“I was p**sed off and I proceeded to stomp”: the time Blue Oyster Cult declared war on AC/DC at an 80s music festival

Blue Oyster Cult’s Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma duelling guitars onstage with an inset of Angus Young of AC/DC

The UK’s Monsters Of Rock was the first and most famous hard rock and heavy metal festival. Held near the town of Castle Donington between 1980 and 1996, it was headlined by everyone from Rainbow and ZZ Top to Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden and three-time bill-toppers AC/DC.

The Australian rock icons headlined the festival for the first time on August 22, 1981, at the very end of their Back In Black tour. Also on the bill were Whistesnake, glam rock yobs Slade, Southern rockers Blackfoot and cult British band More. And then there was Blue Öyster Cult, third on the bill. But what should have been a triumphant day for the US rockers turned into an absolute disaster – and sparked a one-sided war of words with AD/DC in the process.