1980 Classic Rock Hit Involved a Custom Bell Ordered With a 7-Week Rush Thanks to Pigeons
After the untimely and shocking death of Bon Scott, AC/DC considered disbanding. However, in the end, the remaining band members gathered together with new lead singer Brian Johnson to create their seventh studio album "Back in Black," and "Hell's Bells" was the first track on that.
It turned out that AC/DC wanted to do something outlandish to capture the real sound of the bells at the start. The original intention was to have a bell forged, but there were fears that it wouldn't get done in time, so sound engineer Tony Platt looked at the Loughborough War Museum's Denison Bell in the UK for the sound, but there was one problem they didn't anticipate: pigeons.
Every time they would clang the bell, pigeons would fly out of the bell tower, and that distorted the audio. Platt shared, "However, after placing microphones in the belfry, I discovered that what no one had considered were the birds living inside there. As soon as the bell was hit, the first thing we'd hear was this mad fluttering of wings as pigeons flew away. Then, by the time the bell stopped ringing enough for us to hit it again, all of the birds had returned."
In the end, a bell had to be forged, and it was a seven-week turnaround time to make it happen. The bell that was created was an octave higher than anyone wanted, so it was slowed down on the track to make it sound lower and more like the bell in the belfry. That's why the bell on the stage - the one that was forged - always sounded higher live compared to the track.
The forged bell included a large AC/DC logo, which created its own problem: a change in frequency. It added what bellfounders call a "wobble," and it meant that the bell had to be hit in distinct places to sound right for the rest of the track. Red X's were placed around the bell where it could be hit to create the perfect sound. Platt even tested different hammers to use to make sure everything worked out just right - using everything he'd learned from hitting the Dennison Bell despite the pigeons!
In the end, the classic rock hit didn't hit big in the U.S. charts, with some believing it was just too soon after Scott's death. However, the track would go on to become one of the best for AC/DC, and is still beloved by many.
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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 8:35 AM.