The difference between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson, according to Angus Young
- Heeding the fine example set by bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, AC/DC formed in 1973 with a vision of heavy metal eminence. The Australian band is often regarded as hard rock rather than heavy metal by today’s standards. Still, in the 1970s, the voluminous lungs of Bon Scott and killer riffs of Angus Young were more than enough to enter metallic territory.
Although the band set out with Dave Evans as its frontman, Scott took his place in 1974 before the crucial surge to prominence. His distinctive tenor vocal helped shape the 1975 debut, High Voltage and followed through to 1979’s Highway to Hell. The latter remains one of AC/DC’s most acclaimed records, thanks to the title track. ‘Girl’s Got Rhythm’ and ‘Night Crawler’. A promising future lay ahead for the band, but tragedy was soon to come.
Highway to Hell was Scott’s final album with AC/DC before his tragic death from acute alcohol poisoning in February 1980. At the time, the singer was just 33 and was at the peak of his career. In similar situations, bands like T. Rex, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin decided not to continue past the death of a crucial member. Conversely, AC/DC saw continuity as the key to recovery.
Usually, when bands persevere without a key member, they will often experience a decline in fanbase and creative drive. In AC/DC’s case, they miraculously managed to maintain a loyal global following thanks to the swift induction of Brian Johnson and the failsafe material on the 1980 album Back in Black.
Naturally, Scott’s death greatly impacted AC/DC and left the group’s future in the balance for several weeks. They could only conceive of continuing by welcoming the one metal vocalist Scott would have approved of. “I remember the first time I had ever heard Brian’s name was from Bon,” guitarist Angus Young recalled in an interview with BraveWords. “Bon had mentioned that he had been in England once touring with a band, and he had mentioned that Brian had been in a band called Geordie and Bon had said ‘Brian Johnson, he was a great rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard.’ And that was Bon’s big idol, Little Richard.”
After Scott first encountered Johnson in the UK, he returned to Australia to rave about what he had heard. “He’s a guy that knows what rock and roll is all about,” Angus recalled Scott saying. This stuck with them over the next few years and guided their decision in 1980. “I suppose when we decided to continue, Brian was the first name that Malcolm and myself came up with, so we said we should see if we can find him.”
Part of Johnson’s appeal as Scott’s replacement was his ability to emulate the late singer’s distinctive style. To the untrained ear, the material on Highway to Hell flows seamlessly into Back in Black. This allowed Johnson to win over Scott’s fans as quickly as possible, yet there were subtle differences between the two voices.
Speaking to Louder Sound in 1992, Angus Young noted that “from a musical point of view, the difference mainly was that Bon leaned very hard on rhythm when he sang.” Johnson preferred to spout his lyrics with a more punchy delivery and was less concerned with the song’s rhythm. “His other great gift was lyrics,” Angus added. “Now, for me, Bon was probably one of the most underrated lyricists, even though you could say things like “She’s got the balls, she’s got the jack” were gutter lyrics. For me, they were poetry. And he used to call it poetry too – toilet poetry.”
Continuing, Angus noted a more personal difference between the two vocalists. In a sense, he seems to outline the famous dryness of Australian humour. “They had a different sense of humour. Bon’s was more subtle,” he explained. “You’d wonder what he was talking about, and half an hour later, you’d be rolling with laughter when you finally got it. Brian’s just as clever, but his humour is more direct. You catch it straight away
