Cliff Williams
Williams performing with AC/DC in 1981
Background information
Birth name	Clifford Williams
Born	December 14, 1949 (1949-12-14) (age 58)
Origin	Romford, Essex, England
Genre(s)	Hard rock Heavy metal Blues-rock Glam metal Rock and roll
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Bass Vocals
Years active	1970 - present
Label(s)	Columbia Records
Associated acts	AC/DC Home Bandit Al Stewart
Website	AC/DC Official Website

Cliff Williams (born December 14, 1949) is a British bassist, best known for his membership in the Australian hard rock band AC/DC since June 1977 (though he was briefly replaced by Paul Greg during the 1991 world tour). Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Romford is a large suburban town in East London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining Bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended Boogie jams with Rock Glam metal (also known as pop metal) is a sub-genre of Heavy metal music that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A backing vocalist or backing singer (or especially in the US In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Home was a British rock band active in the early 1970s The core line up was Mick Stubbs - lead guitar lead vocals Laurie Wisefield - lead guitar vocals Bandit were a British rock band notable in the 1970s Bandit released two albums with different line-ups Al Stewart (born Alastair Ian Stewart, 5 September 1945 in Glasgow) is a British Singer-songwriter and folk rock Musician. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A bass player (bassist is a Musician who plays a Double bass, Bass guitar, keyboard bass or wind Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. He moved with his family to Liverpool when he was nine, where he spent the first two working years of his life as an engineer before joining his first band, Home. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Home was a British rock band active in the early 1970s The core line up was Mick Stubbs - lead guitar lead vocals Laurie Wisefield - lead guitar vocals Like his bandmate Brian Johnson, he now lives in Florida. Brian Johnson (born October 5 1947) is an English Singer and Songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for the Australian

Biography

Early career

In 1970, Cliff Williams began with his first band, Home, with singer Mick Stubbs, guitarist Laurie Wisefield, keyboardist Clive John and drummer Mick Cook. Home was a British rock band active in the early 1970s The core line up was Mick Stubbs - lead guitar lead vocals Laurie Wisefield - lead guitar vocals A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres An electronic keyboard or digital keyboard is a type of Keyboard instrument. By 1970 the group's progressive brand rock music earned them a deal with Epic Records and a debut LP was released the following year under the title Pause For A Hoarse Horse. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Epic Records is an American Record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. In November 1971 Home supported Led Zeppelin at the Wembley Empire Pool on the second of Led Zeppelin's Electric Magic concerts which featured circus acts as well as rock bands. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Led Zeppelin were Wembley is an area located in North-West London, England which forms the northern part of the London Borough of Brent.

In 1972, Jim Anderson replaced Clive John on keyboards and Home released a self-titled album, going on to have their one and only hit with Dreamer in November 1972, which peaked at #41 in the UK album charts. Their next album, The Alchemist followed in 1973, but did not gain much success. However, when British folk singer-songwriter Al Stewart suggested Home back him on his first American tour in March 1974, Mick Stubbs left the group. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics Al Stewart (born Alastair Ian Stewart, 5 September 1945 in Glasgow) is a British Singer-songwriter and folk rock Musician. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The others became the 'Al Stewart Band'. The Al Stewart band did not last long, and Cliff Williams was next to leave the group, forming Bandit in 1974.

Bandit quickly got a deal with Arista Records and released a self-titled album in 1977. Arista Records (ˈɛərɪstə is an American Record label. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operates under the Joining Cliff in this line-up was vocalist Jim Diamond (who went on to success as a solo artist) and drummer Graham Broad (who was later to join Bucks Fizz and Roger Waters's band). Jim Diamond (born September 28 1953, in Glasgow) is a Scottish Singer-songwriter. George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943 in Great Bookham, Surrey) is an English rock musician

AC/DC

However, Bandit never gained much success, therefore Cliff had no hesitation when he was asked to join AC/DC in 1977. AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. At that time, AC/DC was in need of a bassist after the departure of Mark Evans during the Let There Be Rock tour. A bass player (bassist is a Musician who plays a Double bass, Bass guitar, keyboard bass or wind Mark Whitmore Evans (born March 2, 1956) is an Australian Bassist best known for his membership in Australian Hard rock Let There Be Rock is the third international studio Album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, released in June 1977 Cliff joined the band and helped record AC/DC's fifth album, Powerage, the following year. Powerage is the fifth studio Album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, released in May 1978

Equipment

As of 1995's Ballbreaker, Cliff has been using a Music Man StingRay strung with D'Addario flatwounds. Ballbreaker is an album by the Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, released in 1995 Music Man StingRay is an electric bass guitar by Music Man, introduced in 1976 D'Addario is a manufacturer of musical instrument strings primarily Guitar strings currently headquartered in Farmingdale, Long Island New York During the early years with AC/DC, he mainly used Precision basses, although during some live performances he used a Fender Jazz bass. AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. For 1980's Back in Black, it has been speculated that he used a non-reverse Gibson Thunderbird. Back in Black is the 7th Studio album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980 The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric Bass guitar made by Gibson. He used a P bass on For Those About to Rock. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You is the eighth album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, released in 1981 For the 1983 album Flick of the Switch (and the tour that supported it), he used a Steinberger. Flick of the Switch is the ninth album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, recorded shortly after their European Tour at the beginning of 1983 He stuck mainly to P Basses through the 80's (with the exception of Fly On The Wall, in which he used a Gibson SG re-issue. Fly on the Wall is the tenth Studio album by Australian Hard rock band AC/DC, originally released on 28 June 1985 ) On the Razor's Edge he used a jazz bass.

External links

• AC/DC's new official website
• AC/DC official website
• AC/DC profile page by Albert Music
• AC/DC profile page by Atlantic Records