Today (Feb. 19) marks 41 years since the untimely death of AC/DC singer Bon Scott. An audio interview with the legend, recorded in October of 1976, has now surfaced online, in which the frontman had a casual chat with journalist Ray Lancaster for his school’s newspaper and revealed how he wound up in AC/DC.
The 25-minute recording perfectly captures an era long gone by and offers a glimpse into the mindset of a now legendary rocker, early on in his career as AC/DC rose to prominence alongside a wealth of other major players in the rock scene at the time.
At the beginning of the conversation, which was conducted on Oct. 29, 1976, at the Birmingham Town Hall in the U.K., Scott and Lancaster found common ground while surveying some of the biggest names in rock — Neil Young, Patti Smith, The Rolling Stones — and generally agreed that the acts were a bore live.
What’s perhaps the most surprising is the relaxed nature of the interview. It’s clear that the two weren’t so much engaged in a rigid question and answer session, but instead joked around about other artists and come off as a couple people making idle chit chat at a bar.
When asked about his job outside of AC/DC, Scott laughed and recollected the job he held when he was “between bands,” looking for a new group to play with. He was hired by an agency to chauffeur bands to gigs around town for $10 a night.
“This was the first band I worked with,” he said, presumably referencing AC/DC, “and they knew I was sort of a screamer and they knew I was out of work and they hated the guy they had singing for them then, so they offered me a job.”
“I always knew I was something other than a worker,” he mused when asked if he always knew he was going to be a rock ‘n’ roll singer.
Listen to the complete audio interview below.
The surfacing of the audio comes as another treat for Bon Scott fans as the late singer’s recordings with his band Fraternity from 50 years ago were finally released.
Bon Scott Interview From Oct. 19, 1976
