Bon Scott
Bon Scott (left) playing live with AC/DC at the Ulster Hall, August, 1979.
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Belford Scott
Born	July 09, 1946(1946-07-09)
Origin	Kirriemuir, Scotland
Died	February 19, 1980 (aged 33) London, England
Genre(s)	Hard rock Blues-rock Progressive rock
Occupation(s)	singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals Drums Bagpipes
Years active	1964—1980
Associated acts	AC/DC (1974—80) Fraternity (1970—73) The Valentines (1967—70) The Spektors (1965—1967)

Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (July 9, 1946 – February 19, 1980) was a Scottish born Australian rock musician. He was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland, and immigrated to Melbourne, Australia with his family in 1952 at the age of six. Scott is most well-known for being the lead singer and co-lyricist of hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.

AC/DC's most successful album with Bon Scott is Highway to Hell released in 1979. After his death, AC/DC and their new lead singer, Brian Johnson recorded the album Back in Black as a tribute to him. Back in Black is the second-best-selling album in history according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTop100

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early career (1964—1973) 1.2 With AC/DC (1974—1980) 1.3 Death (1980) 1.4 Posthumous events 2 References 3 External links

Biography

Bon Scott was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland on July 9, 1946 to Charles and Isabelle Scott. A younger brother Derek was born in 1949. The Scott family emigrated to Australia in 1952 where they initially lived in Sunshine, Melbourne and a second brother Graeme was born in 1953. In 1956, the family moved to Fremantle in Western Australia where his father Charles joined the local Caledonian Society. Bon Scott joined the associated Fremantle Scots Pipe Band, learning the drums. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 and spent a short time in Fremantle Prison in the assessment center 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.

Early career (1964—1973)

After working as a postman, bartender and truck packer, Scott joined his first band, The Spektors, in 1964 as drummer and occasional lead singer. Two years later the Spektors merged with another local band, The Winstons, and formed The Valentines, in which Scott was 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. In 1970, after gaining a place on the National Top 30 with their single "Juliette", the Valentines disbanded due to differing opinions within the band concerning musical direction, and also after a much-publicised drug scandal.

Scott moved to Adelaide in 1970 and joined the progressive rock band Fraternity. Fraternity released the LPs Livestock and Flaming Galah before touring the U.K. in 1971, where they changed their name to "Fang". During this time they played support slots for Status Quo and Geordie, whose front man, Brian Johnson, later replaced Scott as the lead singer of AC/DC.

In 1973, just after returning to Australia from another tour of the UK, Fraternity went on hiatus. In this period, Scott began singing in a band named "Mount Lofty Rangers" which was formed by other ex-Fraternity members. However, after leaving a rehearsal with Mount Lofty Rangers, Scott suffered serious injuries from a motorcycle accident and subsequently left the band. Fraternity however, later reformed and replaced Scott with Jimmy Barnes.

With AC/DC (1974—1980)

Main article: AC/DC#Bon Scott era (1974–1980)

In 1974 Scott was working for Lovegrove as a driver and general hand in Adelaide. He then met the touring members of AC/DC, including brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, younger brothers of Scott and Lovegrove's friend George Young. At that time, AC/DC's lead singer was Dave Evans, but soon the Young brothers decided that Evans was not a suitable frontman for the group as they felt he was more of a glam rocker like Gary Glitter. Scott, who had become the band's driver, expressed an interest in becoming their drummer, but the band kept telling him they didn't need a drummer, they needed a singer.

Bon Scott replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC in September 1974. With the Young brothers as lead and rhythm guitarists, drummer Tony Currenti (see AC/DC lineups) and George Young as a temporary bassist, AC/DC released High Voltage, their first LP in Australia in February 1975. Within a few months Currenti was replaced by Phil Rudd and Mark Evans was hired as a permanent bassist, and AC/DC began recording their second album T.N.T., which was released in Australia in December 1975. The first AC/DC album to gain international distribution was a compilation of tracks from the first two albums, also entitled High Voltage, and released in May 1976. Another studio album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was released in the same year, but only in Australia; the international version of the album was released in November 1976 in the U.K. and in March 1981 in the U.S., with a different tracklist (see Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (international album)).

In the following years, AC/DC gained further success with their albums Let There Be Rock and Powerage. The 1978 release of Powerage marked the debut of bassist Cliff Williams (who had replaced Mark Evans), and with its harder riffs, followed the blueprint set by Let There Be Rock. The album was the last produced by Harry Vanda and George Young with Bon Scott on vocals and is claimed to be AC/DC's most underrated album. Only one single was released for Powerage — "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" — and gave AC/DC their highest chart position at the time, reaching #24. An appearance at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow during the Powerage tour was recorded and released as If You Want Blood You've Got It.

The band's sixth album, Highway To Hell, was produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange and was released in 1979. It became AC/DC's first LP to break the U.S. top 100, eventually reaching #17, and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts.

Death (1980)

On February 19, 1980, Bon Scott passed out after a night of heavy drinking in a Camden club now known as KOKO London, and was left in a car owned by an acquaintance of his named Alistair Kinnear. The following morning, Kinnear rushed him to King's College Hospital in Camberwell, where Scott was pronounced dead on arrival. Although common folklore claims that pulmonary aspiration of vomit or drugs were the cause of Scott's death, the official cause was listed as "acute alcohol poisoning" and "death by misadventure". Scott's family buried him in Fremantle, the area to which they had immigrated when he was a child.

Inconsistencies in the official accounts of Scott's death have been cited in conspiracy theories, which suggest that Scott died of a heroin overdose, or was killed by exhaust fumes redirected into the car, or that Kinnear did not exist. Additionally, Scott was asthmatic, and the temperature was below freezing on the morning of his death.

Shortly after his death, Brian Johnson replaced him as the lead singer of AC/DC. Five months after Scott's death, AC/DC recorded Back in Black as a tribute to him. Back in Black is currently the second best-selling album worldwide and the biggest selling album worldwide by any band.

Scott was buried in Fremantle Cemetery and his grave site has become a cultural landmark; more than 27 years after Scott's death, the National Trust of Australia has decreed his grave 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.

Posthumous events

AC/DC released a box set named Bonfire as a tribute to Scott on November 18, 1997. It contains 4 albums; a remastered version of Back in Black; an album with alternate takes, outtakes, and stray live cuts, Volts; and two live albums, Live from the Atlantic Studios and Let There Be Rock: The Movie. Live from the Atlantic Studios was recorded in 1978 at the Atlantic Studios in New York City. Let There Be Rock: The Movie was a double album recorded in 1979 at The Pavillon in Paris, and was the soundtrack of the motion picture, AC/DC: Let There Be Rock.

AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Members of Scott's family joined the band at the podium to accept the honor in his place.

In the July 2004 issue of UK magazine Classic Rock, Scott was rated as number one in a list of the "100 Greatest Frontmen", ahead of Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant.

In May 2006, the town of Kirriemuir in Scotland held a service and unveiled a Caithness stone slab commemorating the singer. A message was read from long time friend and fellow member of The Valentines, Vince Lovegrove in which he said:

The thing I loved most about Bon Scott was his almost unique self honesty. What you saw was what you got, he was a real person and as honest as the day is long. To my mind he was the street poet of my generations and of the generations that followed.

References

External links