Kirriemuir rock legend Bon Scott was found dead 40 years ago after a night of wild partying. As the 15th BonFest takes place this weekend, albeit online due to the coronavirus outbreak, we look back at the AC/DC frontman’s life and legacy.
Who was Bon Scott?
Bon Scott was born Ronald Belford Scott at Fyfe Jamieson Maternity Hospital in Forfar on July 9 1946.
The star grew up in Kirriemuir where father Charles “Chick” Scott worked in the family bakery in Bank Street.
In 1952, when Scott was six, the family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia.
As the new kid with a thick Scottish accent, Scott wasn’t popular among his peers.
“My new schoolmates threatened to kick the sh*t out of me when they heard my Scottish accent,” Scott said.
“I had one week to learn to speak like them if I wanted to remain intact. It made me all the more determined to speak my own way.
“That’s how I got my name, you know.
“The Bonny Scot, see?”
In 1956, the family moved to Fremantle in Australia where Scott joined the Fremantle Scots Pipe Band, learning to play drums.
He dropped out of school at 15 and worked as a farmhand, cray-fisherman and trainee weighing-machine mechanic before spending nine months at a juvenile institution after being arrested for stealing petrol.
After that, he was rejected by the Australian Army and deemed “socially maladjusted” and instead took on a load of odd jobs including postman, bartender and truck packer.
Minor success
In 1966, Scott started his first band, The Spektors, as the drummer and occasional lead singer, inspired by his idol, Little Richard.
Thereafter, he enjoyed some minor success touring with different bands including The Valentines (in which he was co-lead singer with Vince Lovegrove) and progressive rock band Fraternity, which played in the UK and later changed its name to Fang.
Fang played support slots for Status Quo and Geordie, whose front man Brian Johnson would eventually succeed Scott as the lead singer of AC/DC after his death.
On January 24 1972, Scott married Adelaide girl Irene Thornton.
In 1973, Fraternity went on hiatus. Scott took a day job at a fertiliser plant and began singing with the Mount Lofty Rangers.
The following year, Scott had a drunk and raging argument with a band member, stormed out of the venue, threw a bottle of Jack Daniels to the ground, took off on his motorbike…and crashed. He was in a coma for three days.
By this time, Vince Lovegrove and his wife were running a booking/management agency and were kind enough to give Scott odd jobs, like putting up posters and painting the office during his recovery.
It wasn’t long before they introduced him to AC/DC, described by Vince as a “young, dinky little glam band from Sydney” who were on the lookout for a new lead singer.
For Those About to Rock
Like Scott, AC/DC members Malcolm Young and his younger brother Angus Young were born in Scotland – Glasgow to be precise – before emigrating to Australia in their childhood. Would they bond over their links to the country?
Lovegrove said: “When he watched the band, Bon was impressed, and he immediately wanted to join them, but thought they may be a bit too inexperienced and too young.
“After the show, Bon expressed his doubts about them being ‘able to rock’. The two Young brothers told Bon he was ‘too old to rock’. The upshot was that they had a jam session that night in the home of Bon’s former mentor, Bruce Howe, and at the end of the session, at dawn, it was obvious that AC/DC had found a new singer.”
Scott replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC on October 24 1974.
And it was thanks to Scott’s hard-living reputation and rebellious attitude that the band cemented itself as a wild, raucous rock group, commanding the adoration and attention of millions of fans. Scott brought his attitude into AC/DC and it stuck.
However, the stress of a heavy touring schedule began to take its toll. Prone to alcoholism, Scott drank heavily throughout this period.
Meanwhile, their album Highway to Hell broke the US Top 100 chart in 1979, making AC/DC a major act almost overnight.
But success also strained his relationship with his band mates and he found himself clashing with Malcolm and Angus over how much credit he was given for his work.
A tragic turn of events
Scott was in London in February 1980 working on the upcoming Back in Black album. As usual, this meant nights of wild partying.
On February 19, he met some mates at the Music Machine club in Camden. He drank heavily before climbing into his friend Alistair Kinnear’s Renault 5 to sleep it off.
The following morning, Scott was found hunched in the back seat, the car covered in vomit. It was speculated that the vomit had travelled into his lungs, choking him to death. He was only 33-years-old.
Conspiracy theory
The idea that a big drinker like Scott would die after a night on the lash seemed unlikely to many.
As his biographer Jesse Fink wrote in a later account of his death: “He was a prodigious drinker. The idea that seven double whiskeys would put him in the ground seems a strange notion.”
Combined with confused reporting about the event, this fact gave rise to conspiracy theories.
Some suggested Scott might have been murdered by redirecting the exhaust from the car, possibly because the other members of the band wanted to get rid of him.
Others believe it’s more likely that drugs played a role in his death.
Scott was claimed to have used heroin and the folk he was hanging out with that night were dealers.
He had reportedly already overdosed twice on heroin by the time of his death.
Combined with alcohol, a third overdose could have killed him.
The singer’s ashes were laid to rest by his family at Fremantle Cemetery on March 1, 1980.
Whatever the cause of death, AC/DC had to pick up the pieces and move on.
Hell’s Bells
Bon was replaced by Brian Johnson and AC/DC continued to enjoy success, especially upon the release of Back in Black, which debuted just five months after Scott’s death.
Some speculate that Scott had written much of what’s featured on the album.
Some felt he deserved credit for the album posthumously and not Johnson.
Ultimately, the album would end up being a tribute to Scott.
The lyrics in Back in Black: “Forget the hearse ‘cause I never die”, imply that he will live on forever through his music.
“We wanted just a simple black cover,” said Angus Young, at the time. “We wouldn’t have even done him justice in words. Even the bell in the beginning of ‘Hell’s Bells’ was our little tribute.”
Released in the summer of 1980, Back in Black went on to make AC/DC international superstars, and remains one of the biggest selling albums of all time.
Shrine
Scott’s body was returned to Australia, where his grave has become a shrine for those who appreciate the unique lyricism he brought to the band.
As Vince Lovegrove said: “The thing I loved most about Bon Scott, was his almost unique self. What you saw was what you got, he was a real person and as honest as the day is long. To my mind, he was the street poet of my generations and of the generations that followed.”
Kirrie legacy
Scott’s memory remains alive and well in Kirriemuir.
An annual music festival, appropriately named BonFest and marking its 15th anniversary this weekend – albeit online as a result of the coronavirus outbreak – pays tribute to his musical legacy.
Out of the festival arose the idea of a more permanent memorial and Scottish artist John McKenna was contracted to create a statue of Scott.
The life-sized bronze figure, on Bellies Brae, was unveiled in 2016, at the 10th anniversary of BonFest by former AC/DC bass player Mark Evans.
The £45,000 cost of the sculpture was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign.
The statue depicts Scott, in sleeveless denim jacket and tight trousers, clutching a set of bagpipes – the instrument he played on the group’s song It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock’n’Roll). Two scrolls containing the names of all who donated money are sealed at the bottom of the statue.
The Kirriemuir statue made Scott the first hard rock singer to have two statues in his honour. In 2008, a life-size bronze statue of him was erected in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Celebrating 15 years of BonFest on May 2
It may be 40 years since Bon Scott died but his memory rocks on forever in Kirriemuir.
Since 2006, BonFest has been raising merry hell, with bands and fans from across the globe flocking to the Angus town to play AC/DC covers and pay homage to their hero.
Across two days in May, Kirrie is transformed into a shrine to Scott with bands and tribute acts shaking the town to its core.
For chairman of the BonFest committee, John Crawford, the festival has come a long way.
“In the beginning, BonFest was an afternoon/early evening event called The Bon Scott Memorial Day,” he says.
“It was devised by two lads Gordon Burke and Davie Milne when they were sitting in the pub. They thought the perception of Kirriemuir was only really focused on Peter Pan author JM Barrie and believed Bon Scott deserved the same recognition.
“They approached the newly formed community group DD8 Music and asked if they wanted to be involved with an annual memorial day as a way to raise funds for the youth project.
“The festival has grown year on year now making it the biggest gathering of AC/DC fans in the world.”
Unsurprisingly, John says highlights over the years have included performances from AC/DC members Chris Slade, Mark Evans and Phil Rudd.
And when the festival moved from the town hall to a field, in the same year as a statute of Bon Scott was unveiled in 2016, that was a huge moment.
The 2019 event had the biggest attendance, with the main tent hosting 1,600 fans each night and a further 3,000 to 4,000 visiting the town each day. Fans hailed from 27 nations including Australia, Chile and Peru.
The attendance figures have increased every year and 2020 was set to be another record breaker, but because of the coronavirus, it’s being held online – as a virtual festival.
“Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to attract big bands from the European tour circuit, such as Massive Wagons, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons as well as Bonafide and The Chris Slade Timeline,” says John.
“As the festival grows, so does the calibre of bands we attract. And 2020 was set to host the UK’s biggest rock band The Wildhearts.”
Ask John what makes the festival so special and he doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“There are two things that make BonFest unique,” he reflects.
“The first is the mass gathering of fans from all over the world coming to Kirriemuir to pay their respects to Bon. The second is the feeling of a global AC/DC family.
“Many friendships and relationships have formed over the years of BonFest and most of the fans know each other. Bon Scott is revered in Kirriemuir because he’s a person a lot of people can relate to. Speaking to his friends and relatives over the years, I also believe that Bon would have been proud to be able to support Kirriemuir in the way that BonFest now does.”
For John, personally, he loves everything about AC/DC from their blues roots to their raw power on stage.
“Bon’s stage presence was sublime and in my opinion, he’s the greatest rock ‘n’roll frontman of all time,” he says.
“He had the cheeky swagger and the powerful voice to match. He shows what hard work and determination can get you, and he had the mantra of never giving up in what you believe in. He was also a stage masterclass but in real life Bon was often quiet and spent a lot of time alone with his own thoughts.
“AC/DC have always been a private band but if you are lucky enough to meet them, which I have on several occasions, they are very friendly and hospitable.”
Virtual BonFest
On Saturday May 2, BonFest will go live – online. The virtual festival will stream interviews, bands and fan videos from 6pm til midnight.
“Obviously, we can’t have live bands, so we’ll have clips of fans from all over the world saying hello and so on, and a ‘best of’ selection of videos from previous festivals,” says John.
“The fans are what makes this festival what it is. We hope to be back stronger in 2021 and want to thank everyone for their continued support.
“The festival is an important part of both DD8 Music’s youth projects and indeed for the Kirriemuir community who embrace the annual influx of denim and leather and look forward to talking with fans from all over the globe.”
Anecdotes
John says the “European fascination” with BonFest began in 2011 when a coach-load of hardcore Bon fans drove all the way to Kirrie from Berlin to celebrate Scott’s posthumous 65th birthday party.
“Almost all these fans are now close friends and return every year as well as us going to their fan meetings in Germany,” he says.
Another anecdote revolves around former AC/DC bassist Mark Evans.
“Mark was getting married in Linlithgow during his BonFest appearance in 2018,” recalls John.
“On the Saturday when we recreate the anthem It’s A Long Way To The Top in the town. Mark was running late from a wedding rehearsal. I had to drag him with the security team from the hotel through a crowded street and basically throw him onto the back of the lorry where coolly he picked up the bass guitar and started playing!”
Performance from beyond the grave?
The closest Bon Scott got to playing live in Kirriemuir before his untimely death in 1980 was a gig with AC/DC at Dundee’s Caird Hall in 1978.
That could change with the possibility of the AC/DC hero performing in Kirriemuir from beyond the grave as a hologram being investigated last year.
Hologram technology began in April 2012 when a virtual Tupac Shakur performed at the Coachella Festival with Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre.
Among the dead legends “returning” to perform have been Roy Orbison, Amy Winehouse and metal icon Ronnie James Dio with his former band members.
Former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright played drums on the Dio Hologram tour in 2019 and talked about the possibility of a Bon Scott hologram performing.
BonFest chairman John Crawford said he would love to do this but the costs are outwith the festival’s budget “for the moment”. He said it’s something to be looked at in the years to come.
Memorabilia
Fan Neil McDonald, who is originally from Glasgow, has the biggest collection of Bon Scott memorabilia in the UK.
He regularly loans Kirriemuir’s Gateway to the Glens Museum a host of objects for its exhibitions, many of which have never been viewed by the general public.
Neil’s collection, built over a lifetime, boasts albums, posters, rare cassettes and even a Christmas card from Bon Scott.
The first time Neil met Scott was outside the Glasgow Apollo in 1978 before a concert.
He was carrying the last tour programme and Scott drew up in a car and Neil asked him to sign it. Scott took him inside to meet the band and they all signed it.
