<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The history of Australia\u2019s AC\/DC can be divided into <\/span>WBS <\/span>and <\/span>ABS<\/span>: \u00a0Their early history with lead singer Bon Scott (<\/span>W<\/span>ith <\/span>B<\/span>on<\/span> S<\/span>cott) and the rest of their career after his untimely death in February of 1980 (<\/span>A<\/span>fter <\/span>B<\/span>on <\/span>S<\/span>cott). \u00a0The time <\/span>WBS<\/span> covered a mere seven years but laid a foundation strong enough to withstand the loss of the band\u2019s spark plug, front man, and brother. \u00a0Scott\u2019s passing would be but the first loss the band would endure, but as their more recent history has shown, it takes a lot to kill a band like AC\/DC. \u00a0<\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> began 2019 by including a small pulp compilation about the band (<\/span>The Little Book of AC\/DC<\/span><\/i>) collected from various features run in issues from <\/span>CRM 82 <\/span><\/i>to <\/span>CRM 245<\/span><\/i> (for the record, the booklet came with the <\/span>CRM 255 <\/span><\/i>issue). \u00a0I knew of AC\/DC \/ <\/span>WBS<\/span>, but knew very little about them until they resurfaced <\/span>ABS<\/span> with <\/span>Back in Black<\/span><\/i>, now the second biggest selling album of all time after Michael Jackson\u2019s <\/span>Thriller<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0<\/span>The Little Book of AC\/DC<\/span><\/i> filled in a lot of blanks in my limited knowledge of the band. \u00a0<\/span>CRM \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>followed up a couple of months later with a cover story and also included another booklet (featuring extensive notes about all their albums) and a double sided, wall sized poster of the band.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Young brother\u2019s story began in the early 1970s, well after the family had emigrated from their Scottish homeland to Australia. \u00a0Oldest brother George had already made a name for himself in one of Australia\u2019s biggest pop bands, The Easybeats. In his late teens, Malcolm Young was in the process of putting together his own band and as is usually the case, there were many shifts in membership before the band began playing the brutal Sydney bar circuit as AD\/DC. \u00a0Malcolm was always the boss and when his younger brother\u2019s band Kentuckee folded, Mal brought Angus in for an audition. When they made their debut at the fabled Chequers Club on December 31, 1973, there was a bit of a buzz surrounding them because of their connection to older brother George. The band included the Young brothers on guitar, vocalist Dave Evans, bassist Larry Van Kriedt, and drummer Colin Burgess. \u00a0Drummers and bass players came and went. Eight months after the band recorded the single <\/span>Can I Sit Next to You, Girl<\/span><\/i> (in early 1974), Evans was replaced by the band\u2019s roadie, Bon Scott.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bon Scott had bounced around a bunch of bands while holding down a job at a fertilizer factory. \u00a0At age 27, he began wondering if he was already too old to have a career in rock. Oddly enough, his last band before joining the road crew for AC\/CD was a country rock outfit called the Mount Lofty Rangers. \u00a0His tenure with the band only lasted four months and twelve gigs before he derailed his plans by being too drunk to perform. He got in a dust up with the Rangers\u2019 bassist when he went over to explain to the band why he couldn\u2019t perform that night and then left in a huff on his motorcycle. \u00a0The band tried to keep him off the road (too drunk to perform but not too drunk to ride his bike?) but he went anyway. Scott met a car head on, spent three days in a coma, and then travelled a long road to recovery. The accident occured in May of 1974 and the next time Scott would record with a band would be as a member of AC\/DC in November of 1974. \u00a0The band put out two albums in Australia (<\/span>High Voltage <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>T.N.T.<\/span><\/i>) under the guidance of big brother George and his Easybeats bandmate, Harry Vanda. \u00a0With four outstanding tracks that have gone on to become staples of their live shows (<\/span>It\u2019s A Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll), High Voltage, The Jack, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>T.N.T.<\/span><\/i>), they had their musical template in place. \u00a0No matter what transpired in the music universe over the next forty plus years, AC\/DC would not waver from their mission to be a hard rocking band.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0AC\/DC were exposed to the world at large via a \u2018compilation\u2019 of seven <\/span>T.N.T. <\/span><\/i>tracks and two taken from <\/span>High Voltage. \u00a0<\/span><\/i>For some reason the record company labeled the \u2018new release\u2019 with the recycled title of their first Australia only release: \u00a0<\/span>High Voltage.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0To say they took Europe by storm would be an understatement. \u00a0Their follow up LP, <\/span>Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap <\/span><\/i>came out in late 1976 (though it wasn\u2019t released in the United States until 1981 because some of the label executives thought the band too crass for public consumption on this side of the pond). \u00a0<\/span>Dirty Deeds<\/span><\/i> showed the band had now hit its stride in the <\/span>WBS<\/span> years, followed by more heavy duty albums in the late 1970s. \u00a0Mal Young claimed that Scott\u2019s last album with the band (<\/span>Highway to Hell<\/span><\/i>) was the one that finally turned the critics around about Bon Scott. \u00a0As Malcolm tells it, \u201cAfter <\/span>Highway to Hell, <\/span><\/i>some of the critics started to realize that Bon did have a talent. \u00a0Then, when he died (February 1980), everyone was suddenly saying what a great performer he\u2019d been\u2026 and these were the same people who were saying we should ditch Bon and get someone like David Coverdale! \u00a0What hurt me was that Bon never got the recognition that he deserved.\u201d It wouldn\u2019t be the first or last time an artist\u2019s reputation improved after they passed from this mortal coil.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No one would argue that Bon Scott wasn\u2019t an accident waiting to happen. \u00a0One can not drink and party as hard as Scott did without risking disaster. \u00a0A good illustration of his reckless ways was provided by music writer Harry Doherty\u2019s rolling interview with Scott enroute to a gig in Cardiff, Wales. \u00a0Doherty and Scott met at Paddington Station in London, had a few drinks and then managed to board a train heading north instead of the southbound train to Wales. \u00a0Forty five minutes later, they interrupted their drinking long enough to make a connection to Reading where they would then (finally) get on the right track to Cardiff. \u00a0Scott\u2019s explanation for his behavior was to the point: \u201cI like drinking. It must be the Scot in me. As I often say, \u2018I\u2019m a special drunkard – I drink too much.\u2019\u201d As for his band, Scott continued, \u201cWe\u2019re a real down \u2018n dirty lot. \u00a0The songs reflect just what we are – booze, wimmen, sex, and rock\u2018n\u2018roll. That\u2019s what life is all about.\u201d That he died alone in a car after a period of prolonged partying was a tragedy, but certainly it wasn\u2019t a big surprise. Scott\u2019s \u2018normal\u2019 was spelled \u2018EXCESS\u2019 and like too many people in his condition, he thought he was bulletproof. \u00a0AC\/DC paused to mourn their old friend and then decided the only thing they could do was write more songs, find another singer, and keep playing their music. The only question was, \u201cHow do you replace Bon Scott?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One doesn\u2019t just \u2018replace\u2019 Bon Scott but in an ironic twist, it was Scott who had first introduced the band to his successor, Brian Johnson. \u00a0He had seen Johnson perform with the 1970s band Geordie and proclaimed that the singer had done the best Little Richard imitation that he had ever seen. \u00a0Scott said he was impressed by Johnson\u2019s \u2018act\u2019 – rolling around on the stage and screaming is head off. The truth is, Johnson was screaming in agony trying to finish the gig while battling a bad appendix before being whisked off to the hospital. \u00a0Nevertheless, his name was implanted in the band\u2019s subconscious before Scott died. Johnson\u2019s name came up again after Scott\u2019s death when they were sent a Geordie album by a fan in Cleveland who encouraged AC\/DC to have a listen. When producer Robert \u201cMutt\u201d Lange mentioned that they should listen to Johnson during the singer search, Malcolm pointed out, \u201cThat is the second time we have heard the name\u201d even though it was really \u2018third time\u2019s the charm\u2019. \u00a0The only problem? They couldn\u2019t find him. When Geordie\u2019s string played out, the newly divorced Johnson was broke, living with his parents and detailing cars to make ends meet. Had it not been for an advertising jingle he landed at the same time he auditioned for AC\/DC, he may not have been able to afford the time off. As Johnson later related to <\/span>CRM: \u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u201cI was old. \u00a0I was 32, well passed my \u2018sell by\u2019 date.\u201d \u00a0Fortuitously for all parties involved, he shook off his doubts, and attended the audition in London. \u00a0Both the band and Johnson found it an easy fit, musically and socially. Within weeks, they offered him the slot and were in the studio recording what would become their most important album <\/span>ABS<\/span> – <\/span>Back in Black.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Music writer Mark Blake tried his hand at interviewing Malcolm (who was at home in Sydney) by phone from the record company\u2019s office in London. \u00a0The release of their new <\/span>Live<\/span><\/i> album set the stage for Blake to pick Mal\u2019s brain for his take on some of their best loved tracks. \u00a0The only problem? Malcolm had a hard time remembering what inspired certain songs or who added what to the mix when they were recording those songs. \u00a0Blake switched gears and tried to get Young to talk about the bands he listened to back in the day\u201d \u201cThe Stones and The Who.\u201d Blake pressed on and asked about which bands Mal listened to now: \u00a0\u201cThe Stones and The Who, that\u2019s about it.\u201d Blake asked about Led Zeppelin: \u201cMe and Agnus went to see Led Zeppelin once. We left after a couple of songs. Singer was a blond feller, kind of a poser.\u201d \u00a0Eventually Malcolm opened up with some specifics about their albums, but the underlying theme was, \u201cThis is what we do and if it ain\u2019t broke, why fix it.\u201d Blake\u2019s interview took place in 1992 well into the band\u2019s <\/span>ABS<\/span> period, but he didn\u2019t really want to go back and talk about the events of 1980 at this point. \u00a0When asked about the current bands that might challenge AC\/DC, there was a long pause before Malcolm offered up, \u201cSeen a few of them bands on MTV.\u201d \u00a0Which ones? \u201cWell, me daughter listens to that band\u2026\u201d Which one? \u201cNeeeervana\u201d. What did he think of Nirvana? \u201cSingers a blond feller. Bit of a poser.\u201d \u00a0Mal Young may have been the band\u2019s spokesman, but that didn\u2019t make him a great interview.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Having righted the ship after Bon Scott\u2019s death, the next crisis came when Malcolm had to pull back to sober up. \u00a0As he recalled to <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i> in 2004, \u201cThe funny thing was I was never drunk in heaps, I just drank constantly and it caught up with me. \u00a0Angus was going, \u2018I\u2019m your brother, I don\u2019t want to see you dead here. Remember Bon?\u2019 So I took that break and cleaned myself up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Malcolm\u2019s health began to deteriorate again long before he recorded his last album with the band (<\/span>Black Ice<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0The band was aware that he was struggling, having to relearn parts to old songs before gigs, but they kept a stiff upper lip about it. \u00a0By the time <\/span>Black Ice<\/span><\/i> was done, it was apparent that he could not longer tour and his spot was taken up by nephew Steve Young who had also subbed for him during Mal\u2019s stint in rehab. \u00a0From 2014 until his death on November 18, 2017, Malcolm was receiving around the clock care for his dementia with the band releasing a statement that said in part, \u201cFrom the outset, Malcolm knew what he wanted to achieve and, along with his younger brother [Angus], took to all the world stages giving their all at every show. \u00a0Nothing less would do for their fans. He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever.\u201d It proved to be a double shot for the band as Mal passed away just three weeks after their eldest brother\/producer George.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0AC\/DC mourned their rhythm guitarist the same way they had mourned Bon Scott: \u00a0they toured. Then Brian Johnson was taken from the stage to prevent himself from becoming totally deaf. \u00a0Avid race enthusiast Johnson had damaged his hearing from prolonged exposure to loud engines and found he was having a hard time hearing well enough to sing properly. \u00a0Guns \u2018N\u2019 Roses frontman Axl Rose stepped in to finish what began shaping up as their last tour. The band has never officially broken up, but drummer Phil Rudd is having legal problems and bassist Cliff Williams has said he is now retired. \u00a0Johnson\u2019s hearing prognosis is still up in the air leaving Angus Young the last member of AC\/DC still standing. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is the band done? \u00a0The rumour mill says Angus may be working on new music and might be thinking about touring again, but it remains to be seen if it would be a new version of AC\/DC or something else. \u00a0Like Sasquatch, there have been reports from the Pacific Northwest that members of the last incarnation of AC\/DC have been spotted at a recording studio. Oh yes, and then there is this: \u00a0Brian Johnson now says, \u201cYes, we are doing a new album and I am sick of denying it.\u201d WOAS-FM will keep you posted.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Yes, I have used this clip previously, but to me, it cuts to the core of what AC\/DC do best.