But Will They Play In Peoria?

AC/DC hasn’t played Peoria, Ill., since 1983 – allegedly because the band shot off cannons on the For Those About To Rock Tour. But the people of the city are telling the band that all is forgiven.

More than 100 AC/DC fans including Mayor Jim Ardis, decked out in band memorabilia, and promoter Jay Goldberg of Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, gathered in front of the Peoria Civic Center in freezing weather Jan. 10.

Photo: Tony Nelson

Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minn.

WIXO-FM organized the rally and officials from the radio station plan to send a video from the event to AC/DC, according to MSNBC.

Fans signed a petition at the start of the rally, according to the Peoria Journal Star.

“We’re going to prove to AC/DC that we’re out of our minds,” the radio station’s morning show personality Matt Bahan, dressed as Angus Young, told the crowd, according to the paper. “We want them here, and I think it’s due time that they come back.”

The ’83 show took place at Carver Arena. Bahan said he investigated the situation and determined the alleged ban is an urban myth.

AC/DC is heading to Europe on its Black Ice tour, then should return for a second visit to North America. The 12,000-capacity Peoria Civic Center Arena has recently hosted Rascal Flatts, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Andre Rieu and Brad Paisley, among others.