This is an amazing story that shows how music can touch people and sometimes even save lives. The song that saved a life was Hells Bells by AC/DC.
During the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 the helicopter of Black Hawk pilot Michael Durant was shot out of the sky. The Somali militiamen, who had killed his whole team, captured and imprisoned him. The US soldiers searched for Durant, but couldn’t find him. Knowing that he was a huge AC/DC fan and that Hells Bells was his absolute favourite song, in a last desperate attempt they attached loudspeakers to a helicopter, flew around the area and played Hells Bells at full volume. Durant in his cell heard the tolling of the bell and the beginning of the song and that was, when he started to hope. Although he had suffered a broken back from the crash of his helicopter, he crawled to the window and waved his shirt. Actually he was saved and recovered from his injuries – thanks to this AC/DC song.
Although nothing can get ahead of this story, there some other interesting and funny facts about the song:
Hells Bells was released in 1980 and is a tribute to AC/DC singer Bon Scott, who had died the same year. It is the first song on the album Back To Black and the debut of Scott’s follower Brian Johnson.
The original AC/DC Hells Bell is a replica of the Denison Bell at the War Memorial in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England and was manufactured exclusively for the band. As the production time for the album was short and they feared the bell wouldn’t be finished in time, they tried to record the original Denison Bell, but the sound of some flattering birds ruined the record. So the band had to wait for their bell, which, however, arrived in good time. Because of its massive weight the bell caused a lot of problems on early AC/DC tours. The roofs of many venues weren’t strong enough to hold the bell and one time, the whole thing came down, nearly crushing Angus Young. So the original Hells Bell was finally replaced by a lighter one.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvh56_ac-dc-hell-s-bells_music?search_algo=2
Info taken from:
Classic Rock Magazine
AC/DC Official Homepage