AC/DC’s 1990 holiday single “Mistress for Christmas” swaps sleigh bells for heavy riffs, riffing on Donald Trump’s affair with Marla Maples.
AC/DC has long forged its own path in rock ’n’ roll, but in 1990 the band took an especially unconventional detour: a Christmas single that eschewed sleigh bells and snow in favor of hard riffs and holiday infidelity.
Titled “Mistress for Christmas,” the track was inspired by one of the biggest tabloid stories of its day—Donald Trump’s alleged affair with Marla Maples—and stands out as one of the most offbeat holiday songs ever released.
Most Christmas music follows a familiar template: upbeat chord progressions, nostalgic lyrics and jingle-bell percussion designed to evoke warmth and cheer. Musicologist Professor Joe Bennett has even attempted to codify these “joy formulae,” identifying common words, chord changes and sonic cues that trigger festive sentiment.
Yet AC/DC, renowned for their distorted guitars and raucous R&B-infused rock, declined to adapt their style to seasonal conventions. Instead, they leaned into their trademark sound for “Mistress for Christmas,” delivering a driving, blues-tinged riff that would be at home on any of their regular studio albums.
The lyrical content likewise breaks with holiday tradition. Rather than extolling the virtues of family gatherings or dashing through the snow, singer Brian Johnson chronicles a scandalous Christmas-time romance. References to “carefree sex,” an implied festive threesome and other extramarital antics populate the verses, casting the yuletide season in a decidedly un-Christmasy light.
“That song’s about Donald Trump,” guitarist Angus Young later explained. “He was big news at the time, so we thought we’d have a bit of fun and humour with it.” By turning a real-life tabloid saga into a tongue-in-cheek rock anthem, the band infused their holiday offering with both topicality and trademark irreverence.
At the time of the song’s release, Trump’s relationship with Marla Maples had captivated the public—and courted controversy—after his high-profile divorce from Ivana Trump.
AC/DC’s decision to mine this very specific piece of celebrity gossip for Christmas material was as audacious as it was unexpected. Rather than softening their edges to fit the season’s mood, the band spotlighted the era’s tabloid culture, effectively marrying their hard-edged sound to a story of headline-grabbing indiscretion.
Critically, “Mistress for Christmas” never achieved the lasting seasonal status of classics like “White Christmas” or “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and it remains a footnote in both the band’s discography and holiday music playlists.
Yet its existence underscores AC/DC’s commitment to authenticity: if they were to release a Christmas song, it would be undeniably—and unapologetically—them.
Decades later, “Mistress for Christmas” endures as a curious artifact: a hard-rock holiday single that reminds listeners why Christmas music isn’t always about holly and mistletoe—but sometimes about riffs, rebellion and a little bit of scandal.
