |
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 Williams performing withAC/DC in 1982 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Clifford Williams |
| Born | (1949-12-14)14 December 1949 (age 75) Romford, Essex, England |
| Origin | Hoylake, Merseyside, England |
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| Years active | 1966–2016, 2018–present[1][2] |
| Labels | Columbia |
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| Website | acdc |
Clifford Williams (born 14 December 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the Australianhard rock bandAC/DC. He started his professional music career in 1967 and had previously been in the English groupsHome andBandit. His first studio album with AC/DC wasPowerage in 1978. Williams was inducted into the AmericanRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of AC/DC in 2003. Williams announced his retirement from AC/DC in 2016, but returned for their 2020 comeback albumPower Up along with band matesBrian Johnson andPhil Rudd. His side projects include benefit concerts.
Clifford Williams was born on 14 December 1949 inRomford, Essex.[3][4] In 1961, he moved with his family toHoylake, Merseyside, where he was influenced by the localMerseybeat movement and decided to become a musician.[4][5] At the age of 13, he and some friends formed a band.[4] He listedThe Rolling Stones,The Who,The Kinks, andblues musicians such asBo Diddley as influences, and mostly learned to play bass by "listening to records and picking out notes", with his formal training limited to some lessons from a professional bassist in nearbyLiverpool.[6] He left school when he was 16 years old, working as an engineer by day and musician by night.[5]
In 1966, Williams moved toLondon,[4][5] where he worked at a demolition site and in supermarkets while playing in various short-lived bands.[3] He met guitaristLaurie Wisefield (later a member ofWishbone Ash) and the two became members of a band, Sugar, which soon broke up.[4][7][8] In 1970, Williams and Wisefield joined with singer Mick Stubbs,keyboardist Clive John, and drummer Mick Cook to form theprogressive rock groupHome.[4][7] The band signed a recording deal withEpic Records and issued their debut LP,Pause for a Hoarse Horse, in 1971.[8] Home was a supporting act forJeff Beck,Mott the Hoople,The Faces andLed Zeppelin.[4]
In 1972, Jim Anderson replaced John on keyboards and Home releaseda self-titled album, featuring their only hit single, "Dreamer", which peaked at No. 41 in the UK album charts.[9] Their next album,The Alchemist, followed in 1973, but did not gain chart success. When Britishfolk singer-songwriterAl Stewart suggested that Home back him on his first American tour in March 1974, Mick Stubbs left the group. The rest of the members became the Al Stewart Band, but split up after the tour.[7][8] Williams briefly played with the American band Stars before formingBandit in 1974.[3][7] Bandit's line-up included vocalistJim Diamond and drummer Graham Broad (later inBucks Fizz andRoger Waters's band). The group signed withArista Records and released a self-titled album in 1977. Bandit also performed asAlexis Korner's backing band on 1977'sThe Lost Album before disbanding later that year.[7][9][10]
Williams considered retiring from music following Bandit's breakup, but one of the group's guitarists, Jimmy Litherland, convinced him to audition for the Australian groupAC/DC, who were looking for a bassist after firingMark Evans shortly after recording their 1977 studio albumLet There Be Rock.[11][12] AC/DC had formed in Australia in 1973 and by mid-1977 the line-up wasMalcolm Young on rhythm guitar and backing vocals alongside his brotherAngus Young on lead guitar,Phil Rudd on drums andBon Scott on vocals.[7][13] Shortly after deciding to audition for the band, Williams saw AC/DC onTop of the Pops and was impressed,[5] describing them as "outrageous".[14]
For his audition, Williams played four jam sessions with the band,[14] and on 27 May 1977 was officially asked to join AC/DC. Angus declared the decision was partially motivated by the bassist's good looks, which the band hoped would attract more women to their concerts.[15] As Williams was replacing an Australian musician, there were issues resulting in problems obtaining awork permit to enter the country.[16] His first performances with AC/DC were in Australia supporting theLet There Be Rock album,[4] with two secret gigs at Sydney's Lifesaver.[17] The albumPowerage (1978), produced byVanda & Young, marked Williams's studio debut.[7][13][18] Williams remained in AC/DC from that time onwards until 2016,[19][4][13] with only a temporary departure in 1991 as he suffered a kidney infection, during which Paul Greg had to play bass for some North American concerts in theRazors Edge World Tour.[20] In addition to his role as bassist with AC/DC, Williams also contributed backing vocals.[4] He has said that his favourite albums with the band arePowerage andBack in Black.[21] On 7 July 2016, Williams announced his plans to retire from the music industry following AC/DC'sRock or Bust World Tour. He cited his opinion that AC/DC was now "a changed animal" with the recent departures of several core band members;Malcolm Young could no longer contribute due todementia,Phil Rudd could not tour due to being under house arrest, andBrian Johnson was forced into retirement due to hearing problems.[19] In September 2016, during his last performance with AC/DC at theWells Fargo Center inPhiladelphia, Williams was brought to the front of the stage byAngus Young to take a bow in the middle of "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".[22] On September 30, 2020, AC/DC officially confirmed that Williams, along with fellow band mates Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd, have rejoined the band.[23] Though he performed with the band at thePower Trip Festival in October 2023, Williams is not currently touring with AC/DC on theirPower Up Tour, withChris Chaney performing in his place.[citation needed]
In 1984, Williams played bass and backing vocals onAdam Bomb's song "I Want My Heavy Metal", for the albumFatal Attraction.[24] During AC/DC's hiatus in the 2000s, Williams joined Bosnian musician Emir Bukovica's band Emir & Frozen Camels. The group recorded the albumSan in 2002 and played in some European clubs.[25] In 2005, Williams and AC/DC singer Johnson played in a hurricane relief event in Florida, promoted by theJohn Entwistle Foundation. There Williams met drummerSteve Luongo, president of the foundation and former member of the John Entwistle band. Luongo later brought Williams, Johnson, and guitarist Mark Hitt for the Classic Rock Cares charity project. The quartet composed and recorded ten tracks in the studio in 2007, and followed that with a tour to raise funds for the foundation.[21][26][27] In 2011, Williams played on a benefit concert organized byMark Farner.[28][29] Williams said he also occasionally plays with arhythm and blues band from Fort Myers called The Juice.[6]
Since Williams' introduction to the band, AC/DC has been inducted to theAustralian Recording Industry Association'sHall of Fame (in 1988),[30] and theRock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 2003).[31] In 1982, Williams was chosen as "Bassist of the Year" in a vote conducted byKerrang! magazine.[32]
Williams married his American wife Georganne in 1980. They have two children: model and actressErin Lucas (born 1984)[33] and Luke (born 1986).[34] The couple initially settled inHawaii,[12] but this left them feeling too isolated, and they found the school system to be lacking.[citation needed] In 1986, they moved toFort Myers, Florida, at the suggestion of AC/DC bandmate and nearby residentBrian Johnson.[11] Williams also spends time in the French city ofAix-en-Provence, where he has distant relatives. Williams' hobbies include fishing,[28] flying,[14] and wine.[35]
Williams' role in AC/DC was to provide steady but basicbasslines which followed the rhythm guitar of Malcolm Young,[4] consisting mostly ofeighth notes.[36] His basslines were sometimes written by Malcolm and Angus Young during composition, and at other times Williams developed them based on the other instrumental tracks.[37] Williams has said of his playing, "It's not the [bass] line that counts. It is thefeel. My favorite AC/DC tune to play is'Down Payment Blues', because it's so simple. I play four notes throughout the song, but I get off on thewhole thing—not me noodlin' away."[14] He also said that he plays "the same thing in every song, for the most part [...] in AC/DC's music, the song is more important than any individual's bit in it".[38] He added that "complex [bass] lines wouldn't add anything to a guitar-oriented band like [AC/DC], so [he tries] to create a bottom layer that drives what [AC/DC's] guys are doing on top".[14] Williams had no difficulty keeping his low profile within the band, declaring, "I don't have any problem doing this, because I enjoy playing simply. I never feel angry or prisoner."[37] Nevertheless, he very occasionally employs more melodic lines and passing notes on some songs, such as "Satellite Blues". His playing technique is mostly centred arounddownpicking, with the occasional use ofplucking to mute the strings, which he says "adds more definition and tightens up the notes, and it gives the sound less sustain".[14]
In his first appearance in 1977, he used aGibson Ripper only for the "Let There Be Rock" music video. Williams' trademark instrument is theStingRay and other basses byMusic Man, strung with Ernie Ball (.045, .065, .085, .105) flatwounds in the studio andD'Addario roundwound XLs in the same gauge in concert.[39][40] In October 2020, Ernie Ball Music Man announced that they are releasing aCliff Williams Signature Bass which will be a genuine replica of his 1979 Music Man StingRay bass. Williams states that despite trying other basses over the years, he always went back to Music Man's instruments, which he described as "a tremendous work horse of a bass".[5] Other basses used include theFender Precision Bass,[14] aGibson Thunderbird non-reverse,Fender Jazz Bass,[41] theSteinberger L-series,[42] aGibson EB-3 and at least twoLAG Custom basses. Williams used 3Ampeg SVT-810E cabinets with 2 SVT-4PRO Heads, but if there was any interference with the wireless systems, he used cables in his live performances.[40]
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