Highway to Hell; Bon Scottin elämä ja kuolema

by Clinton Walker

AC/DC:n alkuperäinen keulahahmo ja laulaja Bon Scott kuoli uransa huipulla alkoholimyrkytykseen auton takapenkille kylmänä talviyönä vuonna 1980. Hän oli kuollessaan 33-vuotias ja oli elänyt nopeaa, päihteiden kyllästämää ja muutenkin tyypillistä rocktähden elämää. Ennenaikaisesta kuolemastaan huolimatta Bon Scott ehti kehittää itselleen rockin historian hienoimman lauluäänen, nostaa AC/DC:n yhdeksi maailman rakastetuimmista bändeistä ja levyttää seitsemän maailmankuulua albumia. Clinton Walkerin Highway to Hell – Bon Scottin elämä ja kuolema kertoo Bon Scottin koko tarinan lapsuudesta äkilliseen kuolemaan saakka. Bonin läheisten haastattelut ja harvinainen valokuvamateriaali värittävät hänen tarinaansa. Kirja kuvaa myös AC/DC:n uran alkuvaiheen ja nousun kansainväliseen maineeseen.

"Minulta kysellään, olenko AC vai DC? En ole kumpikaan. Olen salama niiden välissä!"

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Australia, Rock N Roll, Ebooks

349 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 1995

Reviews

[Ben Winch]

When I was growing up in Adelaide 'rock' was a dirty word. Me, the first band I really dug (after the Blues Brothers) was Bon Jovi, followed by a diversion through Run DMC and the Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill before the breakthrough (which turned me onto English post-punk), The Cult's Electric. Ironically, AC/DC mega-fan Rick Rubin had produced all 3 of the latter acts, but for me AC/DC remained a dimly-understood shadow in the background; I'd heard 'Who Made Who' and 'You Shook Me All Night Long' and didn't really get it, but then one day I heard 'Back in Black' and it kicked ass, and for a few days or weeks I teetered on the edge of becoming a fan, until my best friend's older cousin brought me up short with the comment, 'AC/DC? That's what bogans listen to. Do you wanna be a bogan?' (For those readers unfamiliar with Aussie slang, a 'bogan' is a kind of redneck - in the 80s typified by tight acid-wash jeans, Adidas Romes, Led Zep or AC/DC t-shirt and mullet haircut - and exactly the type of guy who'd always picked on me at school.) Hell no, I didn't wanna be one of them! And pretty soon I didn't need to worry, having discovered Joy Division, The Cure, The Jesus & Mary Chain and everything that was anathema to the average AC/DC fan. Cut to a couple of years later and my band (Movement - named after the first New Order album, and about as anti-rock as you could get) are playing to a bunch of Ride and Chapterhouse enthusiasts while unbeknownst to any of us Nirvana are whittling away at the demos for Nevermind and across Australia a new festival called The Big Day Out is focussing almost solely on American guitar music.

It's funny how growing up in a certain culture can blinker you. Back then we also had a brilliant all-night music show on ABC TV called Rage (it's still going, but a shadow of its former self), and every 4-5 songs there'd be a montage of Iggy Pop footage and some sampled/cut-up sound from 'Real Wild Child', frequently followed by 4-5 back-to-back Sex Pistols videos or just as many (utterly boring, to me) Radio Birdman videos or sometimes what seemed like hours of live AC/DC footage from the 70s. So I got turned off of all of this - it seemed like the older kids trying to shove something down my throat - and instead I'd wait up all night for an old Cure video or footage of the Reid Brothers ruminating over the latest Mary Chain single. (Later I'd grow to hate rap music for a while too, when every night seemed to be crammed with Public Enemy and NWA.) In short, Australian alternative music - apart from our little Anglophile Adelaide 'shoegaze' enclave - seemed to me dominated by pub rock and machismo, with little space for anything lyrical or thoughtful. And with the 80s over I think that was true: no Go Betweens, no Triffids, no Moffs, no Divinyls. But 'grunge' was just getting ready to break and eventually even I warmed to Nirvana and, through them, to Sonic Youth, The Stooges, Black Sabbath and ultimately AC/DC.

AC/DC, man. They're so intrinsic to Australian culture that, in the 80s at least, you couldn't really grow up here without being aware of them. And they really did define a whole subculture of young (and old) Australians. Bon Scott is the prototypical bogan, but of the loveable variety. Australia is a country settled by convicts; its closest thing to a national hero is the iron-masked bushranger Ned Kelly and its masculine ideal is the larrikin, a kind of half-malevolent joker who heeds no authority. Basically, Bon Scott. Add to this Malcolm Young's tougher-than-tough meatheaded minimalist rhythm-guitar riffs and drummer Phil Rudd's relentless infectious loose-mechanical beats and you have something bulletproof enough to survive any pub or RSL in Australia and therefore abroad (because, judging by the brutal quality of Australian pub-rock in the 70s, I doubt you could have found a tougher scene). Throw in Angus Young's virtuoso wailing, school uniform and Chuck Berry duckwalk and you have pure post-apocalyptic cabaret. 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' - the backing vocals, to this day, are about as frightening and typically gang-raping gay-bashing all-Australian as you can get. But Bon - bless the guy - has the sheer balls to utter the most effeminate 'ooh' since Little Richard in the middle of the breakdown! Shit, in his first TV performance (a note-for-note but slightly tougher rendition of Them's 'Baby Please Don't Go' - one of the top-10 adrenalised rock 'n' roll singles ever) he appeared in a dress! And it's this sheer don't-give-a-fuck anarchism that makes him an all-time hero, of exactly the kind that stultifying conservative isolated Australia is perenially in need.

I'm not usually patriotic, but when I was living in Manchester and out drinking with workmates one night I got stroppy with a young Mancunian for talking shit about AC/DC. What did he say? That they'd be nothing without Brian what's-his-name's vocals and that, no, they had nothing to do with Scotland, they were from Newcastle, which was near Scotland but... The guy wouldn't stop talking - he just kept digging himself deeper! I figured I was doing him a favour by shutting him up, and I think the Scottish guy listening agreed with me. AC/DC were formed in Sydney by Malcolm and Angus Young, the two youngest brothers in a large Scottish family that included George Young of previous best-popular-Australian-rock-band-ever The Easybeats. Malcolm was - get this - a T-Rex Fan! He figured AC/DC was a good gender-bending name! And older brother George, along with fellow Easybeat Harry Vander, produced all the early (and, to my mind, crucial) AC/DC records, culminating in their 1976 masterpiece Powerage. Bon Scott? He was also Scottish - he grew up in Perth - and had sang in a teenybop band called the Valentines in Melbourne in his early 20s, developing a taste for drink, drugs and groupies that would never leave him. When the Young Brothers met him he was living in Aldgate, one of the 3-4 suburb-towns in the Adelaide Hills where I grew up, playing in a kind of proto-prog band called Fraternity, trying to forget his pop past. (How is it no-one ever told me this? No-one famous ever comes out of Adelaide, and f**king Bon Scott lived down the road from me!) AC/DC were supporting Lou Reed at that time, on the Rock 'n' Roll Animal tour, and their singer had left halfway through in Adelaide. They'd heard Bon was in town - remembered him from the Valentines - and asked him to jam. Bon, he wanted to be a drummer, and he drummed a few songs before they broached the subject of vocals. Initially he wasn't keen, but he soon said yes and joined the tour. He was in his 30s, maybe 10 years older than Malcolm, the bandleader. There's a kind of sad element to his life from then on: that he was almost too old to enjoy all the perks of being a rockstar that his younger bandmates were so hungry for. And he was lonely. But at the same time it's his world-weary wisdom and goodheartedness that gives the songs their charm. I ain't saying he's a poet. Unlike his closest rock relative Iggy Pop you could hardly call Bon an intellectual, but in that lies his beauty; where Iggy always seems to be acting Bon is a natural, telling it like he sees it and throwing in as many gags as he can along the way.

AC/DC walk a fine line, so close to their own parody it can make you blush. (Try 'Squealer', off the Dirty Deeds... album, if you think the misogyny is only recent. 'Whole Lotta Rosie', Bon's ode to fat love, off Let There be Rock, redeems him.) But their sound is so truly visceral that it carries them through almost anything. Interviewed by Australia's Ian 'Molly' Meldrum in the early 70s, Bon (barefoot and topless, in the backstreets of Covent Garden, giving Angus a piggyback) said when asked about how it was to be in direct competition with the Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, 'But we're better than them.' And in a sense you can see what he means. I mean sure, I'm a Stones man, and sometimes it seems as if nothing could be more thrilling than Keith's driving chord-changes and Bobby Keys' sax solos and just the whole loved-up sexed-up country-blues vibe of Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main St. But I gotta say, the Stones are sloppy. And even the Who, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Cream, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin - none of those guys, no matter how brilliant, can match AC/DC for sheer propulsive trimmed-to-the-bone power. They're all too ornate. Malcolm Young - the guy's genius is so close to idiocy it's mind-bending! Is it alcoholism, or just too many Marc Bolan records? More than maybe anyone he's sheered his playing down to the essentials. No frills. Sometimes (as on most people's favourite Highway to Hell, if you ask me) this simplicity becomes grating, but on a song like 'Down Payment Blues' (or really anything off Powerage) it's a revelation. And Phil Rudd - he's a stone-cold legend. Again, his playing is so no-frills and lacking in ego it's possibly unequalled, but it cooks! Just that louche Stonesy party vibe revved up to 11, never missing a beat (unlike Charlie Watts), always at exactly the intensity you want him to be, so intrinsically thrilling you hardly notice what it's doing to you. Seamless. A soulful machine. And if anyone thinks Sabbath or Motorhead or Zeppelin can match AC/DC in those stakes I think they're mistaken. Frequently they're criticised for being too mechanical, but if you compare them to a record like Nevermind you'll hear the difference. Dave Grohl, good as he is, verges on robotic; Phil Rudd never even gets close. (Also, the Vander/Young recorded-live-in-a-room sound is perfect - warm and inviting - as opposed to the brittle near-alienating attack of Albini's or even Vig's production.) This is groove-music - modern and scary and nihilistic, granted. But it rocks and rolls, and that's the secret.

Australian actor Noah Taylor once came into Ariel Bookstore in Sydney asking after Murray Engleheart's AC/DC: Maximum Rock 'n' Roll, and I realised I probably should have read it instead of this book. We argued Iggy-versus-Bon a while (back then I was pro-Iggy, Raw Power being the most glorious near-miss of an album ever in my opinion) and I realised again how passionate people - intelligent people - could be about this band. A few years earlier I'd argued with that same best friend from high school (musician Reed 'Bleed' Cathcart) over the merits of AC/DC versus Suicide (why I even made the comparison I don't know, much as I love Suicide) and I'd said unequivocally, 'Suicide are better.' I guess it was the punk notion of innovation-over-technique taking hold of me. To tell the truth, not until Manchester in 2009 did I really begin to pay proper attention to AC/DC (previously the only album I had was the live set If You Want Blood You've Got It, kick-ass performance though it is), downloading their key albums and learning their riffs and listening to them at the gym or when I wanted to get revved up to go out (much to my younger girlfriend's dismay). What kept me so long? I guess it was politics. I was punk, or post-punk, or something stemming from both. Joy Division doing 'Transmission' in a Manchester TV studio was my life-changing epiphany. And no, AC/DC will never top that. But if you ask me there's actually a good dose of punk in Bon and the boys, and the life of Bon Scott is as textbook an archetype of the rock 'n' roll lost boy as there is or was. Yeah, I had to go back and become a Chuck Berry and early blues enthusiast before I understood it, but now that I do I'm flying the flag. RIP Bon, and thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zZ9aw...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGqrjf...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQWJog...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ-cMp...

[Chip'sBookBinge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew better than to test fate one too many times by diving into another Music Biography written by someone other than a member of the band. Here it falls on the shoulders of Clifton Walker. I knew about the book from a while back, but know nothing of the author. Having just finished with this book, I am going to tell you what I think happened before the book was written and why it ended up the way it did after the fact without even bothering to research the origins of Highway To Hell. Anyone that reads this review and wants correct me, feel free to do so, as I have no intention of doing any research on this book or the author as I have already wasted enough of my time on this book as is.

But my take here (and this is pure speculation on my part, so don't get your panties in a bunch) about how the book came to be is that originally Clifton wanted to do a biography of AC/DC. When both Malcolm and Angus Young and the rest of the band refused to participate in putting the book together, Clifton was left with no other option but to turn it into a bio of Bon Scott instead.

So, with AC/DC no longer supporting this book, a good chunk of the book is now out the window, which means that he will have to really stretch Bon's back story to fill in the missing pages that otherwise would have been reserved for AC/DC. How else to explain the first 120 pages of the book? All of it flesh's out Bon's two bands prior to joining the powerhouse that is AC/DC? Both bands that Bon was a part of before joining served no purpose other to fatten the book that without it would have been a mere 200 pages total. Certainly this would look bad if this is all you could get out of something as big as AC/DC as your sole reason to buy the book.

I learned nothing about Bon in these 120 pages other than that he was really lonely and liked to drink a lot. Um, that's basically all we get from the author for the entire book. With the amount of people he interviewed, along with Bon's parents, I am STILL left in the dark about who and what made Bon tick as person and a singer. Something's not right when I can't learn anything other than that he likes to drink because he was always lonely. I knew that before reading the book.

This book for all it's hype about being "revered" and "acclaimed" is nothing but hogwash to me. If the majority of people out there accept this as the definitive AC/DC, Bon Scott story, then they have a lower expectation of what makes a good music biography. Even the section devoted to the landmark albums of Highway To Hell and Back In Black (along with pretty much the entire back catalog) is short on behind the scene stuff that went into making those albums. Even the Tours they went on really go no further than where they played and who they opened up for. The only "dirt" to be found was the short mention of the band getting into a fight with Geezer Butler. But nothing more is mention other than AC/DC was kicked off that Tour after the fact.

The only revelation that was news to me was that there was serious discussion of the band sacking Bon Scott and then later looking to send Brian Johnson packing. I've never heard this before till now.

Toward the tail end of the book, the author paints both Young Brothers as being paranoid dictators and goes a step further in tearing down AC/DC as a band without Bon Scott leading the charge. That to me sounds like sour grapes on Clinton's part because a few certain people decided not to get involved with writing the book.

Stay away from this book. I can not recommend this book to anyone.

[Simone Ramone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads more like a gig guide than a bio.
How can you make Bon Scott's story boring?
I'm stunned.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Highway To Hell. The life & Times of AC/DC Legend
Bon Scott by Clinton Walker.

This is possibly one of the worst music
biographies I have ever read, that I made it to
the end was a minor miracle, I had trouble
getting past the Aknowledgments and Introduction,
where MR Walker explains the chip on his shoulder
that was being refused permission to call this
book Authorised or to make the film he originally
intended to.
He also explained he had been refused permission
to use any of AC/DC's lyrics an act that made him
a bitter and twisted writer with a chip that
intitally while talking about Bon's childhood and
early career in Boyband the Valentines was about
the size of a Kangaroo.
But when talking about his career as a hippy with
Fraternity and a Rocker with AC/DC grew to the
size of Ayers rock.
He makes everyone involved in AC/DC into either a
Neanderthal idiot or some sort of paranoid
control freak who would be happy for anyone to
die or be tortured as long as AC/DC could gain an
advantage because of it.
Throughout the book he goes on and on about how
much of a nice guy Bon was while the guy he is
describing acts like a complete pig and animal
while getting into countless drunken and non
drunken brawls. He gets the crap beaten out of
him by an outraged father who blames him for
turning his teenage daughter into a Heroin
addicted prostitute, which is also the fate of at
least one other of his girlfriends.
Yes it is that kind of a story as for his death
the book claims there is no mystery involved he
simply died from an alcohol overdose, but as a
Londoner I have to say I find it very strange
that a guy living in Victoria in the centre of
town goes for drinks with a friend to the Music
Machine in Camden (Now Koko and formerly the
Camden palace) and winds up choking on his own
vomit in the back of a locked car on Overhill
Road in East Dulwich a good 6 miles from home and
10 miles from the Music Machine. Not only that
but Overhill Road leads you straight to
Camberwell Old Cemetary a couple of hundred yards
further down the road and he would have died in
the cemetary spooky.
If you need to read a book about Bon Scott find a
different one to this is all I can say.

[Guy Guarino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great look inside the soul of legendary rocker Bon Scott. AC/DC has always been my go to band and I was fortunate to see Bon on their Highway To Hell tour in Charlotte, NC. The Bon tracks are classic and the sound completely changed after he died. Not to dish Brian Johnson, but Bon was more of a storyteller who brought the audience along for the ride while Brian is more of a screecher. Long live Bon Scott!

[Bergen Behny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a very, very big fan of AC/DC, especially the early years of Bon Scott as a singer. By reading this book, I learned a lot from this guy and his life. Now I see Bon as a different person than I used to see him. This book tells about his childhood life of when he was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia. He was also a drummer in a band. He was in this band called the Valentines which is like a bubblegum pop rock band and also another band called Fraternity which is more like a hippie folk rock band. Last but not least he joined a band called AC/DC. This book would also talk about his life in AC/DC and his personal life with love ones. I like how the author would find people who were very close to Bon and they would talk about stories and moments with Bon and will make you think what was Bon like. I do think this author was sometimes talking about the band touring instead of talking about Bon. But I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend if you are a fan of AC/DC or Bon Scott.

[Wyktor Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life and tragic death of Bon Scott. The only really disappointing thing about this book is the total lack of participation by Alberts and the Young brothers, to the point they refused permision for any of Bon's lyrics to be produced in the book. Even though the author had the permission and blessing of Bon's family. Without Bon they would have just been an average rock n roll band. Bon was the spark that propelled them into the stratosphere of hard rock. Don't get me wrong, Brian Johnson has done an admirable job of filling Bon's shoes and keeping the band up at the top for so long. Which has helped to keep AC/DC as one of the best and most influential hard rock bands of all time.
Highly recommended.

[Jo Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and insightful read for any Bon Scott fan, but lacking on a few things. Wish there was more of his poetry and lyrics included, and more in depth interviews with Irene, and Bon's parents. No book can tell fully his life story, and I think thats pretty clear for someone with such a colourful life. For any fan wanting more info on how Bon grew up and what that decade was like, its well worth a read... and I enjoyed it. I only wish there was more information in it. Of course, the best way to remember him, is simply in the music. BON LIVES!

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a MUST read book for hard rock fans, heavy metal fans and music fans in general. This scottish born Australian legend epitomised the Rock N Roll mantra of 'Live Fast, Die Young'. From his early days in Fremantle, Western Australia, to his untimely alcoholed induced death in England, this story is pure rock from start to finish. A really great read!

[Mbiefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been an excellent read so far; it's interesting to see how early in life Bon chose rock and how life events influenced his writing (and personality). I'm looking forward to the Fraternity years next..

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched article that can no doubt be the closest thing to an "authorized" bio as one can get. Can't help but notice the author's subtle dislike for the Young family and anything that is not pro-Bon.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. I'm glad that it was really a book about Bon Scott and not just AC/DC while he was in the band. Just the right amount of detail without being tedious although a little more info the making of the records would have been good.

[Jordi Moliner · Rating 3 out of 5]

El estilo es mejorable, pero la historia es interesante. Hay pasajes un poco confusos, saltos cronológicos sin sentido, y parece más bien el guión de un documental televisivo que una biografía literaria, pero aún así se disfruta su lectura, sobretodo si se es fan de Bon y de AC/DC.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read! Bon Scott clearly had his demons, drugs and alcohol, but he comes across, as your average bit rough around the edge's, nice guy!
Clearly he was one of the main reasons that AC/DC, became the major success they that did/ are!
Is this book worth reading? Yes totally!

[Toby White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t normally rate anything as highly as I have done here but my love of Bon Scott ere AC/DC is great, and this biography has given me a real insight into what he was like, right from the start to the end. A must read for any die hard fans!

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who's gonna clean it up / Someone's gotta clean it up / Is nothing sacred?

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest book yet about the legendary singer of the band AC/DC, Bon Scott. If you want to know what Bon's life was like, this is by far the best book you will ever find!

[Jeff Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bio and absolutely essential read for any Rock n' Roll fan!

[Suzanne Orbell Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

TO ANY AC/DC LOVER, A MUST READ. EXCELLENT!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bon is the MAN.

[Adam Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good background especially his time in Adelaide.

[Matt Bellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book chronicling the interesting but short life of Bon Scott

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clinton Walker is a good writer and makes this story a quick and interesting read. Any music bio that makes me want to go and listen to music that I haven't enjoyed before, is a good bio.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not a massive fan of AC/DC (I get most of my hard rock kicks elsewhere) I can't deny I listen to and enjoy them on occasion.
I am mainly(likely due to age) more schooled in the Brian Johnson era so it was interesting to be schooled on the Bon Scott years and the state of Australian rock pre the breakthrough of AC/DC.
From the introduction you become aware this isn't an authorised book however it does hold back the sensationalism you sometimes get with unauthorised tomes and seems to give a respectful and balanced view of the formative years of Bon and the band.

[Toby Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it rather a chore to get through this. I'm not entirely sure whether it comes down to the style of writing, but Iwas willing to give the first section of this book a free pass as I was mostly interested in the later story, of AC/DC. Even this, while interesting in places, didn't entirely captivate me.

Yes, I learnt more about Bon as a result of reading this book, but it wasn't a book I was excited to pick up and get my teeth into.

[Ally Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wish I could have seen them in '79!

[Tío Chechu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muchas cosas muy claves en este libro. El problema (para mí), es que está escrito como si intentaran venderte a un ser de luz y se hace durete. Parece que haya que leerlo con la voz del no-do.

[Mika Auramo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clinton Walkerin Bon Scottin elämäkerta on kaikin puolin onnistunut teos, ja rock-musiikin ystävä pääsee tutustumaan kirjan myötä tähän kulttisolistiin. Hänen kuolemansa jälkeen 1980 australialainen bändi on ollut tukevassa alamäessä, sillä nykyinen solisti Brian Johnson ei ole läheskään niin karismaattinen kuin alkoholimyrkytykseen kuollut skottilainen hippiriokkari.

Bon Scott syntyi Skotlannissa Kirremuirissa, josta hänen perheensä lähti Australiaan pojan ollessa kuusivuotias. Asuinpaikkana oli Fremantle, jossa nuorimies harjoitteli alkoholismia, kuunteli Elvistä ja The Shadowsia. Musiikin rintamalla vaikuttivat Deep Purple ja Daddy Cool. Sittemmin Scott niitti mainetta adelainelaisbändissä nimeltä Fraternity, ja myös Lontoo ja Englanti tulivat tutuiksi köyhille keikkailijoille.

Viina virtasi, ja kolaroitua tuli kännissä. Glam-rockin tultua pinnalle, vanhalla hippihenkisyydellä ei ollut enää tilausta, vaan saman kylän pojista löytyi samanhenkistä seuraa. Youngin perhe oli Scottien tapaan lähtenyt Australiaan paremman elämän toivossa, ja muuan Angus Young oli vasta koulupoika bändin perustamisen aikoihin, ja treenasi koulupuku päällään. Bändin aivot olivat George Young, joka onnistui saamaan yhtyeensä muun muassa Lou Reedin lämppäriksi.

Alkuvuodet eivät olleet mitään ruusuista aikaa, eivätkä ensimmäiset levyt myyneet hyvin. Status Quo jyräsi ja Black Sabbath oli nähnyt jo parhaat vuotensa. Mm. Rolling Stone -lehti haukkui lyttyyn ”ääliömusan”, joka ei ollut mitään heviä, ei kunnon rokkia vaan säröistä autotallikamaa, jossa äänessä rääkyi Scott.

Vasta levyjen Poweragen ja Highway to hellin myötä yhtyeen kansainvälinen ura lähti nousukiitoon. Tähän vaikuttivat mm. levy-yhtiön, managerin ja basistin vaihto. Maailmaa kierrettiin, Eurooppa valloitettiin Richie Blackmoren lämmittelijänä, ja Amerikka tuli tutuksi Aerosmithin kanssa.
Bon Scottin elämä päättyi alkoholimyrkytykseen Lontoossa. Hän sammui kaverinsa autoon 20.2.1980 eikä siitä enää herännyt. Kirjasta välittyy kohteestaan sympaattinen mielikuva. Scott oli karismaattinen rokkistara, joka oli siviilissä ihan tavallinen kundi, jolle rahalla ei juuri ollut merkitystä vaan sillä, että pääsi toteuttamaan itseään luovasti solistina ja sanoittajana. Kännissä tuli törttöiltyä niin paljon prätkän selässä kuin muutenkin, että ystävät ja yhtyeen jäsenet joutuvat suojelemaan laulajaa itseltään.

Moniin klassikkobiiseihin lukija pääsee tutustumaan kirjan myötä, ja kerrotaan tarinoita kappaleiden takana ja niiden innoittajia. Mm. lihava bändärityttö sai oman kunnianosoituksensa ”Whole lotta Rosie” -sanoituksessa. Ilman muuta lukemisen arvoinen teos AC/DC:stä ja seitsemänkymmenluvun musiikkimaailman tapahtumista ja taustoista kiinnostuneille.

[Gavin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. The writer's obvious enthusiasm for AC/DC's music and his high regard for Scott in particular shine through in every word. Unfortunately, this turns out to be one of the book's biggest handicaps. Walker never feels like an objective biographer. He constantly criticises those that underrated Bon and shrugs off lots of Bon's bad behaviour, making him seem like a blameless leaf on the wind. There are also lots of descriptions of Bon's inner feelings that have no referenced source and read an awful lot like sheer speculation presented as fact. Coupled with a lack of any direct input from the Youngs or any other AC/DC insiders, this feels like a biography cobbled together from magazine articles (which it kind of is).

In the acknowledgements at the end of the book, Walker reveals that he originally intended to write a treatment for a screenplay. This explains a lot of the lightweight tone. If you'd like a book version of Walk the Line or Ray featuring AC/DC, this might be for you. Otherwise, AC/DC obsessives only.

[Janne Paananen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bon Scott on myyttinen musiikkihahmo. Samaa kaliiberia kuin Hendrix, Joplin ja Morrison. Heitä yhdistävä tekijä on myös se, että he kuolivat nuorina. Walker kirjoittaa tarinan kronologisesti, mutta keskittyen enemmän Boniin ihmisenä kuin varsinaisesti jokaiseen levyyn ja kiertueeseen. Tämä tuntuu hyvältä ratkaisulta, kirja kun ei ole AC/DC:n historiikki vaikka tärkeän osan siitä kertookin. Enimmäkseen kirja pohjaa Bonin ystävien, muusikkotoverien ja sukulaisten haastatteluihin. Tämän lisäksi Bonin persoonaa valotetaan hänen lähettämiensä kirjeiden kautta. Kaikin puolin vetävä tarina, jolla on traaginen loppu. Alunperin Walker tarkoitti tekstin dokumenttielokuvan käsikirjoitukseksi, mutta tämän suunnitelman tyssättyä tekikin kirjan. Tämä ei näy tekstistä millään muotoa.