1980

AC/DC arrived back in London at the start of January. It was at this point that Bon moved into his flat at Ashley court.

The main engagements for the band were to play two previously postponed gigs, to release the single Touch too Much , and promote it then get down to the serious business of recording a new and yet unnamed album, Well that was what had been planned , but as you know , fate has a way of intertupting the best laid plans.

At this point the rest of the band were becoming increasingly more private , Bon spent his time sorting out his flat with his friends and hanging around with the french band Trust, with whom he was alleged to have laid down a few tracks, certainly a few recordings of him with the band have surfaced.

The band were invited to appear at the Midem music awards cermony in Cannes , France to collect a number of Gold discs from around the world. Then it was on to Newcastle Mayfair on the 25th to play a gig that had been postponned due to fire. On the 27th they played the Southampton Gaumont, which was the last actual gig that Bon would appear at. (it appears that neither of these two venues are destined to be Rock venues any more , The Gaumont is now called the Mayflower, and is used primarily as a theatre and appartently Newcastle council have similar plans to develop the Matfair in the same way.)

There were a few appearances here and there, includinga performance on Top of the Pops and a Spainish pop show.

We all know the circumstances surrounding Bon's death , so we won't dwell on that. (We are thinking of doing a special Bon Scott edition to mark the 20th aniversary , if you vhave any stories or artwork send it in {address of fan club below})

AC/DC did not waste time finding a replacement for Bon, as Brian Johnson had allegedally been mentioned by Bon himself on a previous occasion. It was typical that Malcolm rang him to annouce that he'd put a bet on Ben Nevis in the Grand National and by the way, you've got the job.

Actor Gary Holton had also been considered , but his drug problems made him too much of a liability , he actually died five years later of an overdose, another singer, Alan Fryer was also tipped, but the band reckoned that he was actually too much like Bon.

They did not waste time getting the album finished and rehearsing (in an airfield in Belgium) John "Mutt" Lange was agian at the mixing desk. The result was AC/DC's best ever selling album, and an album that often finds its way into journalist's top one hundred rock albums of all time.

The Back in Black tour marked a dramatic change from the band's previous basic stage set, for the first time they would have a prop. an enormous church bell, cast in bronze, with the band's logo on the side. Which would be lowered, at the start of Hell's Bells for Brian or sometimes a guest to hit in time with the bongs.

The buzz created in the media about the new album and the band's comeback from adversity, ensured high chart positions around the world and that a good percentage of the venues would be fully booked, this was the most extensive tour of the world AC/DC have ever embarked on to date, and December still left them still travelling across Europe.

Nikki Goff