Few frontmen in rock & roll history have been able to maintain the on-stage presence that AC/DC singer Bon Scott did for six years, from 1974 to 1980. He was explosive, hellbound, and hard rock personified, with wild hair and always naked, creating his distinctive power poses and throwing a high-pitched roar into the microphone.
However, it was more than simply an act. Scott lived like a performer, consuming all of the drugs he could get his hands on and sleeping with any woman who would have him, supposedly impregnating two of them simultaneously. In general, he takes everything in stride, living freely and, most importantly, without stopping signs. He meant every word he sung.
That is, until one day, life intervened, leading him to a quick and devastating end. Scott overdosed on drugs within a year of joining AC/DC in 1975, nearly costing him his position in the band. “Things weren’t looking good,” bassist Mark Evans later stated in Jesse Fink’s book, The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC. “There was a hint of another singer. But it never came to that point.”
Scott lived to tell his story, both literally and professionally, but five years later he would not be so fortunate. Scott died in the early hours of Tuesday, February 19, 1980, at the age of 33. He continued to play, write, and record with AC/DC until his death.
So, what caused the death?
The official autopsy revealed that Scott died of acute alcohol intoxication.
After visiting the London nightclub Music Machine in Camden the night before, Scott and his pals Alistair Kinnear and Zena Kakoulli managed to drive back to 67 Overhill Road in East Dulwich, on the opposite side of London. They had all been drinking heavily, and Kinnear had also used heroin. It is believed that Kakoulli’s spouse, Peter Perrett, the vocalist for the rock band the Only Ones, was also present.
When Fink later questioned Kakoulli if she felt Scott had also used heroin that night at the Music Machine, she said, “I would think it probable.” Scott frequented the club with his girlfriend at the time, Margaret “Silver” Smith, largely to get narcotics.
When the group arrived at Kinnear’s house, he and Kakoulli left Scott, who had passed out, in the seat of his car. It is claimed that Scott choked on his own vomit while sleeping after being intoxicated by a combination of booze and drugs. Kinnear found him the next morning and phoned for an ambulance, but it was too late.
This horrible accident claimed one of rock music’s best performers. Brian Johnson soon replaced Scott in AC/DC, successfully steering the band into a new era. However, nothing was quite the same without Bon Scott. For many fans, he represents not only the peak of AC/DC’s career, but also the golden period of rock.
