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Bad Boy Boogie: The true story of AC/DC legend Bon Scott
The life, death and rock'n'roll rollercoaster career of AC/DC frontman Bon Scott.
Bon Scott was once asked if he was AC or DC. 'Neither,' he grinned, 'I'm the lightning flash in the middle.' And that's how he lived his life.
No one had the same skill with lyrics as Bon, who called his words 'toilet poetry', his 'dirty ditties'. He could also vividly depict life on the road, best heard in the AC/DC classics 'Long Way to the Top' and 'Highway to Hell'.
When Bon appeared on Countdown in March 1975, the impression he left was indelible. The ugliest schoolgirl to ever grace the small screen, Bon was a mess of tattoos and pigtails, wearing an awkwardly short skirt, all the while puffing on a ciggie. His bandmates, not just the audience, were in hysterics. The video quickly became part of Oz rock folklore.
Bon was always the joker in the AC/DC pack. He'd happily pose for a photograph with a joint dangling from his lips or be interviewed in cut-off shorts with a banana provocatively stuffed into his waistband. Anything to elicit a laugh. The off-stage stories surrounding Bon are legendary. After spending a lively couple of days with Bon, Ol' 55 singer Jim Manzie said, 'My rock-and-roll education was pretty much complete.'
Bad Boy Boogie is the first biography to focus on Bon's remarkable gifts as a lyricist, frontman and rascal. In short, the real Bon Scott.
Bon Scott was once asked if he was AC or DC. 'Neither,' he grinned, 'I'm the lightning flash in the middle.' And that's how he lived his life.
No one had the same skill with lyrics as Bon, who called his words 'toilet poetry', his 'dirty ditties'. He could also vividly depict life on the road, best heard in the AC/DC classics 'Long Way to the Top' and 'Highway to Hell'.
When Bon appeared on Countdown in March 1975, the impression he left was indelible. The ugliest schoolgirl to ever grace the small screen, Bon was a mess of tattoos and pigtails, wearing an awkwardly short skirt, all the while puffing on a ciggie. His bandmates, not just the audience, were in hysterics. The video quickly became part of Oz rock folklore.
Bon was always the joker in the AC/DC pack. He'd happily pose for a photograph with a joint dangling from his lips or be interviewed in cut-off shorts with a banana provocatively stuffed into his waistband. Anything to elicit a laugh. The off-stage stories surrounding Bon are legendary. After spending a lively couple of days with Bon, Ol' 55 singer Jim Manzie said, 'My rock-and-roll education was pretty much complete.'
Bad Boy Boogie is the first biography to focus on Bon's remarkable gifts as a lyricist, frontman and rascal. In short, the real Bon Scott.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 3, 2021
6 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Apter
50 books50 followersJeff Apter is the author of more than 30 books, many dealing with the world of music. He has written biographies of Keith Urban, Malcolm and Angus Young of AC/DC, Jeff Buckley and the Bee Gees. As ghostwriter, he has worked with ARIA Hall of Famers Kasey Chambers and Richard Clapton, and AC/DC’s Mark Evans. He was also the creative consultant for the award–nominated live production A State of Grace: The Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley and spent four years on staff at Rolling Stone Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 30, 2023
not much i didn’t already know, having read my fair share of ac/dc-related books, but an interesting read nonetheless! bon scott is forever one of the greatest frontmen of all time 🫶🏻
February 5, 2024
A lovely collection of fun anecdotes about Bon and his larrikan nature. Loved it!
April 11, 2022
I only finished it because I wanted to understand Bon’s end. This feels like a major hack job. Just pieces together any story he could find in chronological order. No flow or seeming relevance from one paragraph to the next. Watch the VH1 special instead
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews