Bon Scott and AC/DC: Depraved Deeds on the Highway to Hell!

By: Mark Beaumont / The Independent
Translation (partial): Telegrafi.com

The few Australians who were lucky enough to see Scott's first performance with AC/DC in September 1974 witnessed the rebirth of rock 'n' roll. "Bon drank about two bottles of bourbon, did some drugs ... and said, 'Okay, I'm done,'" guitarist Angus Young said in journalist Clinton Walker's biography. Highway to Hell, dedicated to Bon Scott, recalling the chaotic Adelaide gig. "He was running around in his wife's panties, shouting at the audience. It was a magical moment. He said it made him feel young again."

A few weeks later, Scott became a regular member of the group. Neither his life, nor rock music, would ever be the same.

With Scott's quirky, funny and sing-a-long lyrics, accompanied by Malcolm and Angus' riffs, AC/DC found the formula that would propel them to the pinnacle of rock stardom. Classic songs like It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll), TNT and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap paved the way for the 1979 album Highway to Hell and international success.

With his tight T-shirts, ripped denim jackets and tattoos, Scott embodied the rebellion of hard rock music. Just sexy enough to attract girls and tough enough for bikers, he became an icon. Unfortunately, it also epitomized the classic trajectory of rock 'n' roll addiction and tragedy. He died aged 33 of alcohol poisoning in February 1980, shortly before the album Back in Black to become the second best-selling album of all time – behind the album Thriller of Michael Jackson.

Before his first appearance, the 28-year-old, born in Scotland but a resident of Australia since the age of six, was already used to failure and danger. His 1972 marriage to Irene Thornton was falling apart due to emotional distance and his drinking and drug habits. After a dispute with his band The Mount Lofty Rangers, he had a drunken motorcycle accident and was in a coma for three days. Lost, injured and doing temporary work, he had nothing to lose when he was urged to perform with the new band AC/DC, who wanted to replace their singer, Dave Evans. Scott agreed and was amazed by what he saw. "A little boy in a school uniform [Angus], going crazy, and I laughed," he said in the documentary Let There Be Rock. He officially became part of the group, thanks to his ability to adapt to any type of group.

In her 2014 book, My Bon Scott, his wife, Thornton, recalls his enthusiasm for the new role. "AC/DC played this loud, relentless rock, and Boni's voice immediately became an integral part," she writes. "Bon looked really happy, for the first time in a long time."

His role in AC/DC was fundamental in establishing the band's tone and image. While Scott's lyrics were known for their simplicity, Walker sees deeper meaning in his words. "'Jailbreak' can be interpreted as an autobiography [Scott spent time in prison], but I see it as part of the national biography of Australia, being a former penal colony," he asserts. "When Malcolm and Angus had the riff and Bonnie had the lyrics ... it was a great combination."

The outside perception of Scott is that of a classic rock wildman, tearing up the "highway to hell." "He was certainly a heavy drinker and habitual drug user, which led to that end," says Jesse Fink, author of the autobiography Bonn: The Last Highway and his new book Bonn: Notes from the Highway. On the other hand, Walker's book depicts Scott as a hedonist who became increasingly hungry for more drink, drugs and sex as the group's success grew. “Bon was just wild and loved to have fun,” he says.

Like many alcoholics, Scott became increasingly rude, boasting that he had lined up 10 naked women in hotel rooms for sex. According to his mid-1970s girlfriend, Silver Smith, he could not sustain a relationship because of his unpredictability. "She described his tendency to fight at the most inopportune times," says Fink, "saying the wrong thing, getting out of control, drinking too much and embarrassing her and himself in front of the family." Fink describes Scott as a much more complex and deeply conflicted character, who drank heavily to overcome his insecurities about class, education and upbringing, or to gain the confidence to go on stage. “They deliberately tried to be as dirty and horrible as possible in interviews ... I don't think that was the real Boni ... In fact, he was quite an intellectual person. He had a much different life outside the band. He didn't destroy hotel rooms... I felt like he was playing a role he couldn't get out of."

Scott's girlfriend, Smith, told Fink that his continued drinking may have been the result of deep childhood pain. "His grandparents had gone to Australia at some point, and he, then incarcerated, never got to see them again," says Fink. "This was something he had suffered all his life and he was very sorry about it."

Fink claims that Scott distanced himself more and more from the group, due to his desire to explore other creative avenues. "He was tired of fighting. .. his health was not good. He had started using more drugs. He hadn't made much money, certainly not until the release of the 'Highway to Hell' album. And I think he was looking to do other things beyond AC/DC," says Fink.

On February 18, 1980, after a night out in Camden, the singer slept in the car of musician and suspected heroin dealer Alistair Kinnear. He was found dead the next morning.

In his book, Fink alludes to a long heroin addiction and two hidden overdoses before Bon Scott's death, which the band never acknowledged. "His death in the back of a car in London in 1980 was not an isolated incident," says Fink. “AC/DC were constantly on the move, and the pressure those guys must have felt was incredible. I think he was dealing with a lot of his problems through alcohol, wild behavior with women and increased drug use."

Fink believes Scott simply ended up hanging out with the wrong people in his later years. The coroner's report found no heroin in Scott's blood and the cause of death was recorded as alcohol poisoning. AC/DC have always denied the overdose theory. But Fink claims to have seen emails and conducted interviews that corroborate this story. "I've been contacted this year by a woman who's in the new book who says Alistair Kinnear came to her house shortly after Bon died and admitted he gave Bon the heroin that killed her," he says. "To say that Boni was not related to heroin is simply absurd. The evidence is there."

Walker agrees that Scott was surrounded by heroin in his later years, but does not believe he was a habitual user. "He had liver damage and was constantly touring, a bit exhausted," he says. "However, he drank himself to death, of that there is no doubt." Meanwhile, Scott's girlfriend said that he had finished the lyrics of the album Back in Black, the night before he died, and that therefore he wanted to celebrate.

While this remains debatable, what is not in doubt is Scott's place as a defining icon of nonconformity in rock and roll. Fink credits songs from his era with the band as the basis of their best material, and Scott himself as an electric mainstay of hard rock.

"The power of AC/DC is basically the mythology of Bon Scott, living for today and not thinking about tomorrow," says Fink. "He's like the archetypal rebel ... If it wasn't for his lifestyle, his behavior towards women, his drinking and drug use, and the image he created for himself with that band, I don't think AC/DC would be the band which is today … Scott's depraved deeds [song Dirty Deeds] eventually came at a great cost, but no one drove faster than him on the highway [song Highway to Hell]”. /Telegraph/