Australian hard rock legends AC/DC have announced gross earnings of $105 million for last year. This comes after their comeback album Black Ice and a 17 month long world tour which established yet again the fact that age shall not weary the gresatest of rockers. Rock is an activity which requires discipline,stamina, and and mental and physical fitness, not to mention an army of road crew managers and other 'assistants'. The madness of touring is alleviated somewhat by the expensive luxuries thay can afford, which means they can focus on doing what they do best. While some of the newbie pop stars are doing big business they are not making even close to this figure; Britney Spears only pulled approx AU$45 million last year (not bad for a lip-syncer!), which was only matched by the Wiggles $AU41 million fro their US effort at market penetration. There is nothing fresh about AC/DC's music; it is formulaic rock. But they perfected that formula, and there is still none better despite all the copycats. No 'pop stars' will last this long, nor will they stick to the same 'sound' as they rush forwards grasping for the new in a bewildering sea of typical, so non-differentiated artists all desperately vying for profile or public identity and market impact, only to find it in the old! It was there all along. It is still there, but one must be listening.....