There have been few rock singers as beloved as the late/great Bon Scott of AC/DC. After all, it was his unmistakable vocals and street-wise/sexually-charged lyrics that were a major part of such all-time classic rock anthems as “Highway to Hell”, “Sin City”, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, and “TNT”. And it was the “Bon era” that set the stage for AC/DC to go on to become one of rock’s most universally popular and enduring bands.
But few rockers partied as hard as Bon—sadly resulting in his death at the age of 33 on February 19, 1980, just before AC/DC scored their worldwide breakthrough, with the mega-selling ‘Back in Black.’ To mark 40 years since Bon’s tragic passing, the just-released ‘A Rockin’ Rollin’ Man: Bon Scott Remembered’ has been assembled by journalist/author Greg Prato—comprised entirely of all-new interviews with renowned rockers, discussing what made Bon so special and unforgettable.
Priced at $12.99 for the paperback and $7.99 for the Kindle version, the book features vintage photos and all-new interviews with the likes of Tony Platt (engineer of ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘Back in Black’), Simon Wright (AC/DC drummer: 1983-1989), KK Downing (ex-Judas Priest guitarist), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy guitarist), Bun E. Carlos (ex-Cheap Trick drummer), Michael Monroe (Hanoi Rocks singer), and Phil Anselmo (Pantera singer), among many others.
Greg Prato is a writer and journalist from New York, whose writing has appeared via such outlets as Songfacts, Vintage Guitar Magazine, and Consequence of Sound. He is also the author of several popular books, including ‘Take It Off: Kiss Truly Unmasked,’ ‘Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story,’ and ‘Iron Maiden: 80 81,’ among many others. And you may have even heard him on one of his many radio or TV appearances, which include interviews on ‘The Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show,’ ‘Eddie Trunk Live,’ and ‘The Ron & Fez Show.’ ‘A Rockin’ Rollin’ Man: Bon Scott Remembered’ is his 30th book overall.
For The Metal Voice former singer of Anthrax, Neil Turbin sat down with original co-founding AC/DC singer Dave Evans in Los Angeles at the Whisky on August 16 2019. Dave Evans spoke about his North and South American tour and the early days in AC/DC, the bands formation, success and him leaving the band.
(At the end of the interview watch Dave Evans and Neil Turbin perform together on stage the AC/DC classic Highway to hell by AC/DC at the Whisky in L.A. August 16 2019)
Watch the interview here:
When asked about AC/DC initial success in the early days
“In the beginning, we were a real band and we all had an equal say. When we first started gigging Malcolm older brother the famous George Young from the Easybeats, was the A&R guy for a new record label, Albert MUSIC (along with Harry Vanda) George came along to listen to us rehearse. Then George said we will sign you up for a record and George Young and Harry Vanda produced our first record/ single ‘Can I sit next to you Girl’. We had a hit record immediately and it just raced up the charts. At the end of the year it was named best Australian group record of the year. We were playing to the biggest crowds in Australia and we also toured with Lou Reed. ”
When asked about touring with Lou Reed
“Lou Reed was pretty out of it, when he toured it was a bad time for him. We was helped on the stage with a person on each arm, I thought that was just a stage act but when we had breakfast in the mornings he had a person on each arms just to get breakfast. Lou was not in good shape and when he toured we really couldn’t have a conversation with him. ” (in this period it was known that Lou Reed was having issues and dependencies with drugs and Alcohol).”
When asked about the relationship between Malcolm Young and original Drummer Colin Burgees
“Malcolm and I were very close, we wrote songs together and we used to hang out together. But he did get a little jealous with the AC/DC drummer at the time Colin Burgess. Colin would walk into a club with a girl on each arm, I thought it was great but Malcolm really didn’t like it, he was a bit jealous. After Colin left the band Malcolm was like that a bit towards me. Which was sad because I thought a lot of Malcolm.” (Note-Colin was fired for being out of it on some kind of drug after he collapsed while playing his drums on stage).
When asked why he quit AC/DC
“The reason why I left the band was because we had a hit record and we were doing so many shows, sometimes we were doing three shows a day and I was not getting paid. We were on TV on radio but we were not getting any money. Plus were pretty unhappy with our third manager. I had to pay rent back at my apartment in Sidney, I was paying off a car, working my ass off and not getting any money. We had a meeting one night with the manager and he smart mouthed me, so I punched him. I had enough so I was going to leave the band after the tour unless I got a certain amount of money, which I didn’t, so I left. Strictly economics”
When asked about band arguments and fights
“Angus lost his temper one time, next thing you know he goes flying into Malcolm, Malcolm fought back, little fists going all over the place but none really landed and it just broke up. The rest of us were shocked at first and then we were just laughing. Angus had a bit of a temper. One time Angus came at me backstage, cause he loses his temper and I put my hand on his head so Angus couldn’t reach me and they took him away. Angus is known to lose his temper. ”
When asked if he would consider writing a book on the early days of AC/DC
“Well if the right publisher approached me, with an advance I would write the story, the fans would love the story, it’s a story that has never been told. “
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to former AC/DC singer Dave Evans. Dave spoke about his set list on his worldwide tour, the formation of AC/DC, the music he recorded with AC/DC and the shows he played with the band. Evans also debunked many AC/DC Angus Young and Bon Scott myths.
Watch the interview here:
When asked about his set list on his worldwide tour
“It’s going to be a mixture of early AC/DC songs that I did with the band plus a couple of classic Bon Scott tracks and I will be also doing my own material. You will get the old rock from AC/DC and the brand new rock from my own albums and one or two classic rock songs as well.”
When asked how AC/DC was born
“I knew of Malcolm Young, the younger brother of the famous George Young from the Easybeats. I answered an ad in the Sydney Herald newspaper that said looking for a singer, in the style of Free, Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, that kind of thing. Malcolm was at the other end of the line and when he found out that it was me, Dave Evans, he already knew about me from my prior bands. We both knew we liked the same music, so I went to Newtown and met Malcolm for the first time and the rest of the band. We jammed, it sounded great, Malcolm was happy. Everyone was happy so we formed a band, without the name AC/DC yet. A week later Malcolm asked if his younger brother Angus who was in a band called Kentucky, if he could audition for us as well, so we said no problem. Angus auditioned and we liked him and now the band was five of us. After some time we had a show coming up and we had to get a name and we kicked around a few names then Malcolm said his sister in law suggested AC/DC and we all liked it. We shook hands and we called ourselves AC/DC. ”
When asked how many songs he recorded in his time with AC/DC
“I actually recorded quiet a few songs for the first album, then Bon Scott joined and he re-recorded the songs that I already made popular. ”
When asked which songs he recorded and wrote
“There was a song called ‘Fell in Love’ which I wrote, which Bon Scott re-wrote the lyrics, which became ‘Love song’ later on but we already made my version of the song popular live. I also wrote Sunset Strip and Bon Scott changed the lyrics to Show Business.”
“When the band went into the studio for the first time we recorded the AC/DC songs ‘Can I sit next to you Girl’ and ‘Rockin in the Parlor’ These two songs Malcolm wrote and the band never heard before or played them until we were in the studio. I also recorded the song Rock and Roll Singer in the studio which Malcolm wrote about me, not Bon Scott, as well as the song Soul Stripper and Little Lover. I had not heard any of these songs either until I recorded them in the studio. The band basically put the songs down in the studio from scratch without any of us knowing them. Once we recorded them we played them in our live set.”
When asked about the myth that Angus was 16 years old and still in school when he joined AC/DC
“Angus was about 19 years old . We put his age down to 16 years old because he was so little .George Young wanted us to look different from the other bands in Australia. So They told us Angus was going to wear a school boy outfit put his age down to 16 to relate to he kids, as we had lots of school gigs at the time. The school boy uniform was made for him by his sister. Angus was not going to school, he had a job he was 19 years old.”
When asked where are all the recorded songs with AC/DC that he sang on
“It would be probably the publishing company and or the record label, I don’t know, they might be somewhere in the vault somewhere. Also the song Baby please don’t go was a show stopper for us, that’s when I got Angus on my shoulders even though we did not write the song it was our arrangement. ”
When asked how popular were they when he was in the band
“We were already a very popular band in Australia and Can I sit next to you girl, was a big hit record for us in a lot of states, a top 5, it played on the hour, every hour on the radio. We were actually named the best Australian record of the year for 1974. The band was really hot. When Bon Scott joined the band we were already hot.”
When asked the myth that Bon Scott was the bands driver or drummer prior to joining
“It was nothing like that he was just a friend of George Young, he used to hang around with us. Another myth he was never the band’s driver. Also Bon Scott was never the drummer of the band. They are just Myths. ”
When asked about the Myth of Angus kicking him off the stage one night
“If you met me and met Angus, Angus is half my size, that was just a joke that Malcolm said on a TV show that was not true. ”
When asked about what Bon Scott was like back in the day
“Bon Scott was very lucky to join the band that was red hot like AC/DC. Bon was a nice enough fellow, there was never any hassle between me and him. Bon was a guy from the 1960’s, Bon was 29 at the time which was ancient when you are 21 years old. Bon was like a hippie. Bon was washed up at the time, he had a band called Fraternity they broke up he got a chance to join AC/DC and he did a great job. Bon Scott was an actor cause his first band he was in the Valentines, they were a pop band and he used to wear his satin clothes and he was a pop guy and he did that well. Then in the hippie era came in he joined Fraternity and he used to look like a Hippie and he did it well. Then when he joined AC/DC they were a rock band, then Bon took the shirt off and did the Rock thing . Bon Scott was an actor that could play different roles, he was very good at show business, he knew what was required and he did a really good job and of course he wrote some great songs.”
Evans was a member of AC/DC from the band’s inception in 1973 until 1974. Following his departure from AC/DC, Dave Evans formed the wild hedonistic rock band RABBIT, Melbourne ’80s rock outfit DAVE EVANS AND THUNDER DOWN UNDER, and lastly DAVE EVANS AND HOT COCKEREL. Dave Evans has spent the last few years touring as a solo act.
Canadian tour dates announced so far
Montreal, Quebec April 25 2019 PetitCampus
Toronto, Ontario April 26 2019 The Rockpile
Rouyn Noranda, Quebec May 2 Evolu-Son
A few days after a Canadian journalist claimed that Stevie Young and Phil Rudd were spotted in downtown Vancouver, Blabbermouth.net have published the first photographic proof that something is brewing in the AC/DC camp.
According to Steve Newton of Straight.com, Vancouver resident — and hardcore AC/DC fan — Crystal Lambert has an apartment located near Warehouse Studios, where the band’s last three albums were recorded, and she and longtime friend Glenn Slavens have been keeping an eye on the studio’s outside deck, where various bandmembers seemingly retreat to get some air and get a drink.
As you can see from the photo below, taken by Glenn two days ago, Rudd appears to be sharing a laugh with none other than singer Brian Johnson.
The assumption is that AC/DC is in the midst of making — or at least planning — another album, with Rudd and Johnson both back in the lineup.
Ever since AC/DC completed the tour cycle for its 2014 album “Rock Or Bust” nearly two years ago — a turbulent trek that weathered the forced retirement and eventual death of co-founder Malcolm Young, plus the departures of Johnson, Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams — fans have wondered whether sole remaining founding member Angus Young would keep the band going or decide it was time for AC/DC to pack it in.
Johnson was forced to leave AC/DC mid-tour due to a dangerous level of hearing loss, and was eventually replaced on the road by GUNS N’ ROSES frontman Axl Rose, while Williams decided to retire at the end of the cycle.
Rudd‘s spot behind the kit for AC/DC‘s “Rock Or Bust” world tour was taken by Chris Sladein 2015 after Rudd was arrested for drug possession and threatening to kill an employee.
Angus has not said publicly what he has planned for the future of AC/DC.
It was called The Beast; the 1963 sand-coloured Gretsch guitar that was the well-worn weapon of choice for AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young.
Today, The Beast would lay atop the coffin of Young at his funeral in St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, as if pining for his owner, reported 9news.com.au
The farewell for the man acknowledged universally as the greatest rock and roll rhythm guitarist in the world was surprisingly gentle and heartfelt.
Young was described as an extraordinary Australian and an extraordinary guitarist, a man who could arouse emotion with just a few bars of fret work.
From a machinist in a bra factory, to more than 200 million albums sold, including “Back in Black”, the second highest selling album of all time, Young was hailed for taping into the toughness and joy of life in the Australian suburbs; a musician who in his first band line-up, would leave the stage in disgust when the song list would turn to ballads.
Young was celebrated for his dedication to simple, pure, unadulterated rock and roll, along with an uncanny gift for song writing and riff making.
But he was also remembered for his fierce loyalty and business integrity, a familiar trait within the Young family, a trait that made AC/DC a tight cell of relatives and friends that was rarely penetrable to outsiders.
The service also touched on an element rarely know to fans of “Accadacca”; that Young was a keen boatie, but a terrible one!
One eulogy blamed the rise in sea levels on Young’s habitual losing of anchors at sea.
Another claimed his boating skills were so bad, not since Jaws were people so afraid of going into the water.
Another friend spoke of going clothes shopping with him; after two pairs of jeans and half a dozen black t-shirts, Young’s shopping was done.
There was a sadness noted that in his final years, as dementia began to take hold, Young would be cruelly struck silent, but despite so, his unique personality would continue to shine through.
But Young, his brother Angus, and the rest of AC/DC were celebrated for creating music that would touch every country and every culture.
Young’s fellow bandmates would be in the front pews; drummer Phil Rudd after travelling from New Zealand, bassist Cliff Williams.
Singer Brian Johnson could be seen outside the service, rubbing his eyes in disbelief and looking uncharacteristically downcast.
And brother Angus looked forlorn and lost, comforted by those around him.
Just before the coffin would leave St Mary’s, it was sprinkled with holy water, and three low tolls would repeatedly echo from the cathedral’s tower, sounding eerily similar to the chimes that kick off “Back in Black”, the album that shot AC/DC to superstardom.
As the hearse carrying Young’s coffin began to move away, it would be led by the pipes and drum of Scots College, playing a medley appropriate for a Glasgow boy bought to Australia when he was 12; “Waltzing Matilda”, “Road to Gundagai”, and “It’s a Long Way to the Top”.
And for those who attended today, the funeral program gifted them a guitar pick, marked with “MY” and a thunderbolt.
Rock on Malcolm; it’ll be a hell of a gig in heaven tonight.
AC/DC have announced via their official Facebook page that co-founder and guitarist Malcolm Young has passed away:
“Today it is with deep heartfelt sadness that AC/DC has to announce the passing of Malcolm Young.
Malcolm, along with Angus, was the founder and creator of AC/DC. With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band. As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man.
He always stuck to his guns and did and said exactly what he wanted.
He took great pride in all that he endeavored.
His loyalty to the fans was unsurpassed.
As his brother it is hard to express in words what he has meant to me during my life, the bond we had was unique and very special.
He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever.
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