"I'm a Rebel" is a hard rock song written by Alex Young, elder brother of AC/DC guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young.
AC/DC version[]
| "I'm a Rebel" | |
|---|---|
| Song by AC/DC | |
| Released | Unreleased |
| Recorded | 16 September 1976[1] |
| Genre | Hard rock |
| Length | Unknown |
| Label | Albert |
| Writer | Alex Young |
| Producer | Not known |
"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 andHarry 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.
Personnel[]
- Bon Scott – background vocals
- Angus Young – lead guitar
- Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar
- Alex Young – lead vocals
- Mark Evans – bass guitar
- Phil Rudd – drums
Accept version[]
| "I'm a Rebel" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Accept | ||||
| from the album I'm a Rebel | ||||
| B-side | "No Time to Lose" | |||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Writer(s) | Alexander Young under the name George Alexander | |||
| Producer | Dirk Steffens | |||
| Accept singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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