Bon Scott: Highway to Hell

In a major new biography of the Australian rock icon, Bon: The Last Highway, journalist Jesse Fink offers an exhaustive, fascinating study of both the man and the myth. He’s also undertaken a fresh investigation into the murky circumstances surrounding Scott’s death in London at age 33, unearthing new information.
But there’s much more to Scott’s story than living fast and dying young. In conversation with Jacinta Parsons, Fink discusses the remarkable story of this blazing figure in Australian rock history.

[@johnohill463]

Malcolm Young made it clear that he, too, was also an alcoholic, and there's no way they could've sacked Bon Scott because he was too important to the band, as a song writer, singer/performer with great presence and vocals. Plus, Bon Scott's lyrical DNA is all over the album Back in Black, because he wrote all of the songs, except for Hell's Bells, which is a tribute to Bon. Just listen to the huge change in lyrical content in the albums following the Back in Black album. C'mon!! Wake up folks!! As a song writer of 30 years, it's very obvious to me and I can never be convinced otherwise. If Bon was going to leave the band, he would've done so after the Back in Black tour, and leaving with plenty of money in his bank account and living on the life time coming royalties. ... Kind Regards ... Johno ...

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@grantbaechler3529]

There is no proof that Bon wrote back in black and people can make all of the assumptions they want. People just like making money off other’s fortunes and this is another case of it. You can clearly tell that Jesse is nervous as hell when he talks and wants to be careful how he says things.

[@chriswick7987]

Agreed. Love the band, but I can’t care about anything after Back in Black

[@azbluesdog]

In his book “The Lives of Brian” Brian Johnson refutes the claim that Bon Scott wrote lyrics for the album. He writes: “… it was me at the end of the pen, writing every night and every morning with only the title to work with. That’s what happened. That’s the truth and I really hope that settles it.”

[@markleblanc3447]

In my opinion, every album after BIB can’t hold a candle to all the previous albums co written by Bon Scott!

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

mark leblanc I agree for the most part, but it has more to do with the lyrics. The music is always great. But it's just so obvious to me that AC/DC used Bon's lyrics on BIB because after that album the lyrics got weaker and weaker and more and more repetitive. Bon would have never run out of stories to tell in the songs. Compare the lyrics on LTBR or Powerage (especially) or HTH to anything they've written post Back In Black. The Young's lyrics don't hold a candle to Bon's. In fact, when you compare the Young's lyrics to Bon's, they are down right embarrassing.

[@johnohill463]

mark leblanc That's because Bon Scott wrote all but 2 of the songs. It's obvious to a 30 year experienced professional musician like myself who writes Australian rock songs and taught myself to play guitar and sing by listening to my favourite band, AC/DC. The 2 songs they wrote for Bon , in his honour, are Hell's Bells and Back in Black. I thing the way AC/DC handled the transition was 1st Class and no-one should ever be critical of them. At Bon's funeral, his father told the Young brothers to get a new singer ASAP and keep going right away because Bon Scott wouldn't have had any other way.

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

​@@johnohill463 I agree except for the 2 songs you chose. I hear Bon's writing in both those songs. Like Jesse Fink points out in his book, 'Back in Black' is a song about finally seeing the money come in. Bon knew he was about to see a lot of money come his way. The term "Back in black" means you are "out of the red"; out of debt. It's an old thing where accountants used to carry two pens with them, a black one and a red one. Anything in the red means you owe, anything in the black is what money you have. 'Hells Bells' may have some lines from Angus and Malcolm, maybe even Brian, but like many other fans I totally hear Bon's lyrics in that one as well. We'll never know for sure, sadly. But one thing that is irrefutable is the fact that after 'Back In Black' the lyrics on their albums went down hill _quickly_ . And that is why I believe there is absolutely no way in hell Angus, Malcolm or Brian could have written any of the really clever lyrics on BIB. The big one for me was when I read part of a March 1980 interview Angus gave with Sounds magazine. He said that if they found someone they "clicked" with they'd go in the next day and record the album because they "had all the songs and ideas" they were "just missing that one ingredient" (the vocals). He's slipped up in several interviews over the years, but that was the biggest one I have ever heard. I can't blame them for what they did by not crediting Bon. They had to look like they were strong enough to carry on and be successful despite losing singer/lyricist.

[@johnohill463]

@@Purpleskyshorizon Yes mate. That makes sense then. I wasn't aware of all the info you have, despite the books I've read. Cheers for clearing it up. Kind Regards... Johno ...

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

@@johnohill463 Cheers to you! Another thing I find really suspicious is the fact that Brian Johnson didn't have that many previous co-writing credits with Geordie. I think about 7 or 8 songs over the course of 5 albums that he did with them. No offense to Brian and Vic Malcolm (their main songwriter and guitarist), but the lyrics were nowhere near the quality or, more importantly, style of Bon Scott.

[@ratso1963mikel]

Unknowingly, most acdc fans fell in love with the second best rock n roll bands in the world in Brians version of acdc. And then there's Bon.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@frankrichards3089]

This is true

[@Malegys]

in 1983, AC/DC had a song called "Bedlam in Belgium" on their "Flick of the Switch" album, recalling an incident that happened in Kontich, Belgium in 1977. Brian Johnson wasn't a member ofcourse back then, so that's another possibility that the Youngs had plundered Bon's notebooks for notes/lyrics on that event.

[@JokersWild70]

Right. How in the fuck could Brian even write a song about an event that he wasn't part of? I suppose that it's possible, but again, as I stated in my own comment above, I think that the Youngs and Brian definitely borrowed from Bon's lyric books.

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

I was just now reading the lyrics and was thinking the same thing!!!! I wholeheartedly believe that Bon very well may have written those lyrics as well! They sound so much like him! AC/DC ALWAYS stock-piled songs. Hard As A Rock was written in 1986 and wasn't officially released until 1996. TEN years!! It's a no-brainer that they had riffs and ideas going way back. Look at what Angus is doing now with the upcoming album; He's using riffs Malcolm wrote and demoed many, many years ago. If using Bon's lyrics after he died would be as the Youngs put it, "Like grave robbing", then why the hell is Angus using Malcolm's music after HE died? Is that not "Grave Robbing"???

[@lordharry423]

garbage. I remember it was based on when Brian first joined the band

[@Malegys]

@Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. thanks for your well-informed opinion on the matter.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@Alfablue227]

Thank you for posting. Anyting about Bon is fascinating to me! May he rest in peace!

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@LisaGemini]

Just bought this book and can't wait to crack it. I love this band because they were working class guys who seemed rather ordinary but they had amazing talent. I don't think they ever recognized how really special their connection was within the band and with their fans. Bon had such a magnetic chemistry about him, a lot like Freddie Mercury did. He's unforgettable.

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

What did you think of it? The updated edition is available now. 👍

[@LisaGemini]

@@Purpleskyshorizon It was an eye opener. Really sad to read how talented Bon was and yet...he was an alcoholic. But I recommend the book, it's very interesting!

37:33 Bon Scotts girlfriend Irene said that Bon once said Rock and Roll ain't noise pollution.

[@17zipping]

Irene was his wife, Ana Baber (Baba) claimed above in walkers book. The song itself was written last in another studio to the other 9 so Bon MAY have contributed the title but impossible for the lyrics.

[@666theninja]

Bon Girlfriend Anna Baba said in Clinton Walker's Book about Bon Scott that Bon was playing music loud in his flat in London and the caretaker that lived in the units came up about the Noise and Bon said that Rock and Roll ain't noise pollution.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@tommy8715]

Bon Scott is the REAL and TRUE AC/DC.... everything else was just a little "low "voltage". Good but not quite the "High Voltage Rock n Roll" of The One and Only Late Great Bon Scott!! RIP Ronald Belford Scott

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@tommy8715]

@@jamesragsdale8202 I gotta agree with you on that 100%! Because I was about thinking the exact same thing and responded to another video with almost that same argument! Shook Me All Night Long sounds so much like something Bon would write I can almost image him singing it! AC/DC with Brian was good music but as you said they would have never been what they are today without Bon Scott!

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@@tommy8715 From Quora. An even deeper, more complex and nuanced, linguistic analysis than this is possible: "His former girlfriend Margaret “Silver” Smith said that he rang her the night he died, looking for someone to celebrate or party with, as he had finished writing for the new album. His then girlfriend said she recognised lyrics from the album as material she had read in his notebooks, she was quite angry with the band at what she thought they had done. Another former girlfriend from America claimed she recognised “You Shook me all Night Long” as being by Bon, a former manager of the band, David Krebs thought the same. Bon’s brother apparently received a letter from him, it had followed this brother, who was in the Navy, around the world from port to port for 4 years - in this letter, which was written just before he died, Bon again claimed he had finished the lyrics for the new album. Finally, Angus Young himself has admitted in a couple of interviews - one of them with Kerrang I think - that there are a few Bon songs on Back In Black. So, it seems to me the real question isn’t “did Bon write lyrics for Back In Black” - he clearly did - but just how much of those lyrics ended up on the album? Indeed also, how much of that rhythm, that groove, which was missing from later albums, did Bon contribute to? It’s interesting to compare lyrics from Back In Black to lyrics from earlier albums, that we know Bon penned. As it was quite a time consuming exercise, I’ve only done three songs but here goes: HELLS BELLS Bon wrote songs titled “Hell ain’t a bad place to be” and “Highway to Hell” it was a regular theme in general. “I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain I'm coming on like a hurricane My lightning's flashing across the sky You’re only young but you’re gonna die” In the Bon song “Touch Too Much” there’s the line: “dealing with danger, strokin' my skin, like a thunder and lightnin' storm” In the Bon song “Stick Around” there’s the almost exact same line: “You came on like a hurricane” In the Bon song “Love at First feel” there’s the line: “lightning bolts in my fingertips In the Bon song “What’s Next to the Moon” there’s the line: “heavenly body flyin across the sky” “I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives Nobody's putting up a fight I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell I'm gonna get ya satan get ya” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the same phrase: “take you to hell”, “Satan” is also mentioned in the song “Highway to Hell”. “Hells bells Hells bells, you got me ringing Hells bells, my temperature's high Hells bells” In the Bon song “Rock n Roll Damnation” there’s the line: “my temperature’s running hot”. “I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine If you're into evil you're a friend of mine See the white light flashing as I split the night Cause if good's on the left then I'm sticking to the right” In the Bon song “Dirty Eyes” there’s the line: “send shivers down my spine” In the Bon song “Night Prowler” there’s the line: “and a chill runs down your spine” In the Bon song “Jailbreak” there’s the line: “ there was a friend of mine on murder” In the Bon song “TNT” there’s the line: “ women to the left of me, women to the right” In the song “Big Balls” there’s the line: “bouncing to the left and to the right” In the Bon song “The Jack” there’s the line: “from the tattoo on her left leg, to the garter on her right” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the line: “I said right, they said left” In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the lines: “you can throw me lefts, you can throw me rights” SHOOT TO THRILL A song clearly about heroin use, just like the Bon song “Gone Shootin”. “All you women who want a man of the street But you don't know which way you want to turn Just keep a coming and put your hand out to me 'Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the same phrase: “all you women” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the line: “you’re gonna burn tonight” “I'm gonna take you down - down, down, down So don't you fool around I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger Shoot to thrill, play to kill Too many women with too many pills Shoot to thrill, play to kill I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will” In the Bon song “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “puts me down, fool me around” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “gone Shootin, how am I gonna get her down” “Gone Shootin” also references pills. “I'm like evil, I get under your skin Just like a bomb that's ready to blow 'Cause I'm illegal, I got everything That all you women might need to know” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “wrapped herself around like a second skin” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “lookin dynamite about to blow me out” YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG “She was a fast machine She kept her motor clean She was the best damn woman I had ever seen” In the Bon song “Touch to Much” there’s the lines: “she wanted it hard, wanted it fast” and “this damn woman’s gonna drive me insane” “She had the sightless eyes Telling me no lies Knockin' me out with those American thighs“ In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the line: “smiling face and laughin eyes but you keep on tellin me all those lies” In the Bon song “Hell ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “playing your games tellin me those lies” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “knocks me off my feet” “Wanted no applause Just another course Made a meal out of me and came back for more” In the Bon song “Love Hungry Man” there’s the line: “all I wanna do is make a meal outta you”

[@tommy8715]

@@jamesragsdale8202 WOW! I thought I'd analyzed it pretty good myself in seeing the similarities between music known to be written by Bon and the next couple albums after he died BUT you got me by a mile and I gotta say I'm even more convinced! I'd heard that he had a couple girlfriends that had claimed some of BIB was written by Bon but after seeing the lyrics laid out how you did it... makes it a no brainer!

[@tommy8715]

@@jamesragsdale8202 I heard one internet rumor saying it was possible that the band paid off Bon's family to keep quite to any such suggestion that Bon had written any of the band's material post HTH and from everything I've heard Bon's family hasn't ever really said anything about it one way or the other. I even seen another internet rumor that claimed Bon's family was secretly receiving royalties for BIB although Bon was never actually credited on the album... to which I'd say are just that internet rumors because I highly doubt the band has given Bon's family one red cent for anything he didn't already have recorded and on album before he died.

[@Malegys]

Bon died in Feb 1980, BIB is released less than 5 months later. No pre-written lyrics/songs & finding a new singer, working him in in such a short time? bollocks. Ofcourse Bon wrote a ton of the lyrics on BIB & not Brian.

[@mrentremattor5772]

yes

[@JokersWild70]

@Jacob Molyneux Read the book. Brian Johnson was not really a lyricist in Geordie. He certainly was not the main writer in that band. The easiest way to clear this up is if Ian Jeffrey, the man that stole Bon's lyric books from his flat right after his death, would open those books up to see if any lines in those books were used in BiB. But, he won't do that. What is there to hide? Apparently, something.

[@JokersWild70]

@Jacob Molyneux Again, read the book. Jesse Fink DID speak to Ian Jeffrey about those notebooks, and he was very evasive in his answers.

[@JokersWild70]

@Jacob Molyneux Guess we're done with this. If you haven't read the book, I can't debate you about this. Take care.

[@claypage1089]

Not AC / DC: but I have always thought that one or two riffs of off Bark at the Moon sound Randy-ish. Perhaps Lee was good enough to mimic, perhaps otherwise.

[@Adlemtbadv]

What an awesome book. Such an insight into the man. The legend, the icon of Aussie rock n roll. Absolutely loved it. 👍🏻

[@JesseFinkBooks]

Cheers mate

[@jeremysimpson2476]

I think the most telling fact is that after Back in Black the album quality dropped as far as songwriting. Every Bon era album is good if not great. Brian era not so much. A couple of hits and the rest are filler for the most part. Brian is not the same caliber songwriter as Bon and the albums prove it.

[@jaskiers8951]

I agree with what you say...but the quality of the albums has to do mainly with the songwriting of the youngs. You cant say BIB is much better than any album after it just bc of the lyrics, the riffs are simply so good that the songs would have sounded good even if Brian farted on them. The same cannot be said of some later albums, there's a fair share of uninspired riffs that could not have been saved even by the best lyrics.

[@tyraonortham6545]

I completely agree with you Jeremy. Very good point you brought up here!

[@Kelkat66]

Actually, the Youngs took over lyric writing after the Blow Up Your Video album. They wrote the lyrics for The Razor's Edge and all albums moving forward. Perhaps with the death of Malcolm... Brian has returned to writing more but to compare all the lyrics after Bon's death to Brian Johnson isn't fair since Brian hasn't been writing lyrics for years. I think the lyrics written by Brian were strong for a few albums after Back in Black. The Blow Up Your Video album was just an overall weaker album and that is when there was a change. I think Brian prefered the Youngs write the lyrics it took some of the pressure off of him.

[@TheGreatAlan75]

It's not BJ fault. The music dropped off as with every band that has made many albums..

[@TheGreatAlan75]

You couldn't be more wrong. The lyrics have nothing to do with his guys a song is or is not. It's the RIFFS and MELODIES and nothing else. The band had made 6-8 albums at that point and the quality was due to drop off. Back in Black works have been a great album with any good singer because of the RIFFS and MELODIES. lyrics are secondary. Don't forget that

[@jamesragsdale8202]

From Quora. An even deeper, more complex and nuanced, linguistic analysis than this is possible: "His former girlfriend Margaret “Silver” Smith said that he rang her the night he died, looking for someone to celebrate or party with, as he had finished writing for the new album. His then girlfriend said she recognised lyrics from the album as material she had read in his notebooks, she was quite angry with the band at what she thought they had done. Another former girlfriend from America claimed she recognised “You Shook me all Night Long” as being by Bon, a former manager of the band, David Krebs thought the same. Bon’s brother apparently received a letter from him, it had followed this brother, who was in the Navy, around the world from port to port for 4 years - in this letter, which was written just before he died, Bon again claimed he had finished the lyrics for the new album. Finally, Angus Young himself has admitted in a couple of interviews - one of them with Kerrang I think - that there are a few Bon songs on Back In Black. So, it seems to me the real question isn’t “did Bon write lyrics for Back In Black” - he clearly did - but just how much of those lyrics ended up on the album? Indeed also, how much of that rhythm, that groove, which was missing from later albums, did Bon contribute to? It’s interesting to compare lyrics from Back In Black to lyrics from earlier albums, that we know Bon penned. As it was quite a time consuming exercise, I’ve only done three songs but here goes: HELLS BELLS Bon wrote songs titled “Hell ain’t a bad place to be” and “Highway to Hell” it was a regular theme in general. “I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain I'm coming on like a hurricane My lightning's flashing across the sky You’re only young but you’re gonna die” In the Bon song “Touch Too Much” there’s the line: “dealing with danger, strokin' my skin, like a thunder and lightnin' storm” In the Bon song “Stick Around” there’s the almost exact same line: “You came on like a hurricane” In the Bon song “Love at First feel” there’s the line: “lightning bolts in my fingertips In the Bon song “What’s Next to the Moon” there’s the line: “heavenly body flyin across the sky” “I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives Nobody's putting up a fight I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell I'm gonna get ya satan get ya” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the same phrase: “take you to hell”, “Satan” is also mentioned in the song “Highway to Hell”. “Hells bells Hells bells, you got me ringing Hells bells, my temperature's high Hells bells” In the Bon song “Rock n Roll Damnation” there’s the line: “my temperature’s running hot”. “I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine If you're into evil you're a friend of mine See the white light flashing as I split the night Cause if good's on the left then I'm sticking to the right” In the Bon song “Dirty Eyes” there’s the line: “send shivers down my spine” In the Bon song “Night Prowler” there’s the line: “and a chill runs down your spine” In the Bon song “Jailbreak” there’s the line: “ there was a friend of mine on murder” In the Bon song “TNT” there’s the line: “ women to the left of me, women to the right” In the song “Big Balls” there’s the line: “bouncing to the left and to the right” In the Bon song “The Jack” there’s the line: “from the tattoo on her left leg, to the garter on her right” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the line: “I said right, they said left” In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the lines: “you can throw me lefts, you can throw me rights” SHOOT TO THRILL A song clearly about heroin use, just like the Bon song “Gone Shootin”. “All you women who want a man of the street But you don't know which way you want to turn Just keep a coming and put your hand out to me 'Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the same phrase: “all you women” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the line: “you’re gonna burn tonight” “I'm gonna take you down - down, down, down So don't you fool around I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger Shoot to thrill, play to kill Too many women with too many pills Shoot to thrill, play to kill I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will” In the Bon song “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “puts me down, fool me around” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “gone Shootin, how am I gonna get her down” “Gone Shootin” also references pills. “I'm like evil, I get under your skin Just like a bomb that's ready to blow 'Cause I'm illegal, I got everything That all you women might need to know” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “wrapped herself around like a second skin” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “lookin dynamite about to blow me out” YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG “She was a fast machine She kept her motor clean She was the best damn woman I had ever seen” In the Bon song “Touch to Much” there’s the lines: “she wanted it hard, wanted it fast” and “this damn woman’s gonna drive me insane” “She had the sightless eyes Telling me no lies Knockin' me out with those American thighs“ In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the line: “smiling face and laughin eyes but you keep on tellin me all those lies” In the Bon song “Hell ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “playing your games tellin me those lies” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “knocks me off my feet” “Wanted no applause Just another course Made a meal out of me and came back for more” In the Bon song “Love Hungry Man” there’s the line: “all I wanna do is make a meal outta you”

[@timbodedidleo]

Wow these comparison lyrics are absolutely intriguing. Yes, imo a real eye opener! Thanks for sharing.

[@vyalantfitts341]

Thats all well and good. But if you look at the songs credited to Johnson and notice the meter and most of all the rhyming... machine -clean -seen , size -lies- thighs they read more like a greeting card than poetry. Bon wrote poetry , not always polite poetry but not as simplistic. Not dissing Brian but the styles are different. Bons lyrics were more free ranging Brians were more contrived

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@@vyalantfitts341 there is one style from 1974 to 1981. There's another style from 1983 to the present day. Bon wrote one. Malcolm wrote the other.

[@vyalantfitts341]

@@jamesragsdale8202 yeah thats pretty much what i said

[@willmolinar]

Fink is a hero. Someday at some point in history the true story of who actually wrote BiB will come out and this book is an important step towards that truth. The band (Angus and Brian in particular) will most likely never fess up and thus it is up to authors like Fink to dig up the facts. I've always said that Bon's lyrics were on BiB because there's no way you can plug in a brand new singer with a mediocre song-writing background and come up with the brilliance on that record. In six weeks!?! No way. The AC/DC machine was already up and running at that point full steam and they used Bon's notebook to write the lyrics. Maybe they and Brian filled in the gaps but Bon's words represent the lion's share of the work.

[@michaelstewart9352]

Fink is no hero. He's a man after money and don't care if he smears a dead man's name. Not a hero a zero.

[@JokersWild70]

@@pringles4312 Brian wasn't even a major writer in Geordie, so in a mere few weeks, he comes up with these brilliant lyrics that happen to be in the same vein as Bon? Let's say that he did. If that's the case, why did his brilliant lyric writing desert him on "For Those About To Rock" and the albums that followed? Come on. Look at reality. Bon was already writing lyrics for "Back in Black" (even though only 2 songs were somewhat completed when he died). Malcolm Dome saw a sheaf of papers that Bon was writing lyrics on while he was still alive, and he SWEARS that he saw the line "she told me to come, but I was already there." It is obvious to me as a life long AC/DC fan, and have read everything about the band available, plus interviews, plus constructing the time line from Bon's death to the release of "Back in Black" and I am convinced without a doubt that MANY of Bon's lyrics were used. Here's another case in point: if Bon had nothing to do with the album, as the Youngs and Brian Johnson claim, why would the Scott family STILL receive publishing money from that album? Because the Youngs are sentimental? I doubt that.

[@mikemckenna6662]

You don't have to wait It's obvious Bon contributes all the way up to but not including fly on the wall

[@mikemckenna6662]

+JokersWild45 answer is simple Why was BIB included in BONFIRE ?

[@JokersWild70]

@@mikemckenna6662 That's a good point, and one I hadn't even considered!

[@australiantruckspotting8883]

He’s right though, listening to AC/DC is one of the best anti depressants available. There’s no way you’re going to jump off a cliff after listening to Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to be 😎

[@TheChristoph68]

I gotta get this book, this guy sounds like he's really cool and just wanted to write a untarnished truthful book about Bon. A book do have and love very much is Mark Evans' Dirty Deeds; that book is so cool and it's about him not just his time in AC/DC I'm Very disappointed and quite Mad at Mal and Angus for making the Rock and Roll hall of fame drop Mark from being able to go in there with AC/DC. Hell, Mark was the Bass Player for TNT, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Let there be rock and the International release of High Voltage and there are songs from every one of those LP's that AC/DC Still play live up to 2018 so you can't say that Mark didn't really contribute to AC/DC or that the stuff he played on was Rubbish and doesn't count to AC/DC becoming the biggest band in the World becuase he was there near the beginning and was in those same Rock and Roll trenches with the other guys fighting to make AC/DC known back then.

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

​@Spyro The Bandicoot From my understanding, Mark was going to be inducted by the HOF but the Youngs had his name removed from the list.

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

Spyro The Bandicoot You basically said right there what I say to people in my personal life when I talk about my fave all time band. 🙂 (and no joke, Thunderstruck is on the radio as I type this). I will always love Mal and Angus, and George, however I will always be upset with them for MANY crappy things they, in my opinion, have done. The lyrics on BIB? Mostly Bon's. The whole Mark Evans deal with HOF, which turns out is a fact that they had him removed from the inductees list. They did a lot of shady things, but like I said, I'll always love them. My older brother got me into them when I was only 4 years old. BIB hadn't even been released yet!

[@fabrice9584]

Hi great book, just read it. I'm from France, the origin of the name "Chartreuse" is coming from the color of a famous and strong century old liquor made by monks with specific plants picked from Chartreuse mountains. AC/DC played around on 1979 at "Grenoble" and "Aix les bains", I'm pretty sure that Bon tasted this liquor

[@davidgoodfellow2384]

Bon was the best front man ever he passed away over 4 decades ago but his voice in acdc will never die

[@mojojojojuniper6122]

Bon will always be remembered as a Rock n roll pirate a great lyricist a one off! But I believe he was snuffed out in the cut throat music industry.Too much of a coincidence. Who leaves Bon Scott in a car? I certainly.wouldnt would you?? Unless you wanna steal his lyrics and make one of the best selling album of all time? The love of money is truly the root of all evil... and alcohol poisoning? Bon drank every day copious amounts. He could handle a sinking ship of spirits so that theory imo is bollocks. I'm an alcoholic. So dont come at me.i know

[@evil7764]

Great book. Anything Bon Scott also to me is Fascinating. In my opinion the Greatest front man in Rock.

[@kennywathen5996]

Did you ever see him live?

[@evil7764]

Kenny Wathen No I did not I was to young But had I seen him it would be one of the high lights of my life.

[@kennywathen5996]

I saw him 4 times. Great vocalist & lyricist but not the best front man in my opinion. He was special.

[@gazbowski3405]

@@kennywathen5996 saw AC/DC when they came to Liverpool in the late 70's/early 80's. I'm not a Brian Johnson fan but that is not to say I don't respect him for his powerful stage presence and booming vocals. I've just finished the KK Downing's(Judas Priest guitarist who left Priest a few years ago) book which was an average read, 5/10. I am currently reading books about the Priest by Neil Daniels.

[@scottricci5063]

I was really on the fence about whether or not Bon had contributed lyrics to the Back In Black album, but after reading this book, it seems almost positive that he did. Plus if you look at the body of Bob's lyrics and that of Johnson's , the lyrics to the Back In Black songs tend to lend themselves to the style and creativity of Bon. If Johnson had written them, then he totally changed his style and creativity in every subsequent album thereafter and for the worse. Bob's vernacular style and double-entendre creativity is all over Back In Black. And maybe even some of For Those About To Rock.

[@masteryoda498]

Great interview, as a life long AC/DC fan (since 1976 when I first heard “Jailbreak”), I learned a lot of new things about The Late Bon Scott. And if there’s one thing Jesse Fink is right about, and that is Aussie pub rock is the best in the world. I say this with some bias as I was raised on Australian pub rock eg.The Angels, Rose Tattoo,The Radiators, Screaming Jets, Choirboys etc, but I have to say Australia produces the best rock musicians in the world.

[@night1964prowler]

If you watch "If you want blood" live video, Bon's eye's look extremly black...I really don't care what drug or drink he did, I do love the charisma the man had on stage. The BEST rock n roll lyrics ever written (if I could of had those notebooks, I WOULD OF MIXED THE LYRICS UP MYSELF).. That being said, I really don't know why they just couldn't say or acknowledge Bon on BiB. What's the real problem....Shit, Brian had to sing bon's song's anyway, who cares if he didn't write BiB....I really believe BON is all over BiB....I think BON WAS AND STILL IS the BEST front man of any band....

[@dominicanbikinibeauties6537]

Back In Black doesnt sound like Highway To Hell in a single way. Why should Bon write songs about his own death? The guy who wrote the book is a punk as you can see in the video. He knows the boys since 2011!!! I mean hes of my age and I have seen them as a boy of 13 years in 1980

[@night1964prowler]

@@dominicanbikinibeauties6537 Im NOT saying Bon Scott wrote all the songs.....Some of the "tongue in cheek" lyrics sound a lot like Bon may have had written, examples: Given the dog a bone", Honey what do you do for money", She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean", there is a lot more, Brian had never written anything that made it big, all of a sudden, he writes an Album that sold , what 100 Million world wide, in less then 6 months, LMFAO get real . I just missed seeing bon in 1979n here in Baltimore, At Towson State University, and saw them ever since. So, I have a good feel for the pace and lyric structure they were doing for a long time....

[@chrish3672]

@@dominicanbikinibeauties6537 There isn't a song on that album that speaks about death. Just because the band dedicated it to Bon doesn't mean the songs are about him. Back in black I hit the sack I've been too long I'm glad to be back. Yes, I'm Let loose From the noose That's kept me hanging about I keep lookin' at the sky 'Cause it's gettin' me high Forget the hearse cause I'll never die I got nine lives Cat's eyes Abusin' every one of them and running wild Bon lived a wild life, almost died in a motorcycle accident before ever joining AC/DC These lyrics do not say "I'm Dead, mourn me" They Say Watch what you say, get out of my way Cause I am here to Stay or I'll kick Your Ass... Nothing mournful I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain I'm comin' on like a hurricane My lightning's flashing across the sky You're only young but you're gonna die I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives Nobody's putting up a fight I got my bell, I'm gonna take you to hell I'm gonna get you, Satan get you Hell's bells Yeah, hell's bells You got me ringing hell's bells My temperature's high, hell's bells I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine If you're into evil you're a friend of mine See the white light flashing as I split the night 'Cause if good's on the left, Then I'm stickin' to the right Again... I am a BADASS and You better look out... unless You go my way I LOVE AC/DC - EVERY ALBUM - SAW THEM 1983 - ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Brian admits he is glad not to deal with writing the lyrics. And according to band history - only "wrote for 5 albums" BIB, FTATR, FOTS, FOTW, BUYV oh and Who Made Who track Everything Razor's Edge on are Young & Young only. I thought For Those About To Rock had some really good lyrics.. One thing some folks forget to consider is MUTT LANGE's production on HTH BIB and FTATR He created a sound for them that has yet to be recreated. I pray that before the band calls it quits they do one more with LANGE.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@martingerner3543]

@@night1964prowler BON NEVER WROTE SOMETHING FOR BIB!!!

[@blairysnobsopiniononnewsof4625]

I was Lucky Enough to see Bon 4 or 5 times before he Died & I did work in the entertainment industry all my life including American radio So you could probably name Any international act & I would have seen them or met a few but Bon absolutely stood above them all. RIP Mate . Still my fav of all time.

[@patrickiriarte1413]

Good news for ACDC fans Bon Scott is alive and well but under a different alias he is actually Colin Hay of "Men at Work". He just had to hangup his image and identity with ACDC. He hated being on tour and on the road for long periods at a time. He wanted to make music on his own terms and likewise perform on the road at his own conveinience! What are the odds both are Australian and though there looks like a difference in their date of birth which is a common practice when receiving a new identity. Just like how Morgan Freeman is Jimi Hendrix and Lady Gaga is Amy Winehouse. And what do all three of these people have in common they came on the scene right after these legendary Icons had supposedly passed on! And the song itself "Back in Black" if you listen closely even though Brian Johnson sang it after the so call passing of Bon Scott it sounds like he is describing how he was to make his grand departure and exit from the band with the following statement in the lyrics "Back in black I hit the sack" (He is describing how he would be found deseased in his sleep, and "I am back, yes I am back" he is celebrating his breaking away from the Band and celebrating his freedom and Independence and returning back to his life on the streets!

[@hunterfolk2218]

Brilliant interview and an interesting guy. Learned so much from it. Makes a nice change from the usual anodyne treatments of the AC/DC story.

[@fredericruiz9675]

Bon scott est une légende du rock....la période de acdc avec bon scott est la meilleure période...les meilleurs albums et c'était le meilleur groupe sur scène....

[@larsgsanger3105]

🙏🇸🇪

[@mrhyde2484]

I love AC/DC and Brian Johnson, but I will always believe Bon wrote "Shook me all night long" at least. Those lyrics are more Bon than some songs we know he wrote. AC/DC never matched the writing after that.

[@spiralflash6169]

Bon had a real knack for writing clever lyrics that were both poetic and raunchy, and they hold up decades later as some of the best. Of course he wrote that song! Nothing else makes sense. RIP Legend.

[@johnohill463]

Bon wrote all but 2 songs mate. I believe Brian when he said how he came up with Hell's Bells. While trying to come up with an idea, a thunderstorm hit. I believe that Back in Black was written by George Young, the older brother and a great song-writer himself. Look up the great songs he wrote with Harry Vanda on Wiki. Some fella reckons that the song B in B is about accounting and I'll agree to disagree with him on that.

[@danielwenczuk9569]

@@johnohill463 To me BiB song lyrics was written by Bon. After Bon's death whole BiB album to me is purely marketing. Black album cover, the bell in Hells Bells song are purely marketing. Have vomits when I listening to it. Not crediting Bon for the lyrics is evil.

[@johnohill463]

@@danielwenczuk9569 You've hit the nail on the head there my friend.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@mikeparkis5399]

The people that live on this planet love this band!!!! Forever!!!!!

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@JokersWild70]

And of course, Ian Jeffrey apparently has Bon's notebooks and won't show them to anyone. I have NEVER thought that Brian wrote all the lyrics on "Back in Black." He wasn't even a major writer in Geordie. So when Bon died, apparently the band had the bare bones structure of "Have A Drink On Me" and "Let Me Put My Love Into You", which means that they still had to come up with 8 more songs, which would have taken time. So Brian comes in, and in the matter of a couple of months comes up with these brilliant lyrics in the same vein as Bon? No fucking way that is even possible. If that's the case, why did his brilliant lyrics desert him on "For Those About to Rock" forward? Malcolm Dome saw a sheaf of papers that Bon had been scribbling lyrics on for what would be "BiB" and SWEARS that he saw the line "she told me to come but I was already there" written by Bon. No, I absolutely believe that Bon's lyrics were all over "Back in Black" and if they weren't, why would his family be getting publishing money from that album still to this day? Because the Youngs felt sentimental? I highly doubt that. Bon didn't participate in any way according to the Youngs, Brian, Tony Platt, etc. Please, let's just accept the fact that whether it is ever admitted or not, Bon's lyrics were all over the place on that album. And I don't buy the story about the song "BiB" being written as a "tribute" to Bon either. Bon often placed himself in the lyrics, so I can see him writing some of those lyrics as well. And why is AC/DC so reluctant to let ANYTHING personal about Bon come out? They don't want any movies made about him, they don't want anything to do with the books written about him, they want nothing to do with any documentaries, etc. He was a great front man and a great lyricist. Maybe one of the greatest front men of all time. What's up AC/DC???

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@sydbarrett9762]

i think this guy is genuine....read both books and he opened my eyes to a few things.....like he said ac/dc were/are very secretive......bon scott was the king of rock and roll......like jesse says bon scott needed help he obviously never got...and may i say jacinta parsons carried this interview perfectly.....such a lovely bubbly lady.

[@UnderdogTactics]

Bon clearly wrote a lot of the lyrics of Back in Black and I suspect For Those About to Rock. You really hear the drop off after that.

[@michaelfreeman4739]

he did and before he passed he saw brian johnson playing in a band was like if im not in the band choose brian

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@666theninja]

It's sad the way Bon passed and not got to live a full life time, I can see what Jeese Fink is trying to let us know, Bon liked a Drink and a party and I guess the hard grind of touring for years is not all glamour as we think and took its toll on Bon. I like to remember Bon has a happy minstrel of Rock who got called to another Gig in the afterlife and when I get there Bon will be there happy and musical.

[@ratso1963mikel]

He got to live a fuller life in his 33 or so years that most of us ever will mate

[@johnohill463]

Back in Black has Bon Scott's DNA all over it.

[@dominicanbikinibeauties6537]

No. Who would write an album about his own death. HTH sounds completely different to BIB.

[@johnohill463]

@@dominicanbikinibeauties6537 I'm talking about two 3rd's of the songs on the Album "Back in Black". The song Back in Black is not about Bon's death and none of the others are either. Hell's Bells was penned by Brian. Listen to the style of lyrics. EX. Shoot to thrill, Have a drink on me, Shook me, Giving the dog a bone, What do you do for money honey and so forth. All Bon Scott.

[@manipulatedworld5355]

It was Bons style to write about Hell Brian never has since Bon wrote hells bells just as he wrote the rest of the album He was cocky full of life and on a roll lyrically the lyric coming on like a Hurricane is the same lyric Bon sang she came on like a hurricane in another AC/DC rare song no way Brian came up with the same lyric then there’s an upload of Bon singing you shook me all night long in one of his last concerts he says new song right here and the crowd doesn’t go nuts because they don’t know the song then the line sightless eyes he sings chartreuse eyes just like his girlfriend said he had wrote no way it’s a coincidence that proves it is Bon trying out a new song that’s why Bons family gets royalties from back in black he wrote it and that song was about them finally making money from the highway to hell album there is an interview where he says after a million copies sold we are finally making money and says he had a lot of bills to pay meaning he was back in black they young’s lied so everyone would love Brian and secure the bands future

[@johnohill463]

@@manipulatedworld5355 Bang on right mate.....

[@ulrichprieser6698]

@@manipulatedworld5355 AC/DC never played unreleased songs live and I own hundreds of uploads of Bon clones and impersonators singing Brian Johnson songs even by my own AC/DC coverband Why should the Youngs lie on that? I never heard any lie in more then hundreds of interviews I have by them. Why should they? And how do you know Bons family gets royalties? Or do you work for a National Music Publishers' Association? Yes, the Youngs pay money to Bons family because they are good guys. And why do you think Bon would come up with the same lyric?

[@joeblowporkhead864]

The problem I have is leaving a person in a car when passed out on a winter night ? From what I heard he wasn't checked on again until the next night what kind of friend does that ! That's not Bon Scott's fault and shouldn't have happened .

[@mjh5437]

I haven`t read the book yet,does Phil Lynott`s name come up in it?

[@GriefTourist]

Yes now and then

[@bradg6448]

Fantastic interview

[@attila7092]

I'm kind of surprised he doesn't mention Anna Baba, who was Bon's girlfriend at this time of his death. They only dated several weeks but I'm sure she knows a lot.

[@jasonsmart5331]

I cant remember if he couldn't track her down or she wouldn't talk.. one of the two.

[@edwardmolinary4890]

Just be happy that we were able to experience ALL the great music BOTH of these singers were able to help deliver us !!! Look no further than all the trash out today and know that we were lucky to experience all this music that will NEVER happen again !!!

[@timbodedidleo]

Hey Jesse, thanks for writing two fascinating AC/DC books. I'm wondering if you would consider doing a book on the Easybeats or Stevie Wright?

[@JesseFinkBooks]

Hi there. I did consider it. I spoke to Stevie before he died. Was in a really terrible state. Barely coherent.

[@timbodedidleo]

@@JesseFinkBooks Not meeting the Young's or Bon Scott was apparently no impediment to those biographies. Interesting that you actually met Stevie, (albeit in failing health). It's a tragedy that he succumbed to heroin addiction etc.... I have a very rough idea of the story but I'd still love it if someone could tell me, exactly why (and in great detail) those fabulous Easybeats did not become the biggest band in Australian music history? (There's gotta be a book there.)

[@anthony342]

@@JesseFinkBooks such a shame . he would of been perfect to replace bon...

[@JesseFinkBooks]

@@timbodedidleo Have you read The Youngs by me? It goes into the Stevie Wright/Easybeats story - first couple of chapters are about them

[@louiscsanko3673]

Bon Scott( RIP) is the Greatest Frontman Ever.🤘🤘 A Scottish Lad by His Blood & Soul.

[@TheCleaner76]

I think Freddie Mercury has him piped, just

[@leshgooo1016]

@@TheCleaner76 that’s funny.

[@TRKTKO]

Heroin playing a part in his death makes a lot of since to me, I can't believe they didn't test him for it.. It doesn't tarnish his legacy either it's the reality of our world especially now. His death could've been prevented it's a cautious tale..

[@JokersWild70]

Another thing: why would Ian Jeffrey keep Bon's lyric books? Why wouldn't he turn those over to Bon's parents? Did he or someone in AC/DC ask his parents permission to use the lyrics in there for "Back in Black?" Guess we'll never know the answer to that one. But, those notebooks didn't belong to anyone other than Bon's next of kin.

[@ozyzoeller4730]

Bons journal was turned over to Angus by his mother. She also insisted that the band keep pushing on and replace her son and release "Back in Black" as soon as possible. She said it's what Bon would have wanted.

[@JokersWild70]

@@ozyzoeller4730 Absolutely not true. Even Bons parents acknowledge that they didn't receive those. Ian Jeffrey stole them from Bons flat right after his death and still has them.

[@ozyzoeller4730]

@@JokersWild70 I wasn't there to say for sure. I do believe as you do that Bons parents should have gotten all the material that was left. What I do believe is someone should have stayed with him. He will always be my favorite front man. His voice was just as important as Angus's guitar in my opinion.

[@kenamaro3942]

I saw AC/DC with Bon in 1979, Day on the green Highway To Hell tour, Oakland CA with Aerosmith and Ted Nugent. After all these decades....I still remember how good Thier set was.

[@speeknoevil1803]

When you listen to the lyrics of early albums compared to many other post Bon songs, it's easy to tell that most of the bands material was written by Bon way before he passed away. Bon's influence is present in all their music. His lyrics were the best ever written!

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@Bad Boys Boogie Wrong. The vocal melodies and rhythms are all Bon's. The boring pedestrian vocal melodies and rhythms are on every album from 1983 - on.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@Bad Boys Boogie They are lying, you sheep. The album was done BEFORE they went into the studio. You think this is Spinal Tap? The lyrics definitely prove everything. I feel safe in NYC. I feel safe in NYC. I feel safe in NYC. I feel safe in NYC.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

Malcolm could not write a decent lyric to save his life.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@Bad Boys Boogiefrom Quora. An even deeper, more complex and nuanced, linguistic analysis than this is possible: "His former girlfriend Margaret “Silver” Smith said that he rang her the night he died, looking for someone to celebrate or party with, as he had finished writing for the new album. His then girlfriend said she recognised lyrics from the album as material she had read in his notebooks, she was quite angry with the band at what she thought they had done. Another former girlfriend from America claimed she recognised “You Shook me all Night Long” as being by Bon, a former manager of the band, David Krebs thought the same. Bon’s brother apparently received a letter from him, it had followed this brother, who was in the Navy, around the world from port to port for 4 years - in this letter, which was written just before he died, Bon again claimed he had finished the lyrics for the new album. Finally, Angus Young himself has admitted in a couple of interviews - one of them with Kerrang I think - that there are a few Bon songs on Back In Black. So, it seems to me the real question isn’t “did Bon write lyrics for Back In Black” - he clearly did - but just how much of those lyrics ended up on the album? Indeed also, how much of that rhythm, that groove, which was missing from later albums, did Bon contribute to? It’s interesting to compare lyrics from Back In Black to lyrics from earlier albums, that we know Bon penned. As it was quite a time consuming exercise, I’ve only done three songs but here goes: HELLS BELLS Bon wrote songs titled “Hell ain’t a bad place to be” and “Highway to Hell” it was a regular theme in general. “I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain I'm coming on like a hurricane My lightning's flashing across the sky You’re only young but you’re gonna die” In the Bon song “Touch Too Much” there’s the line: “dealing with danger, strokin' my skin, like a thunder and lightnin' storm” In the Bon song “Stick Around” there’s the almost exact same line: “You came on like a hurricane” In the Bon song “Love at First feel” there’s the line: “lightning bolts in my fingertips In the Bon song “What’s Next to the Moon” there’s the line: “heavenly body flyin across the sky” “I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives Nobody's putting up a fight I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell I'm gonna get ya satan get ya” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the same phrase: “take you to hell”, “Satan” is also mentioned in the song “Highway to Hell”. “Hells bells Hells bells, you got me ringing Hells bells, my temperature's high Hells bells” In the Bon song “Rock n Roll Damnation” there’s the line: “my temperature’s running hot”. “I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine If you're into evil you're a friend of mine See the white light flashing as I split the night Cause if good's on the left then I'm sticking to the right” In the Bon song “Dirty Eyes” there’s the line: “send shivers down my spine” In the Bon song “Night Prowler” there’s the line: “and a chill runs down your spine” In the Bon song “Jailbreak” there’s the line: “ there was a friend of mine on murder” In the Bon song “TNT” there’s the line: “ women to the left of me, women to the right” In the song “Big Balls” there’s the line: “bouncing to the left and to the right” In the Bon song “The Jack” there’s the line: “from the tattoo on her left leg, to the garter on her right” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the line: “I said right, they said left” In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the lines: “you can throw me lefts, you can throw me rights” SHOOT TO THRILL A song clearly about heroin use, just like the Bon song “Gone Shootin”. “All you women who want a man of the street But you don't know which way you want to turn Just keep a coming and put your hand out to me 'Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the same phrase: “all you women” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the line: “you’re gonna burn tonight” “I'm gonna take you down - down, down, down So don't you fool around I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger Shoot to thrill, play to kill Too many women with too many pills Shoot to thrill, play to kill I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will” In the Bon song “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “puts me down, fool me around” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “gone Shootin, how am I gonna get her down” “Gone Shootin” also references pills. “I'm like evil, I get under your skin Just like a bomb that's ready to blow 'Cause I'm illegal, I got everything That all you women might need to know” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “wrapped herself around like a second skin” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “lookin dynamite about to blow me out” YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG “She was a fast machine She kept her motor clean She was the best damn woman I had ever seen” In the Bon song “Touch to Much” there’s the lines: “she wanted it hard, wanted it fast” and “this damn woman’s gonna drive me insane” “She had the sightless eyes Telling me no lies Knockin' me out with those American thighs“ In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the line: “smiling face and laughin eyes but you keep on tellin me all those lies” In the Bon song “Hell ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “playing your games tellin me those lies” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “knocks me off my feet” “Wanted no applause Just another course Made a meal out of me and came back for more” In the Bon song “Love Hungry Man” there’s the line: “all I wanna do is make a meal outta you”

[@donniemoore2025]

I appreciate Brian Johnson and still loved the band after he assumed lead singer. I loved the Bon Scott era had a richness and depth to it that was lacking after he left.

[@gmotionedc5412]

If silver knew him best and said his death was not related to smack how does that square with the writers conclusion to the opposite? Who knew Bon best? I’m torn on this one. But now I want to read the damn book!

[@TheMichaelseymour]

"intellectual desert of ACDC " - LOVE IT !

[@lordharry423]

I'm here thanks for paying respect!

[@joeblowporkhead864]

It's interesting Bon Scott was an interesting guy who wrote great , fun songs for us to enjoy it sucks that he died the way he did . I really am a big fan of AC/DC and I think Angus is private because he is a private guy and that's his right . I hope he can rock on for us as long as I'm around .

[@mwiethoff]

I feel you - tears me up!

[@mrs.p6130]

YES! It lifts my mood and makes me happy!!!!

[@jamesragsdale8202]

The deeper one analyzes the clear it becomes. The idea that Johnson was not a genius lyricist in Georgie and not a genius lyricist for the last 40 years but became one for a few days as soon as he walked in the door in April 1980 is just the most ridiculous and preposterous fairytale ever. As ridiculous as saying maybe the mailman who delivered mail to the studio wrote the lyrics.

[@84slaughter]

Has Anyone Asked The Other Band Mates If Bon Lyrics Were Used For Back In Black?

[@tyraonortham6545]

Yes, they did ask them, and they denied it. They said that Brian wrote them.

[@dilo777]

I read the book and it was a good read. BUT my issue with all the theories is that they are reliant on the memories of addicts or recovering addicts. Not that addicts are bad people but there is a reason attorneys don't like to put addicts on the stand. Their memories are very unreliable. Being drunk or high messes with your recall. Still a good book though, I just don't take it as gospel.

[@toredurgali8374]

Back in black is acdc's best album with brian johnson....but way behind the bon scott albums ........bons voice is undisputedly the magic touch.....no acdc album after his death can match the bon scott ones....that's my personal opinion and powerage is my all time favorite album.....not only acdc but absolute all time.

[@danielwenczuk9569]

Agree to that, BiB is totally inconsistent. Only few songs are good from it to be honest with you. Couldn't listen to the whole album after all the years.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@Kowasi]

AC/DC put out the 'Bonfire' collection to commemorate Mr. Scott, and the fifth disc is 'Back in Black'. It seems like an admission of sorts. Four discs of songs featuring his AC/DC and then one without him on it at all... it doesn't make sense... and now the 'Power Up' album is released with Mr. Malcolm Young's writing used on all the tracks. Well... words alone don't make songs, but history does repeat. However, even if Mr. Scott's lyrics exclusively were used for Black In Black, what would it matter? It's just rock and roll. A cut of the royalties from the Back In Black sales would be tasty... still, the album doesn't even bear a dedication to him. 'In memory of R.B.S.' wouldn't have hurt them, surely. Still, that's rock n roll... or perhaps, as Mr. Bowie once observed, 'This ain't rock and roll... this is genocide!'

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

Bon's brother Derek told Vince Lovegrove that the Scott family receive yearly royalties from Back In Black sales.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@petergrundy8081]

Fantastic band what a great legacy Bon Scott gave us with Malcom Angus and Phil and Brian to carry on

[@frankrichards3089]

Sounds like a great book

[@TheMichaelseymour]

Furthermore....the fact that a band can record SO quickly , with a new lead singer , with the excellent lyrics (which he had not shown before -or since ) ....coupled with the fact that bons lyrics book went missing ) has to make logical people think - there MUST be truth to the youngs knicking his lyrics. Also ....bon wrote "have a drink on me " - NO doubt ., Who would put out a celebratory song about alcohol , right after your lead singer dies of it ? They are ruthless ....and merely a good rock band ...ok , a really good rock band .. but they are no stones or beatles ....i also dont believe a band refuses to grow . They have a template....and they stick to it . Props to this guy for putting across a different narrative to the usual cliched hype.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@TheMichaelseymour]

@@jamesragsdale8202 couldn't agree more - the youngs are almost criminal in the blatant disregard of former band mate - especially since they have conceded they "started work "with bon on BIB . Very bad look for them ....was it only to make them look like they were as capable without him? Or even worse ....a financial consideration ? Especially when you look at titles later on "mistress for xmas " ...i mean , thats just embarrassing . Amongst other "gems " -good call .

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@@TheMichaelseymour yeah, it was financial. Make them look like a band. If they admitted the first two albums were all written by Bon and then all the crap that followed by Malcolm they would have looked ridiculous and never heard the end of it. This way they always hung onto the Back in Black mythos. As if a novelist had their masterpiece written by a ghostwriter.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@@TheMichaelseymour Off of Quora. An even deeper, more complex and nuanced, linguistic analysis than this is possible: "His former girlfriend Margaret “Silver” Smith said that he rang her the night he died, looking for someone to celebrate or party with, as he had finished writing for the new album. His then girlfriend said she recognised lyrics from the album as material she had read in his notebooks, she was quite angry with the band at what she thought they had done. Another former girlfriend from America claimed she recognised “You Shook me all Night Long” as being by Bon, a former manager of the band, David Krebs thought the same. Bon’s brother apparently received a letter from him, it had followed this brother, who was in the Navy, around the world from port to port for 4 years - in this letter, which was written just before he died, Bon again claimed he had finished the lyrics for the new album. Finally, Angus Young himself has admitted in a couple of interviews - one of them with Kerrang I think - that there are a few Bon songs on Back In Black. So, it seems to me the real question isn’t “did Bon write lyrics for Back In Black” - he clearly did - but just how much of those lyrics ended up on the album? Indeed also, how much of that rhythm, that groove, which was missing from later albums, did Bon contribute to? It’s interesting to compare lyrics from Back In Black to lyrics from earlier albums, that we know Bon penned. As it was quite a time consuming exercise, I’ve only done three songs but here goes: HELLS BELLS Bon wrote songs titled “Hell ain’t a bad place to be” and “Highway to Hell” it was a regular theme in general. “I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain I'm coming on like a hurricane My lightning's flashing across the sky You’re only young but you’re gonna die” In the Bon song “Touch Too Much” there’s the line: “dealing with danger, strokin' my skin, like a thunder and lightnin' storm” In the Bon song “Stick Around” there’s the almost exact same line: “You came on like a hurricane” In the Bon song “Love at First feel” there’s the line: “lightning bolts in my fingertips In the Bon song “What’s Next to the Moon” there’s the line: “heavenly body flyin across the sky” “I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives Nobody's putting up a fight I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell I'm gonna get ya satan get ya” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the same phrase: “take you to hell”, “Satan” is also mentioned in the song “Highway to Hell”. “Hells bells Hells bells, you got me ringing Hells bells, my temperature's high Hells bells” In the Bon song “Rock n Roll Damnation” there’s the line: “my temperature’s running hot”. “I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine If you're into evil you're a friend of mine See the white light flashing as I split the night Cause if good's on the left then I'm sticking to the right” In the Bon song “Dirty Eyes” there’s the line: “send shivers down my spine” In the Bon song “Night Prowler” there’s the line: “and a chill runs down your spine” In the Bon song “Jailbreak” there’s the line: “ there was a friend of mine on murder” In the Bon song “TNT” there’s the line: “ women to the left of me, women to the right” In the song “Big Balls” there’s the line: “bouncing to the left and to the right” In the Bon song “The Jack” there’s the line: “from the tattoo on her left leg, to the garter on her right” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the line: “I said right, they said left” In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the lines: “you can throw me lefts, you can throw me rights” SHOOT TO THRILL A song clearly about heroin use, just like the Bon song “Gone Shootin”. “All you women who want a man of the street But you don't know which way you want to turn Just keep a coming and put your hand out to me 'Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn” In the Bon song “Bad Boy Boogie” there’s the same phrase: “all you women” In the Bon song “Live Wire” there’s the line: “you’re gonna burn tonight” “I'm gonna take you down - down, down, down So don't you fool around I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger Shoot to thrill, play to kill Too many women with too many pills Shoot to thrill, play to kill I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will” In the Bon song “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “puts me down, fool me around” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “gone Shootin, how am I gonna get her down” “Gone Shootin” also references pills. “I'm like evil, I get under your skin Just like a bomb that's ready to blow 'Cause I'm illegal, I got everything That all you women might need to know” In the Bon song “Gone Shootin” there’s the line: “wrapped herself around like a second skin” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “lookin dynamite about to blow me out” YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG “She was a fast machine She kept her motor clean She was the best damn woman I had ever seen” In the Bon song “Touch to Much” there’s the lines: “she wanted it hard, wanted it fast” and “this damn woman’s gonna drive me insane” “She had the sightless eyes Telling me no lies Knockin' me out with those American thighs“ In the Bon song “Beating Around the Bush” there’s the line: “smiling face and laughin eyes but you keep on tellin me all those lies” In the Bon song “Hell ain’t a Bad Place to Be” there’s the line: “playing your games tellin me those lies” In the Bon song “Girls Got Rhythm” there’s the line: “knocks me off my feet” “Wanted no applause Just another course Made a meal out of me and came back for more” In the Bon song “Love Hungry Man” there’s the line: “all I wanna do is make a meal outta you”

[@danielwenczuk9569]

Money talks brothers. Only money for money.

[@jude999]

If Bon wrote anything on Back in Black what's the point of hiding it? ACDC is Scottish at heart.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

Money and also band image. They are liars. They had motive.

[@leshgooo1016]

Royalties. I truly Believe they paid bons family a one off payment so they wouldn’t have to pay royalties to his estate. Just my opinion.

[@flavour1970]

Heroin was Huge in the Australian music scene during the 70s

[@Purpleskyshorizon]

In London they were getting the really strong stuff and I believe Bon didn't realize that, and that's what killed him. No matter what happened, I will always love and admire and idolize Bon Scott. He was only human just like us, but what an amazing human being he was. Not to mention one of the greatest frontmen in the history of Rock music.

[@budgieburger594]

Bonnie Scotland ........ Australian Rock n Roll . ....... POWERAGE ! x .

[@Tbug666]

If you want to know Bon all you need to do is put on any ACDC album that has him singing. That’s all you need to know!………… the rest is history and faded memories. ACDC was and is the greatest rock and roll, beer drinking, in your face band that ever was or will be. Put on your vinyls and watch their concert footage going back to their beginning. Much respect and love to ACDC! If you play guitar or drums or bass guitar simply try to learn playing some of their tunes but do it at a good, semi loud volume level. That will explain who they are!

[@peterkennedy5674]

U didn't find em, Bon found you 👍

[@chrish3672]

this guy favors Bon Scott !!!!

[@grantbaechler3529]

Can’t say I don’t blame them for blocking out the media, people looking at making money from them. So what if Bon may have written some of BIB. I’m sure the brothers made sure his family was compensated for his share of writing.

[@norriehunter7436]

Bon would have loved his wee statue in Kirriemuir his ancestral homeland

[@johnthompson9440]

norrie hunter fair point but he grew up in Fremantle and that was his home that shaped him

[@norriehunter7436]

@@johnthompson9440 you can take the Bon out of Scotland by you can never take Scotland out of Bon

[@johnthompson9440]

If you want to believe that ok

[@norriehunter7436]

@@johnthompson9440 aye and 5 million other Scots

[@johnthompson9440]

norrie hunter next you’ll be saying AC/DC Re Scottish

[@Stewartchampion]

Got this on headphones and damn give the dude some water

[@davidduffy7261]

Sorry the truth hurts. Bon wrote most of back in black. Obvious fact. Not a big deal just admit it.

[@jasonsmart5331]

@Jacob Molyneux so the Youngs are such generous people that the gave Bon's estate royalties (and still to this day) for not contributing to Back in black? Wake up.

[@jasonsmart5331]

@Jacob Molyneux your gotta be kidding. That last sentence just confirms that no matter what your told, you'll believe what you want to believe. The Scott's engaged lawyers and there is a non disclosure agreement. Angus has admitted in interviews many times that bon was involved. Wake up.

[@jasonsmart5331]

@Jacob Molyneux l bet you haven't even read the book. If you had, you wouldn't be on here making an idiot of yourself.

[@salvlicata9899]

Wow

[@jasonmorse6003]

There would have been tons of songs and half done ideas that never made an album...

[@jamesragsdale8202]

Absolutely! BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@zeroelliott]

what most people don't get,is that YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE DEMONS to get addicted...you just enjoy having your reality altered;because other people are so boring-so you take a substance which changes things.....and you enjoy it....its not difficult to understand,or analyse.

[@mrs.p6130]

No toxicology report?

[@larsgsanger3105]

Bon Scott ”froze” to death wich is possible while intoxicated⚠️

[@Hanzey1966]

Yes I think that happened Yes , Remember it was a Freeszing Cold Februari 19th Night in U.K. . (My Birthday btw and next Day on the News I was a Devastated Young Rocker AC/DC Fan , ,) When falling asleep in a little car intoxicated . . Hypothermia sets in Fast and Deadly .

[@Laconic-ws4bz]

@@Hanzey1966 and likely aspirating his own vomit which is common sadly.

[@Hanzey1966]

@@Laconic-ws4bz Yes most likely Yes. Anyways, the Heroïn overdose is nonsense in All these other Stories

[@halciugionut5932]

booze did it

[@georgekerr7622]

He's the real deal he was AC-DC no other singer Bon Scott

[@stuarthorne4962]

spot on mate

[@jasonsmart5331]

Booze couldn't kill Bon.... but booze and heroin did. I suspected that way before any book.

[@troymundy614]

Bon fitted ACDC he was their leader who else better to teach them the ropes they just knew he was special

[@1e0s]

Brian did a great job but Bon is Bin💪💞🎶

[@gmotionedc5412]

And your forgetting 30k in 79/80 was like 200k today. You could buy new houses for 30k in America then.

[@daijones101]

I know the bloke who revived Bon the first time

[@mr.g1758]

Oh?

[@daijones101]

@@mr.g1758 true tale. Drummer who shall not be named

[@BrianButler2814]

I've seen a video of Bon singing You shook me all night long.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

Prove it.

[@Reebarb]

Make a movie about bon scott pls

[@nathanwanner..44]

I have to agree after BIB they peaked and only had margina ll

[@kenmcbride6515]

It ain't no fun waiting around to be a millionaire

[@lordharry423]

in her 50s she must have been a teenager when he was with her.

[@gordonblunt4259]

I think Fink put his foot in it there. That's the first thing he's said which has made me suspicious.I can imagine Bon having a casual brief fling with a teenager, but I can't imagine him wanting to marry someone that young. Fink has already made it clear Bon wants people around him who are more wordly, intellectuall, cultured, and thinking people, including his women. Thats why he loved Silver. Its hard to believe Bon would be serious about someone that young. He seemed to need more. Elsewhere in this thread someone suggests who Holly X might be. If she is correct then Holly X would only have been 17 when Bon died. I'm very skeptical now.

[@manum3295]

Quite strange how the young brothers ad been so cold blood after Bon Scott dead how quickly they moving on to next, and then the same they did it again when Brian Johnson quit the band. Well now with Rose, very coldish bloody. What a hell!!!!!!!!!!! 🤔😕🤣

[@Hanzey1966]

There is a LOT of Money envolved . . Contracts and all that . .

[@Stewartchampion]

I'm a massive fan of bon Scott.. but to all those that knock the Brian period...Brian was the only guy who could do the songs justice after bon ..cos bon was so good..also bon was a fan of Brian..that is documented....thunderstruck period Brian is just as wicked as back in black period....if ya love acdc it ain't just about the singers...anything from Angus iny eyes is great ...what's wrong with say heat seaker or some of the poorer albums ya could say..in today's music market ..if take acdcs worse songs over most of today's stuff .any how..with bon or Brian....I love acdc the whole lot and ill be glad for any thing new

great. bon was best.

[@TheCleaner76]

I heard he died of hypothermia while passed out all night, if you Google the weather that night it was below zero

[@michaelmcnamara1695]

This was the guy who said he knows Angus and said no way axel would sing in ACDC. No credibility what so ever.

[@davevowels7568]

SO BASICALLY THIS DUDE MADE HIS LIVING OFF SOME EMOTIONS AND "NON DEFINITIVE ".....NO EVIDENCE??.BULLSHIT .......JUST SPECULATION.......??.BUT HE MAY ACTUALLY BE RIGHT ON HIS ENDEAVORS. .. ONLY HELL KNOWS .....

[@jamesragsdale8202]

Here is the truth! BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@TheGreatAlan75]

Malcolm WAS AC/DC. . don't expect anything great now, unless angus finds Malcolm's riff tapes and uses it

[@ralphthomas7868]

He died from hypothermia from an exceptionally cold morning

[@nathanwanner..44]

It really looks like bon wrote most of the songs on bib

[@johnohill463]

He did write the songs mate.

[@maxrav1831]

By songs you mean lyrics yeah he maybe did. Brian definately did the lyrics for hells bells and malcolm definately did both music and lyrics for pollution.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

@@maxrav1831 no. They are liars.

[@jamesragsdale8202]

BON SCOTT clearly wrote every lyric on the BIB and FTATR albums. 1. Timeline. Bon dies in February and a mere 44 DAYS AFTER AC/DC is in the studio. AC/DC is a serious multimillion dollar business. Record companies rely on their biggest bands to fund their whole operation and make it possible to invest in smaller acts most of which lose money. AC/DC was working all of 1979 on new material and Atlantic Records had executives making sure of that as they were gearing up to spend big bucks on one of the very top producers and most expensive studios in the world. There is no way they were saying, you have nothing written guys, okay, whatever you want. There was no way AC/DC was saying well we'll just wing it in the studio. Whatever. 2. Lyrical analysis. Linguists can perform very sophisticated linguistic analysis using many parameters to tell if a discovered play is actually one of Shakespeare's or some other famous author or a fake. An author's style leaves all sorts of subtle fingerprints. Nothing lyrically after 1983 sounds remotely in Bon Scott's universe. No generic sophomoric post-1983 AC/DC lyric has a fraction of Bon's felicity with language and individual-specific use of metaphor, rhyme, meter, referents, story structure, etc. Malcolm took over the lyric writing and he is no lyricist. It is great to have great riffs but a band is nothing without a great lyricist. They owe everything to Bon Scott. They wouldn't be touring the world now if that band started in 1983. They should have told the truth in 1980. They should have given Bon the writing credit and his estate the royalties. They stold his notebooks. Angus and Brian should correct rock history before they die.

[@nathanwanner..44]

I'm not saying the other guys didn't contribute but the lyrics are totally Bon

[@andymcrae4661]

Died too soon, like Steve Irwin Both went hard

[@ryanblabla0909]

57:52 "after "we should be proud" Trust an ABC employee to say "do we need to keep our heros intact" ... that's it, the ABC ethos in a nutshell, destroy anything we can be proud of... no wonder I can't watch that crap anymore...

[@dannyjaco8997]

Please give this guy a drink of water………..

[@karancooper9718]

Sad to say so much hear say nothing new

[@walker2980]

Karan Cooper Yeah but enough of it that it should make anyone really question things...if some weren't so damn closed minded

[@jasonsmart5331]

Hear say? None of it is hear say. Its called good journalism.

[@anthony342]

stevie would of been a perfect replacement

[@Hanzey1966]

No . . Stevie Wright, as a Legend He was , Though was not Reliable enough for that MASIVE Job . . . Hence his relapses into Drug & Alcohol Adiction.