Bon Scott

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Bon Scott
Bon Scott singing on stage with AC/DC in 1977.
Bon Scott singing on stage with AC/DC in 1977.
Background information
Born July 9, 1946
Kirriemuir, Scotland
Died February 19, 1980
London, England
Genre(s) Hard rock
Progressive rock
Rock and Roll
Instrument(s) Vocals, Drums
Years active 1964 - 1980
Associated
acts		 AC/DC,
Fraternity,
The Valentines,
The Spektors

Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (July 9, 1946 – February 19, 1980) was a Scottish-born Australian rock singer, lyricist and drummer. He is best known as the lead singer and frontman of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Bon Scott was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland in July 1946, son of Charles and Isobelle Scott.[1] In 1952, the Scotts became one of thousands of families that emigrated from the UK to Australia . They initially lived in Sunshine, an outer suburb of Melbourne, but in 1956 they moved to Fremantle, where Bon learned drums and bagpipes in Coastal Scottish Pipe Band WA. He always had problems with authority, and this resulted in his dropping out of school at the age of 15. Scott spent a short time in Fremantle Prison in the assessment centre, and nine months at the Riverbank Juvenile Institution relating to charges of giving a false name and address to the police, having escaped legal custody, having unlawful carnal knowledge, and stealing twelve gallons of petrol.[2] He briefly served in the Australian Army, but was discharged for being socially maladjusted.

[edit] Beginnings as a rock singer

After his first band The Spektors (as drummer and occasional lead singer), he formed The Valentines as co-lead singer with Vince Lovegrove. The Valentines recorded several songs written by George Young of The Easybeats including "Every Day I Have To Cry" which made the local top 5. During his tenure with The Valentines, he was one of the first Aussie Rockers to be charged with possession of marijuana. Scott moved to Adelaide and joined the band Fraternity. The band produced the LPs Livestock and Flaming Galah after moving to Sydney, and toured Europe in 1971.

In 1973, just after returning home from a tour of England, Fraternity went into a form of suspended animation. In this period, Scott started playing for a band named Peter Head's Mount Lofty Rangers. It was after leaving a rehearsal with them that Scott got into a motorcycle accident and suffered serious injuries. Fraternity reformed, replacing Scott with singer Jimmy Barnes.

[edit] Joining AC/DC

The following year, while doing odd jobs in the Adelaide music scene, Scott first met the members of AC/DC, while working as a driver and odd-jobs man. The band was formed by the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, younger siblings of Scott's friend George Young. Scott was impressed by the band's energy and drive, and the naive bandmates were, in turn, quite taken with the experienced frontman. When AC/DC fired their original singer Dave Evans in 1974, Scott replaced him.

In a 2002 interview on Australian radio station Triple J, Angus Young cited how Scott was much older than his band mates. Scott's advice to Angus (the youngest member of the band) was "Whatever I do, you don't!". Scott quickly turned AC/DC from a glam band to a stripped back, foot stompin', no-nonsense rock band.

At the helm of AC/DC, Bon was arguably the most charismatic front man Australia has ever seen. His tough-yet-cheeky persona on stage made him a macho icon. His high-pitched vocals, larrikin nature and loutish behaviour combined into an image that's been one of the most enduring in rock history. However, Scott was also notorious for being a heavy drinker and this would eventually lead to his tragic death.

[edit] Death

After a night of heavy drinking in London's Camden Town, he passed out in a friend's car and was left to "sleep it off", but was found dead, at the age of 33, in the early hours of February 19th, 1980. The cause of death listed on his death certificate was "Acute alcoholic poisoning" and the verdict of the inquest "Death by misadventure".

Bon Scott's grave site.
Enlarge
Bon Scott's grave site.

Shortly after his death, British singer Brian Johnson replaced him, and AC/DC recorded Back in Black, which is to this day the second best-selling album of all time. The album cover was all black as a tribute to Bon Scott.

Scott was buried in Fremantle Cemetery. Sailors and other debaucherous folk are known to pay tribute to Scott by drinking at his grave.[3]

The gravesite of Bon Scott, the legendary lead singer of veteran rockers AC/DC, has become one of Australia's most treasured cultural icons (2006). More than 26 years after Scott's death, the National Trust of Australia has decreed his grave in Fremantle Cemetery important enough to be included on the list of classified heritage places. On July 9, 2006, the plaque was stolen from the site on what would have been his 60th birthday.[4]

[edit] Legacy and influence

Scott was rated by the UK magazine Classic Rock in their July 2004 issue, as the Greatest Frontman ever, in the list of 100 greatest frontmen.

Scott has influenced numerous Rock and Heavy Metal frontmen and been a lasting influence on the Hard Rock genre with even many contemporaries acknowledging his powerful contribution - Three frontmen of Iron Maiden have acknowledged his influence or standing. While Bruce Dickinson has called him one of the 'fathers of Rock', Paul Di'Anno has called him his hero and Blaze Bayley has said that Bon Scott and Ronnie James Dio were his two greatest influences. Dave Mustaine of Megadeth has been quoted in a Guitar World interview as saying that AC/DC's Let There Be Rock album and Bon Scott were what inspired him to get into music in the first place.

Bruce Dickinson released a cover of Sin City in 1990, which was later included in the extended version of Tattooed Millionaire, in 2005

In 2004, an Australian feature film "Thunderstruck" told the story of five die-hard AC/DC fans who set out on a pilgrimage to visit Bon Scott's grave.

[edit] Discography

[edit] With The Spektors

  • Bon Scott With The Spektors (1966)
  • The Legendary Bon Scott with The Spektors and The Valentines (compilation - 1999)

[edit] With The Valentines

Singles

  • "Every Day I Have To Cry" / "I Can't Dance With You" (1967)
  • "She Said" / "To Know You Is To Love You" (1967)
  • "I Can Hear The Raindrops" / "Why Me?" (1968)
  • "Peculiar Hole In The Sky" / "Love Makes Sweet Music" (1968)
  • "My Old Man's A Groovy Old Man" / "Ebeneezer" (1969)
  • "Nick Nack Paddy Wack" / "Getting Better" (1969)
  • "Juliette" / "Hoochie Coochie Billy" (1970)

EPs & LPs

  • I Can Hear Raindrops (1968)
  • My Old Man's a Groovy Old Man (1969)
  • Bon Scott: The Early Years 1967-72 (compilation - 1988)
  • The Legendary Bon Scott with The Spektors and The Valentines (compilation - 1999)

[edit] With Fraternity

Singles

  • "Seasons Of Change" / "Sommerville" (1971)
  • "The Race, Pt. 1" / "The Race, Pt. 2" (1971)
  • "If You Got It" / "Raglan's Folly" / "You Have A God" (1971)
  • "Welfare Boogie" / "Getting Off" (1972)

LPs

  • Livestock (1971)
  • Flaming Galah (1972)
  • Season of change (compilation - 1975)

[edit] With Blackfeather

Singles

  • "Seasons of Change" / "On The Day That I Die" (1971) - Scott guests on recorder on the A-side.

LPs

  • At the Mountains of Madness (1971) - Scott was a guest musician playing recorder, timbales and tambourine.

[edit] With Mount Lofty Rangers

Singles

  • "Round and Round" / "Carey Gully" (1974), not issued until the 1990s

[edit] With AC/DC

Singles

  • "Love Song" / "Baby Please Don't Go" (1975)
  • "High Voltage" / "Soul Stripper" (1975)
  • "High Voltage" / "Live Wire" (1976)
  • "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" / "Can I Sit Next To You, Girl" (1975)
  • "T.N.T." / "Rocker" (1976)
  • "Jailbreak" / "Fling Thing" (1976)
  • "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" / "Rock In Peace" (1976)
  • "Love At First Feel" / "Problem Child" (1977)
  • "Dog Eat Dog" / "Carry Me Home" (1977)
  • "Let There Be Rock" / "Problem Child" (1977)
  • "Let There Be Rock Pt.1" / "Let There Be Rock Pt. 2" (1977)
  • "Whole Lotta Rosie" / "Dog Eat Dog" (1978)
  • "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" / "Cold Hearted Man" (1978)
  • "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" / "Sin City" (1978)
  • "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" / "Kicked In The Teeth" (1978)
  • "Highway To Hell" / "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" (1979)
  • "Girls Got Rhythm" / "Get It Hot" (1979)
  • "Touch Too Much" / "Live Wire (live)" / "Shot Down In Flames (live)" (1980)

EP's & LP'S

[edit] Trivia

  • Among many of Bon Scott's jobs (source, see Highway to Hell under further reading) before AC/DC were: an apprentice scale mechanic, a postman, a barman, a crayfisherman and truck packer.
  • Bon at 16 was made a ward of the state in Western Australia. Despite good behaviour, he stayed on for his full sentence as he felt it would straighten him out and redeem himself to his family.
  • "Shazbot, Nanu Nanu" were the last words the singer said on the album, Highway to Hell. The line, a phrase from the TV show "Mork and Mindy", was used to say hello and goodbye, but Shazbot was an Orkan swear word.
  • Bon once appeared on stage dressed as a schoolgirl on Australian TV's "Countdown" on the ABC performing the blues chestnut "Baby, Please Don't Go", available on AC/DC's Family Jewels DVD set.
  • In the Prince Of Wales public bar, St Kilda (Melbourne, Australia), they have an original Valentines poster still on the wall.
  • Bon's last known recording is a version of "Ride On" sung with the French metal band Trust.
  • The nickname "Bon" (short for "Bonnie", after the Scottish song) was given to him by classmates in Australia because of his Scottish accent.
  • Lost his Scottish accent through growing up in Australia and had a broad Australian accent to the day he died.
  • Ozzy Osbourne possibly wrote and recorded the song "Suicide Solution" as a tribute to Scott, whose death was caused by alcohol. The title implied that by drinking alcohol, a person would be killing themselves (therefore it would be a "suicide solution"). However, the song title was misunderstood and Osbourne was taken to court after a boy committed suicide while listening to the song. [This is reportedly untrue. The lyrics, supposedly, as with all other songs from Ozzy's first two albums, were written by bassist Bob Daisley. According to Daisley, he wrote the song about Ozzy drinking himself to death after being kicked out of Black Sabbath-before Bon Scott died.][citation needed]
  • Bon Scott played the bagpipes in the song, "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".
  • Bon Scott is mentioned in TISM's song about drugs, "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River"
  • Bon Scott was born in Angus Scotland.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bon Scott Story. CrabsodyInBlue.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
  2. ^ West Australian Newspaper March 13th 1963
  3. ^ Summary Of Record Information. MCB.WA.gov.au. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
  4. ^ Bon's grave robbed. News.com.au. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
AC/DC
Brian Johnson • Angus Young • Malcolm Young • Cliff Williams • Phil Rudd
Bon Scott • Dave Evans • Mark Evans • Chris Slade • Simon Wright
Albums and videos
Studio albums: High Voltage (Aus.) • T.N.T. • Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Aus.) • High Voltage (int.) • Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (int.) • Let There Be Rock (Aus.) • Let There Be Rock (int.) • Powerage • Highway To Hell • Back in Black • For Those About to Rock We Salute You • Flick of the Switch • '74 Jailbreak • Fly on the Wall • Who Made Who • Blow Up Your Video • The Razors Edge • Ballbreaker • Bonfire • Volts • Stiff Upper Lip
Live albums: If You Want Blood • Live • Live: 2 CD Collector's Edition • Live from the Atlantic Studios • Let There Be Rock: The Movie
Films and videos: AC/DC: Let There Be Rock • Fly on the Wall • Who Made Who • AC/DC • Clipped • Live At Donington • For Those About To Rock • No Bull • Stiff Upper Lip Live • Live '77 • Toronto Rocks • Family Jewels
Production
Harry Vanda • George Young • Robert John "Mutt" Lange • Bruce Fairbairn • Rick Rubin
Related articles
Past members of AC/DC • ACDC Lane • AC/DC remasters • List of rare AC/DC songs • List of tributes to AC/DC in popular culture
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