Bon Scott was dead and it looked like AC/DC were finished. But within 6 weeks they had a new singer and would begin recording the biggest-selling rock album of all time. How a washed-up rock star helped AC/DC overcome Bon Scott’s death and make their masterpiece.
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00:00It's probably fair to say that no one expected ACDC's 7th album to be an enormous success.
00:12Formed by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young and fronted by singer Bon Scott, the Australian
00:16band's previous album, Highway to Hell, had broken the top 20 in the UK, but in February
00:221980, tragedy struck.
00:25Bon Scott was found dead in a parked car in East Dulwich, South London, the night before
00:30he'd been out in London's Camden, watching bands and drinking heavily.
00:34On the drive home, Bon was in such a state that his companion couldn't wake him, so he
00:38left him in the car.
00:39He never woke again.
00:41Acute alcohol poisoning, said the death certificate.
00:44Death by misadventure.
00:45Bon Scott was 33, and ACDC looked like they were finished.
00:50At Bon's funeral, the singer's father told Angus and Malcolm Young that they had to carry
00:55on.
00:56The band regrouped in London and began auditioning singers, and there was one guy whose name
01:00kept coming up.
01:01He was called Brian Johnson, a singer from the North East who'd briefly tasted chart
01:06success as part of glam rockers Geordie.
01:09In fact, Bon Scott himself had recommended Brian.
01:12Shortly before he died, he'd raved about the singer for this band he'd seen in Newcastle.
01:16Malcolm and Angus remembered it, because Bon never raved about anyone.
01:22When producer Mutt Lang also mentioned Brian, the band took the hint and invited Jono down
01:27to London to audition.
01:29But Brian was reluctant.
01:31He felt burnt by the music business after being put through the wringer with Geordie.
01:47In the end, he only took the trip to London because he was offered a chance to sing on
01:50a new advert for Hoover.
02:02At the audition, the band knew instantly they'd found their man.
02:05As soon as I walked in, it was like a real friendly atmosphere.
02:09They just said, oh, hello, and had a can of brownie waiting for us, you know, the newest
02:13from Newcastle.
02:14Brian Johnson was announced as the new singer for ACDC on April 1st, 1980, just six weeks
02:20after Bon Scott's death.
02:23Recording for Back in Black started weeks later at Compass Studios on the island of
02:27Nassau in the Bahamas.
02:29The first song they recorded was the title track.
02:39Built on a juddering riff, it sounded like the blues might if it was deconstructed by
02:43Satan and then rebuilt by Tony Stark.
02:47Just as Brian began to worry that he was going to run out of ideas for lyrics, a storm broke
02:51outside.
02:52Rolling thunder, he wrote.
02:53Then he heard the rain.
02:55Pouring rain, he wrote again.
02:57The wind whipped up.
02:58I'm coming on like a hurricane.
03:04By the end of the night, the opening track, Hell's Bells, with its mournful tolling bell
03:08intro was in the can.
03:10The inspiration kept on coming.
03:12Brian claimed later that he felt an almost supernatural force helping him along, and
03:16Bon Scott had had an influence on some of the songs.
03:20Have a Drink on Me had already been demoed with Bon on drums, and What Do You Do for
03:23Money Honey was around from the recording of the Power Rage album.
03:26But as the songs came, the music was more sophisticated than before.
03:30Let Me Put My Love Into You was slow burning.
03:33Shoot to Thrill had a funky breakdown, and You Shook Me All Night Long was tailor-made
03:37for radio with a huge sing-along chorus.
03:43The album was released on the 25th of July, 1980, packaged in an all-black sleeve that
03:50the record company tried and failed to get them to change.
03:53It was ACDC's tribute to Bon Scott.
03:56Out of tragedy had come ACDC's greatest triumph.
03:59Not only did the album go to number one in the UK, previous releases Highway to Hell,
04:04Let There Be Rock, and live album If You Want Blood joined it in the top 100 as people bought
04:09up the band's back catalogue.
04:11In America, Back in Black stayed in the charts for 131 weeks.
04:15To date, it's the second biggest-selling album of all time, after Michael Jackson's Thriller.
04:20Not only is it the greatest comeback album of all time, it's also arguably the greatest
04:25rock album ever made, and still an influence on pop culture.
04:30How much more black could this be?
04:31And the answer is none, none more black.
04:35The events of 1980, losing their friend and singer, and coming back from that, stronger
04:40and wiser had given ACDC's music something the band had never had before.
04:45Gravitas.
04:46It wasn't sad or depressing.
04:48Back in Black was a wake for Bon, a celebration of his life, a full-throated, big-hearted
04:53pie that said goodbye to Bon and welcomed a new member into the gang.
04:58Brian Johnson and ACDC had arrived.