Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott (July 9, 1946 – February 19, 1980), was the lead singer, main songwriter and frontman of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC.
History
Bon Scott was born in July, 1946, in Kirriemuir, Scotland. At the age of 6, Scott’s family emigrated to Australia. He grew up in Perth, learned drums and bagpipes in the local Scots pipe band. He always had problems with rules, and this resulted with his dropping out of school at the young age of 15. Spending a short time in Fremantle Prison in the assessment centre. He briefly served in the Australian Army, but was discharged for being socially maladjusted. After his first band The Spektors, 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 “My Old Man’s a Groovy Old Man” 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 now-legendary singer Jimmy Barnes.
The following year, while doing odd jobs in the Adelaide music scene, Scott first met the members of AC/DC, while working as a chauffeur. The band was driven 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, 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 that men revelled in and girls loved. However, Scott was also notorious for being a heavy drinker and this would eventually lead to tragedy. 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”. He was found dead in the early hours of February 19th, 1980. He was 33 years old. The cause of death listed on his death certificate was acute alcohol poisoning and death by misadventure.
Bon Scott’s death was a tragedy for rock & roll music; he was a true talent as a frontman, an awe inspiring vocalist (often imitated, never equalled) and, as has been shown since, an outstandingly witty and poetic lyricist - another unique talent which the Band have sorely missed. He was cut down at the peak of his powers. AC/DC’s last LP with Scott- the appropriately titled “Highway To Hell” - is probably their greatest, and one of the most outstanding studio rock albums of all time.
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.
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.
