The voice, the words and the swagger behind the records every rock band since has chased.
In 1974 his old Valentines bandmate Vince Lovegrove heard that a young Sydney band led by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young needed a singer. He got Bon onstage with them in Adelaide, and the chemistry was instant. They bonded over Little Richard, Chuck Berry and their shared Scottish roots, and it was the Youngs' older brother George, who had written songs for The Valentines, who produced them with Harry Vanda.
What followed was one of the great runs in rock. From 1975 to 1979 AC/DC made six studio albums and the live landmark If You Want Blood You've Got It. There were bagpipes down Swanston Street for "It's a Long Way to the Top," a sweaty residency at London's Marquee Club, and tours across Europe and America. Bon's lyrics were funny, filthy, clever and street-smart, and they sat perfectly on top of Angus and Malcolm's riffs: "T.N.T.," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Let There Be Rock," "Whole Lotta Rosie," "Riff Raff," "Highway to Hell."
Highway to Hell in 1979 broke the band worldwide and became their first US Top 20 album. Decades later Bon's words and voice remain the template, and in 2004 Classic Rock named him the greatest frontman of all time.
Bon joins in Adelaide. It's a match made on stage.
High Voltage and T.N.T. come out, and AC/DC become Australia's hottest live band.
They film "It's a Long Way to the Top" on a flatbed truck in Melbourne, move to London and release Dirty Deeds.
Let There Be Rock, Powerage and If You Want Blood follow, then Highway to Hell takes them worldwide.
Fond memories of our "lightning flash in the middle" Bon.
“You'd have to go a long way to find anyone who'd say a bad word about Bon Scott.”
“Bon was a funny guy. Everybody liked him, but what made him stand out was his talent for rock lyrics. I don't think he will ever be bettered.”