Ever seen ballroom dancing to AC/DC on TV? No? Then prepare to be Thunderstruck

AC/DC on Strictly...
(Image credit: BBC TV)

"Well I'm upper upper class high society. God's gift to ballroom notoriety. And I always fill my ballroom, the event is never small. The social pages say I've got the biggest balls of all."

So sang the late Bon Scott in a typically mischievous mood on the smirkingly smutty Big Balls, track two, side two on AC/DC's 1976 album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Who would have imagined back then that one day the Aussie bad boy boogie crew would serve as the soundtrack to actual ballroom dancing on prime-time Saturday night television? Not us. 

That's what happened tonight, September 30, however, when Jody Cundy, a multi-world championship-winning British athlete who has represented his country at both swimming and cycling in the Summer Paralympics, danced a Paso Doble - a Latin dance for those unfamiliar with ballroom dancing - with his partner Jowita Przystał on the BBC's hugely popular dance competition Strictly Come Dancing.

We'll not spoil the magic by dissecting this historic cultural moment in-depth for you, but the clip is below:


It turns out that this is the second time a rock classic has featured on this series of Strictly, as it's known to its million of viewers, for last week, we've now learned, actor Nigel Harmon and his dance partner Katya Jones danced a Paso Doble to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

In 2020, as you'll doubtless be aware, comedian Bill Bailey danced his way into the affections of the nation, or something, by performing a tango to Metallica's Enter Sandman in the semi-finals of the dance competition: Bailey went on to win the competition outright.

Here's that seminal moment once again for your entertainment. 


Tune in to Strictly next week, to watch much-loved TV presenter, actor and comedian Les Dennis dance the Charleston to the Anti-Nowhere League's So What. Possibly.

Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.