‘I Don’t Think He Would Have Changed:’ Bon Scott’s Brother Talks Late AC/DC Legend on His 80th Birthday
Categoria: Musica
"Overnight success always takes a lot of years. It was good to see him get the results he finally wanted," says Derek Scott.
Por Billboard | 09/07/2026
As we hit what would have been Bon Scott ’s 80th birthday on Thursday, July 9, one has to wonder what the shirtless, gleefully irreverent singer of AC/DC ’s “Highway to Hell,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation” and “Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap” might be like at that age. “Is there such a thing as a wild 80-year-old?” his rarely interviewed younger brother Derek Scott asks Billboard via Zoom from Perth, Australia. “I don’t think he would have changed.” Forty-six years after his death on Feb. 19, 1980, from acute alcohol poisoning in London at the age of 33, Scott’s legacy and influence loom large. Born in Scotland and raised in Western Australia, Scott performed in other bands — most notably the Valentines and Fraternity before joining AC/DC as its second singer, replacing Dave Evans during the fall of 1974. He recorded six studio albums with the group, with his last, 1979’s Highway to Hell , an international breakthrough and AC/DC’s first top 20 Billboard 200 release in the United States. Even now, on its Power Up world tour — returning to North America on July 11 in Charlotte, N.C. — more than half of the current AC/DC’s set hails from Scott’s era with the band. “When Bon was asked, ‘Are you AC or DC?’ his answer was, ‘I’m the lightning bolt in the middle,” AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Angus Young says in a special birthday message provided to the Bon Scott Estate. “In my mind he was, and always will be the lightning bolt in the middle. He gifted us with great rock ‘n’ roll lyrics delivered in an impish manner, and was determined to show us all, it is a ‘long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll’.” Judas Priest’s Rob Halford says in his own birthday message that, “Bon had a rare gift — he made people feel alive. His voice carried mischief, grit, humor and honesty…And that authenticity continues to resonate across generations.” Derek Scott, 77, adds that his brother — who cared for him when he was younger because both of their parents worked — “was totally different to anybody else, even in the band. Those guys (in AC/DC) will say he was always a little bit different. It was his attitude; he knew where he wanted to go, and he did it. I don’t know how he got there. It was a lot of work…Overnight success always takes a lot of years. It was good to see him get the results he finally wanted.” High Voltage Scott’s birthday has become an annual rite of celebration during recent years, and this year’s 80th has an even greater sense of occasion. The Estate, in partnership with Australia’s Sonic Rights Management and New York-based Jacksonic Sound and Vision, is bulking up the Bon Scott YouTube channel with more footage — including Fraternity performances from t