A staggering 374 bagpipers have broken the world record by performing AC/DC’s hard-rock anthem It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’ n’ Roll) in unison on November 12 2025 at Melbourne’s Federation Square — the very location where the band filmed their 1976 flat-bed truck video along Swanston Street.
The previous record of 333 pipers, set in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2012, was decisively bested, with organizers confirming the tally of 374 through the Australian Book of Records. Among the massed players were Les Kenfield and Kevin Conlon, original members of the Rats of Tobruk Pipe Band who appeared in the AC/DC video almost 50 years ago. “It didn’t strike you at the time how big this event is until now,” Kenfield said.
As thousands of fans filled the square, many dressed in AC/DC T-shirts and kilts, the pipers finished their performance with an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday” and “Amazing Grace”. The celebration came ahead of AC/DC’s first Australian show in a decade, scheduled later that evening at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Organizers said harmonizing a massed bagpipe ensemble was no small feat: “The biggest challenge is absolutely getting everybody to play in tune because bagpipes are essentially four instruments in one,” explained pipe-major Campbell Wilson. With this record set and the band about to take the stage, Melbourne marked one of rock’s largest and loudest tributes — a fitting testament to a song, a band, and a city entwined in rock folklore.
