BON SCOTT TRIBUTE MEMORIAL

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Birth: Jul. 9, 1946
Death: Feb. 19, 1980
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.
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 assesment 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.
Scott was buried in Fremantle Cemetery, Fremantle, Australia .. Sailors and other debaucherous folk are known to pay tribute to Scott by drinking at his grave.
I most vividly remember Bon at the Largs Pier Hotel (which was one of the key hang-outs for 'heavy' rockers at that time). Off stage he was a quiet and unassuming guy, nice to be with, and despite his sexist philosophy, maybe even the type of guy you would let your daughter go out with. All this stupid hype I read in the press about devils and stuff is pure bullshit. He was basically a nice guy with a strong impish streak (and a minor criminal record) (who drank far too much). That impish streak is what fascinates me, to this day, with this man.....
| View | Add FavoriteBon quit school at age 15, and later played in a local rock outfit called the Spektors. By 1967 Scott had joined the Melbourne-based group the Valentines, making his recorded debut with the single "Everyday I Have to Cry; " the band soon emerged as one of the most popular on the Aussie circuit, in mid-1969 issuing an EP, My Old Man's a Groovy Old Man. A drug bust destroyed the Valentines' public image, however, and after cracking the national Top 30 with their 1970 single "Juliette" the band dissolved; Scott soon joined the Sydney blues-rock unit Fraternity, issuing the LP Livestock in 1971. Flaming Galah followed a year later; in 1973, however, Scott was involved in a motorcycle accident which left him comatose for several months, during which time Fraternity disbanded. After recovering he worked a series of odd jobs before recording a demo as a member of the short-lived Mount Lofty Rangers; finally, in 1974 Scott joined AC/DC, recording the group's debut LP High Voltage a year later. AC/DC's ascent to international stardom culminated in 1979 when their LP Highway to Hell reached the U.S. Top 20; however, on February 19, 1980 Scott died in the wake of an all-night drinking binge, with the surviving members of the band tapping new vocalist Brian Johnson to record the classic Back in Black just a few months later. The 1997 AC/DC box set Bonfire celebrated Scott's contributions to their legacy.