Bon scott
Ronald Belford Scott Mitchell (July 9, 1946, Forfar, Angus, Scotland – February 19, 1980, London), known as Bon Scott, was a British-Australian musician, singer and songwriter. Scott is famous for having been the second vocalist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980, replacing Dave Evans, who only participated in two of the band's singles, reason why many consider Bon as the original singer, since he was the one who participated in the first AC/DC discography. After his death, the band members chose Brian Johnson to replace Bon. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the current members of AC/DC in 2003.
In addition, Bon is in fifth place on the list of The 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time according to Hit Parader.
Early Years
Bon Scott was born in Forfar, Scotland in 1946, the son of Charles and Isabelle Scott, spending his first 6 years in the town of Kirriemuir. In 1952, the Scotts are one of hundreds of families who emigrated from the UK towards Australia. They initially settled in Sunshine, a Melbourne suburb, but in 1956 they moved to Fremantle, where Scott learned to play the drum and bagpipes in the Coastal Scottish Pipe Band WA. He always had problems with authority, and as a result he was expelled from school at the age of 15. Scott spent a brief period in Fremantle prison, in an assessment center, and nine months in the Riverbank Juvenile Institution on charges of giving a false identity to police, escaping legal custody and stealing twelve gallons of oil. He served briefly in the Australian Land Army, but was discharged for social maladjustment.
Start as a rock singer
After his first band, The Spektors (as vocalist and occasional drummer), he formed the group The Valentines, singing with Vince Lovegrove. The Valentines recorded several songs written by George Young of The Easybeats including Every Day I Have To Cry. During his tenure with The Valentines, Scott was one of the first Australian rock musicians to be arrested for marijuana possession. Scott moved to Adelaide and joined the psychedelic rock group Fraternity. The band released two LPs (Livestock and Flaming Galah) after moving to Sydney and touring Europe in 1971.
In 1973, after returning from a tour of England, the Fraternity broke up. Around this time, Scott joined a group called the Peter Head's Mount Lofty Rangers. After one of the rehearsals, Scott was in a motorcycle accident and suffered serious injuries. The Fraternity group rejoined, but Scott was replaced by singer Jimmy Barnes.
AC/DC
The following year, while doing some other work in the Adelaide music scene, Scott met the members of AC/DC as he was driving the van the group was in. According to Malcolm Young's exact words, "he was driving like crazy and at full speed." AC/DC was formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Scott was impressed by the band's drive and energy, and the Young brothers were in turn amazed by the experienced singer. In this way, AC/DC dismisses Dave Evans, its original singer, in 1974, who was replaced by Scott.
In January 1975, they recorded their first album (although only for Australia), called High Voltage. It took ten days, and is based on instrumental songs written by the Young brothers, with lyrics written by Scott. After a few months, the lineup stabilized: Scott, the Young brothers, bassist Mark Evans, and drummer Phil Rudd. Later that year, they released the single "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)", which became an anthem. This track is included on their second album, T.N.T., which was released only in Australia and New Zealand. Another classic song, "High Voltage", appears on the album.
In 1975, they signed an international contract with Atlantic Records and began a world tour, with which they gained valuable experience, playing alongside hard rock greats, such as Kiss, Aerosmith, Styx, Blue Öyster Cult and Cheap Trick among others..
The group made two other albums in Australia: High Voltage (1975) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976). The material of both albums served to elaborate the High Voltage for the United States. In the fall of 1977, they published Let There Be Rock. The following year, Cliff Williams joined, who would take care of the bass, on the album Powerage. All those albums were produced by Banda and George Young. The atmosphere of their concerts is reflected in If You Want Blood You've Got It. AC/DC went on tour with artists like Alice Cooper, Rush, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Boston, Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, Heart, Scorpions, Molly Hatchet, Ronnie Montrose, Nazareth, UFO, Journey, Foreigner, Van Halen, Styx, Blue Öyster Cult, Alvin Lee, Rainbow, Savoy Brown, REO Speedwagon, The Doobie Brothers, Thin Lizzy and The Who.
At the helm of AC/DC, Scott has been one of Australia's most charismatic music leaders. His brash and bravado attitude on stage and his peculiar timbre of voice combined to make his image one of the most remembered in the history of rock . However, Scott was also known for his problems with alcohol, problems that would ultimately be the cause of his death when the group was at the height of its popularity.
What really opened the doors to success was Highway to Hell (1979), produced by Mutt Lange, for many their best album and which reached number 17 on the US charts and number 8, in the British; it was the first of his works to achieve a million copies sold and is on the list of the 500 essential albums, prepared by Rolling Stone magazine. The main theme of the LP, the song "Highway to hell", would end up becoming for many an anthem of rock and roll, of the late 70s.
Death
In the early hours of Tuesday, February 19, 1980, Bon went to the Music Machine in Camden (now known as Camden Palace) and left the place around three in the morning with his friend Alistair Kinnear, who offered to drive him to his flat in Victoria. During the ride, Kinnear noticed that Bon had fallen asleep, quite normal for anyone after a night of drinking. But Kinear was unable to even get him out of the car once they reached their destination, opting instead to take him to his own home, after failing to wake Scott and leave him in the car. Fifteen hours later, returning to the car to find Scott Bon totally unconscious, terrified, took him to Kings College Hospital. But the nightmare had come true and Bon was already dead. He was 33 years old. His certified cause of death was alcohol poisoning and accidental death, bronchial aspiration; that is, he choked on his own vomit.
His last studio album with AC/DC was Highway to Hell and his last recording was the song Ride On live with the French band Trust. They had just started sessions for a new album to be released later in the year, but they hired Brian Johnson (with a not-so-raw voice) after his death and recorded the album Back in Black, which was a very successful album..
Posthumous events
Shortly after his death, British singer Brian Johnson replaced him as singer and AC/DC recorded Back in Black, an album that has sold nearly 50 million copies, becoming the second best-selling album in music history. The album cover is completely black in mourning for Bon Scott.
Scott was buried in Fremantle Cemetery. His grave has become one of Australia's cultural icons. 30 years after the singer's death, the National Trust of Australia listed the grave as Australia's heritage sites.[citation needed]
The 2004 Australian film Thunderstruck tells the story of five AC/DC fans on their pilgrimage to Bon Scott's grave.
On July 9, 2006, the day Scott would have turned 60, the plaque was stolen from his grave.
On February 19, 2010, the Australian town of Fremantle commemorated the 30th anniversary of Scott's death with a peal of bells.
Despite four decades since his passing, Scott remains Fremantle's most famous figure, with fans from all over the world flocking to him.
Tourists arriving at the scene plan to go for drinks at Scott's favorite bar, "Little Creatures", and visit the jail where he was imprisoned as a young man before of being sent to a juvenile detention center.
Spanish heavy metal group Barón Rojo paid tribute to Scott (along with other deceased rockers) in their song "Concierto para ellos" belonging to the album Brutal Volume (1982).
Discography
Simple
- With The Spektors
- Glory
- With The Valentines
- Every Day I Have To Cry / I Can't Dance With You (1967)
- She Said / To Know You Is To Love You (1967)
- Why Me / Getting Better (1968)
- Peculiar Hole In The Sky / Hoochie Coochie Billy (1968)
- I Can't Hear The Raindrops / Ebeneezer (1969)
- With Fraternity
- Seasons Of Change / Sommerville (1971)
- The Race, Part 1 / The Race, Part 2 (1971)
- If You Got It / Raglan's Folly / You Have A God (1971)
- Welfare Boogie / Annabelle (1972)
- With The Mount Lofty Rangers
- Round And Round And Round (1974)
- With AC/DC
- Jailbreak / Fling Thing (1976)
- Dog Eat Dog / Carry Me Home (1977) - With AC/DC
Albums
- With Fraternity
- My Old Man's a Groovy Old Man (1971)
- Flaming Galah (1972)
- With AC/DC
- High Voltage (Australia) (1974)
- T.N.T. (Australia) (1975)
- High Voltage (1976)
- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Australia) (1976)
- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)
- Let There Be Rock (1977)
- Powerage (1978)
- If You Want Blood You've Got It (1978)
- Highway to Hell (1979)
- '74 Jailbreak (1984)
- Volts (Part of Bonfire) (1997)
- Live from the Atlantic Studios (Parte de Bonfire) (1997)
- Let There Be Rock: The Movie live in Paris (Parte de Bonfire) (1997)
- Backtracks (2009)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
Further reading
- Highway to Hell: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott - Clinton Walker, 1994. ISBN 1-891241-13-3