AC/DC - Up close & personal (with Bon)

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:42 am

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dSQPg2RWb5o
Baby Please Don't Go

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 76

Boy, this is an EARLY one!

I had read that Bon was the bus driver for the band at the time AC/DC had a lead singer that was doing that androginous thing that was popular at the time. When Bon convinced the band that he could do the job better, and proved it in a sound check one day, they canned the other lead singer in favor of Bon. Bon tried to pick up where the old singer left off, and sported this girly look for a time. It's surprising that video of this period even existed, so it is a treasure to watch!

This original image move seemed like the right thing to do in the early 70's, where pop rock bands like T. Rex, Sweet, David Bowie, Badfinger, the Bay City Rollers, etc. were exploring this. As bands like this grew increasingly "glam" and theatrical for arena shows, AC/DC chose not to go down this path and have it be more about the music than the show, for the most part. The feminine aura thing just seemed to be going very against the "tough" sound of the music, and Bon never much cared for it anyway, so the whole idea was dropped. At the time it was a brave risk, but it proved to eventually be the right thing to do for AC/DC.

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:38 pm

yeah ..I love Bon! ...I could never get into brian Johnson too much although I like him. I think their music was totally different when Bon was in the band ... more Rock-n-Roll/Blues.

Newbie Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 8

wiki wrote:

yeah ..I love Bon! ...I could never get into brian Johnson too much although I like him. I think their music was totally different when Bon was in the band ... more Rock-n-Roll/Blues.

I could not agree more! After Bon died the band got horribly dole drum sound to them... Bon was always like a breath of fresh air pushing the music with his cynical lyrics...

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 76

Heh. Another Bon Scott versus Brian Johnson case, eh? I'll play...

I personally like them both. Bon purred and growled while Brian BARKED!...

In writing, Bon was more self-defeating and had a wry comedy to his lyrics, while Brian was more a bad-ass... Lyrical standpoints of "loser" and "winner" can both work well (and these guys did each of their respective thing VERY well), but the loser standpoint was more the traditional blues one. When Brian came on board, AC/DC went from being a BLUES band with rock influences to a ROCK band with blues influences. I like to see art evolve, and this was clearly the direction of the future at the time.

The arguement is good that Bon did all the "hard part" as far as playing in the gritty dives, paying dues, building up the band and getting on the map, then Brian just waltzes in and becomes a part of something that already was at the top of it's game. But, at the same time, I didn't envy Brian's position, I mean, the circumstances were difficult, and it was really his thing to completely blow... Would YOU want to fill Bon's shoes?... To his credit, he didn't blow it; On the contrary, he was beyond capable, and even took AC/DC to new heights!

I'm glad the band didn't fold up and put it away when they lost their lead singer in 1980. We sure would have been cheated out of a lot of good music if that had happened. Angus, Malcom and company must have fiercely believed in what they had during that very fragile time in the band's history, for sure!...

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:54 am

Well put Gene!

Brian did a great job of making AC/DC his own rather than becoming a Bon tribute band. I also respect the band for hiring somebody different than Bon and starting over. I remember we had a thread about this on MM somewhere and you said it was a bold move but they pulled it off. A lot of bands would have hired a "sound alike" and took the easy route.

My favorite Brain tune will always be "Back in Black" ...he is wicked on that one!