Bon Scott, arguably the greatest lead singer in hard rock history, made history with AC/DC and met a horrible end. He is considered one of the greatest lead singers of all time.
Born in Scotland’s Forfar, Scott grew up in Kirriemuir until, at the age of six, he and his family moved to Melbourne in 1952. Prior to relocating to Fremantle, they spent four years living in the Sunshine area.
In 1964, Scott started his first band, The Spektors, where he played drums and occasionally lead vocals. Before taking over as AC/DC’s main singer in 1974 from Dave Evans, he played in a number of different bands, such as The Valentines and Fraternity.
The 1970s saw a rise in AC/DC’s popularity, first in Australia and later globally. The band looked prepared for a big break when their 1979 album Highway to Hell peaked at number twenty in the US charts. But Scott passed away on February 19, 1980, following a night out in London.
For a brief while, AC/DC thought about breaking up, but they signed British glam rock band Geordie’s frontman Brian Johnson. Just five months later, AC/DC’s follow-up album, Back in Black, was released as a tribute to Scott. Later on, it turned out to be the second-best-selling record ever made.
Scott topped Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant to be named the “100 Greatest Frontmen of All Time” in a Classic Rock article published in July 2004. On their 2006 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time, Hit Parader placed Scott at number five.