Scott Bon - My Bon Scott

About My Bon Scott

An intimate account of life with AC/DCs Bon Scott, featuring 15 never-before-published letters by Australias greatest frontman.

In 19731 Adelaide girl Irene Thornton meets Bon Scott, the singer for local band Fraternity. He is a larrikin showman with a smile that rules the world. Between Bon and Irene, there is a unique spark; they marry in 1972. For the next few years, with Irene by his side, Bon Scott continues a driven but difficult journey towards AC/DC and rock n roll fame.

Irene gives the scene without the airbrushing: the bitter winters in London with Fraternity, the drinking and drugs, the group living and frayed tempers, and the broken dreams and inner demons. But she also shares details of her incredible bond with this extraordinary man, watching Bon create and perform the music that put him and AC/DC on the world stage.

This is a moving account of an artist at the height of his powers, and an intimate view of the lows that ended tragically in Bons early death. It is a tale of loss, but also a reminder of Bon Scotts dazzling talent, unmatched energy and fearless determination to live his dreams rare gifts he gave the world of rock.

For Eric

Bons wife, Irene, asked me to write a few words about my Bon memories...

He was a great bloke and a dear friend of mine; I knew him from the sixties in The Valentines, Fraternity and all through his time in AC/DC. He always had so much energy, a larrikin showman and one of Australias greatest rock and roll frontmen. A unique and lovely little fella who had more front than Myers and tighter cut-off jeans than any other rocker alive! I remember the first time the band came on Countdown in 1974 for our AC/DC on the loose in London story, which was a classic with Bon bare chested, long hair, ridiculously small shorts and a smile that ruled the world surrounded by his band and all of them so carefree. One of my favourite memories is the now infamous Countdown-produced clip for Long Way to the Top we had a mere $400 budget and a flat-bed truck and what we made was a Melbourne rock classic that was as funny, raw and perfect then as it is today.

The loss of Bon on Tuesday 19 February 1980 in London was something I found hard to express even when I reported on it for Countdown, as it felt so personal. He was only 33 years old and had the world at his feet. Music lost a beat that day. I remember that during a great interview I had the privilege of having with Bon for Countdown in 1977 (which Irene actually talks about fondly in this book as a time when she saw the real Bon Scott on TV, confident and smiling), I asked him, Why do AC/DC focus so much on their live shows? Theres nothing else! he said.

Nothing else mattered but playing to his fans he lived it and loved the rock and roll dream and everything it brought with it: the fashion, the mayhem, but maybe not the lonely nights on tour. It was a hard ride and he had his demons and some serious brushes with death, which you will read about in this insightful book. His life remembered here is all told through the eyes of a girl who loved him, was in love with him and was always his mate.

Ian Molly Meldrum

P.S. He always called me Ian.

I MET a prominent politician a few years ago. At least, I tried to meet him. He was a friend of my friend Andrea, an independent senator who fought for ordinary working people, and I really admired him. Im going to shake his hand, I thought. It took a bit of nerve because Im not the most confident person, particularly in crowds.

We were at Andreas 60th birthday party at her home in Adelaide, surrounded by party guests, and half of them had the same idea as me. I needed an introduction but Andrea wasnt around, so I hovered nearby with a drink in my hand, looking like a spare part. Nice to meet you, I rehearsed in my head, I just wanted to say...

While I hovered, I pretended I was engrossed in a photograph on Andreas wall. It was a picture of me, taken 40 years earlier, photocopied and hung limply with a single piece of Blu-Tack. It was a photo of my ex and me on our wedding day, two young kids in funny seventies clothing. Id seen it a thousand times before. Anyway, I wasnt really paying attention to the picture. I was listening to the senator and waiting for an opportunity to introduce myself (hoping I didnt look like I was just standing around, waiting for an opportunity to introduce myself).

I was about to give up on the whole thing when the woman the politician had been talking to left the room. Right, here goes, I thought. I turned, reached out my hand and the word hello was just forming in my mouth when a young guy leapt in between us. The senator was startled because the young man was very pissed, very excited and talking very loudly.

Hey, tell me something! he said to me, eyes wide. Thats you, isnt it? Thats you!

He was pointing at the picture on the wall.

Yeah, long time ago, I mumbled.

And thats...? he shouted, pointing at my ex.

I laughed at him and shook my head in embarrassment, colour creeping into my cheeks. The kid was nearly beside himself. The politician was looking at the photo with a confused expression on his face.

Go on, say it! the guy pressed. Say it, go on!

I sighed and smiled.

Thats Bon Scott, I replied.

Bon Scott! the kid shouted, and turned to the senator to yell drunkenly in his face. She was married to Bon Scott!

The young guy was over the moon but I was mortified. The politician was still standing beside us, but my window of opportunity had closed. The kid had a lot of questions and he wasnt going away until Id answered them all of them, every single one.

It wasnt the first time something like that had happened to me, but it was always strange when it did. I told a girlfriend about it later and she was delighted.

You know, there are more people in the world who know about Bon than about your beloved senator, she laughed.

Sure, but Im not Bon, I replied. Im Bon Scotts wife. Or I was Bon Scotts wife, 40 years ago.

The kid was just jogging your memory, she said.

I laughed at her and shook my head.

As if I could ever forget.

T HERE are 2000 kilometres between Adelaide and Perth, but I dont think much else separates them. Bon Scott grew up in the suburbs of a hot, remote Australian city surrounded by long, white beaches. My suburbs were very similar to his. As Australian kids growing up in the fifties and sixties, we were isolated from the rest of the world. It was beamed in on our black-and-white television sets; we heard about it on the radio and in the cinema, but it was still very far away. The real world didnt extend much beyond your front door, not back then. The real world was dry lawns, Hills Hoists and a roast dinner on Sundays.