Check out one of the best covers of AC/DC's Thunderstruck that you are ever likely to hear! It's one of the most popular videos on YouTube performed by Finnish country band Steve 'N' Seagulls. In case by some miracle you’ve never heard it, Thunderstruck is one of AC/DC's most popular songs and is considered by many to be one of their best.
Its popularity is such that there have been a lot of very worthy covers since its release in 1990. This includes a bow shredding version by 2Cellos and a fabulous acoustic version by Kent Nishimura. Steve 'N' Seagulls has joined this group and, dare we say it, even raised the bar!
Steve 'N' Seagulls came together in Jyväskylä in 2012. They were a quintet specialising in bluegrass music, so rather than traditional band instruments, they played the accordion, banjo, spoons, upright bass, and of course, the guitar. They played gigs at restaurants, clubs around the area and even on cruises to hone their skills.
They also spent this time building up their YouTube channel, which built steadily in popularity. It appears to have paid off. In just two short years, they signed a recording contract with Spinefarm Records. They started working on their first studio album immediately and released Far Machine a year later in 2015.
The album was full of masterfully crafted bluegrass versions of some of the biggest rock hits of all time. They covered Run For The Hills by Iron Maiden, Paradise City by Guns 'n Roses and Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. However, in an album of fantastic songs, Thunderstruck still stands out above the rest. The album went to number 7 on the charts in Finland and did amazingly well in the US too. It reached number 3 on the bluegrass charts and ten on the heatseekers. Not bad for an almost unknown foreign band!
Wanting to capitalise on this success, the band didn't miss a beat. They immediately returned to the studio and began work on their second album. The band demonstrated their love of puns with its rather witty title, Brothers In Farms. It was released a year late and contained more exceptional music. Highlights include The Pretender, You Could Be Mine and Born To Be Wild. This time the album made it to the top of the bluegrass charts in America, an impressive feat as it takes many bands multiple albums to achieve this success.
Since then, Steve 'N' Seagulls have released two more albums and they now have more than a million followers on their YouTube channel. There are many popular videos on the channel, but Thunderstruck has more views than all the others combined. It has been viewed an unbelievable 146.7 MILLION times! It has to be one of YouTube's most popular videos.
Why is it so popular? Well, as one cheeky commenter put it, "There's a band called AC/DC doing a cover of this. It's pretty good." I think if there's even a joking implication that a song is better than the original, you are doing your job very well indeed. Let's see what gems this talent band produces next.
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