AC/DC's ANGUS YOUNG: BON SCOTT Thought BRIAN JOHNSON Was The Best Singer He Had Seen In A Long Time
February 28, 2021Lead guitarist and co-founder of the legendary AC/DC, Angus Young spoke with Matt Pinfield for the latest installment of 95.5 KLOS's "New & Approved" series. Virtually connecting from his Australian studio, Angus took some time to speak on the newest AC/DC offering, "Power Up", the 45th anniversary of "High Voltage", the impact Malcolm Young left on the legacy of AC/DC, and much more. He also recalled how late AC/DC singer Bon Scott first met Brian Johnson in the early 1970s.
"Bon had been in a band that had toured in Britain, and they were opening for the band Brian was in, which was a band called GEORDIE," Angus said (see video below). "Anyhow, they were gigging away, and as Bon told the story, he was saying he was listening to GEORDIE performing and listening to Brian, and then he heard this screaming. He said it sounded great — he said it sounded like Little Richard was on the stage. He said this guy [was] howling and yelling. And then he said then he saw the guy on the floor. Bon thought it was great — it was the best act he had seen, and a singer, in a long time. But what he didn't know, afterwards he found out, Brian had an attack of appendicitis. But Bon thought it was part of the act. He thought, 'This guy is incredible.' 'And he was still hittin' these high notes.'"
Brian previously spoke about crossing paths with Bon in a 2011 interview with New York Post. He said: "I met Bon in 1973 or 1974. His band was supporting my band, GEORDIE. I had a terrible case of appendicitis and I went down on my side, kicking and going, 'Ooh!' But I kept on singing. Apparently, he told the boys when he joined AC/DC, 'I saw this guy Brian Johnson sing, and he was great. He was on the floor, kicking and screaming — what an act!' Of course, it wasn't an act. I was really ill."
Scott was invited to join AC/DC by Malcolm and Angus Young in 1974, and achieved international stardom before his death at the age of 33 from alcohol poisoning.
He sang on AC/DC's first six studio albums, including "High Voltage", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Let There Be Rock" and "Highway To Hell".
Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking at a club in London, just days after attending a session with Malcolm and Angus Young where they began working on music for what became the "Back In Black" album.
According to the AC/DC FAQ web site, Bon and the friend, a musician named Alisdair Kinnear, had been drinking the evening of February 19, 1980 and Bon apparently fell asleep during the ride home. Kinnear could not wake Bon, so he left him in the car to sleep. Kinnear awoke early in the evening on February 20, checked on Bon, and found him unconscious in the car. Bon could not be revived, and was pronounced dead.
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