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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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:06 It's probably fair to say that no one expected AC/DC's 7th album to be an enormous success.
00:12 Formed by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, and fronted by singer Bon Scott,
00:16 the Australian band's previous album, Highway to Hell, had broken the top 20 in the UK.
00:21 But in February 1980, tragedy struck.
00:25 Bon Scott was found dead in a parked car in East Dulwich, South London.
00:30 The night before, he'd been out in London's Camden, watching bands and drinking heavily.
00:34 On the drive home, Bon was in such a state that his companion couldn't wake him,
00:38 so he left him in the car. He never woke again.
00:41 "Acute alcohol poisoning," said the death certificate.
00:44 "Death by misadventure."
00:45 Bon Scott was 33, and AC/DC looked like they were finished.
00:50 At Bon's funeral, the singer's father told Angus and Malcolm Young that they had to carry on.
00:56 The band regrouped in London and began auditioning singers,
00:59 and there was one guy whose name kept coming up.
01:01 He was called Brian Johnson, a singer from the North East who'd briefly tasted chart success
01:06 as part of glam rockers Geordie.
01:09 In fact, Bon Scott himself had recommended Brian.
01:12 Shortly before he died, he'd raved about the singer for this band he'd seen in Newcastle.
01:16 Malcolm and Angus remembered it because Bon never raved about anyone.
01:20 When producer Mutt Lang also mentioned Brian,
01:25 the band took the hint and invited Jono down to London to audition.
01:29 But Brian was reluctant.
01:31 He felt burnt by the music business after being put through the wringer with Geordie.
01:36 You know, I said, "I can't go to London. I can't afford it."
01:41 You really couldn't afford to go down to London?
01:44 No, no, I was broke.
01:46 In the end, he only took the trip to London
01:49 because he was offered a chance to sing on a new advert for Hoover.
02:02 At the audition, the band knew instantly they'd found their man.
02:05 Soon as I walked in, it was like a real friendly atmosphere.
02:09 They just said, "Oh, hello," and had a can of brownie waiting for us.
02:12 You know, the new ones from Newcastle.
02:13 Brian Johnson was announced as the new singer for AC/DC on April 1st, 1980,
02:19 just six weeks after Bon Scott's death.
02:22 Recording for Back in Black started weeks later at Compass Studios
02:27 on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas.
02:29 The first song they recorded was the title track.
02:32 Built on a juddering riff, it sounded like the blues mic if it was deconstructed by Satan
02:43 and then rebuilt by Tony Stark.
02:46 Just as Brian began to worry that he was going to run out of ideas for lyrics,
02:50 a storm broke outside.
02:52 "Rolling thunder," he wrote.
02:53 Then he heard the rain.
02:54 "Pouring rain," he wrote again.
02:56 The wind whipped up.
02:58 "I'm coming on like a hurricane."
03:00 By the end of the night, the opening track, "Hell's Bells,"
03:07 with its mournful tolling bell intro, was in the can.
03:10 The inspiration kept on coming.
03:12 Brian claimed later that he felt an almost supernatural force helping him along,
03:16 and Bon Scott had had an influence on some of the songs.
03:19 "Have a Drink on Me" had already been demoed with Bon on drums,
03:22 and "What Do You Do for Money, Honey?" was around from the recording of the Power Rage album.
03:26 But as the songs came, the music was more sophisticated than before.
03:30 "Let Me Put My Love Into You" was slow burning.
03:32 "Shoot to Thrill" had a funky breakdown.
03:35 And "You Shook Me All Night Long" was tailor-made for radio,
03:38 with a huge sing-along chorus.
03:40 The album was released on the 25th of July, 1980,
03:48 packaged in an all-black sleeve that the record company tried and failed to get them to change.
03:53 It was AC/DC's tribute to Bon Scott.
03:56 Out of tragedy had come AC/DC's greatest triumph.
04:00 Not only did the album go to number one in the UK,
04:02 previous releases "Highway to Hell," "Let There Be Rock,"
04:05 and live album "If You Want Blood" joined it in the top 100,
04:09 as people bought up the band's back catalogue.
04:11 In America, "Back in Black" stayed in the charts for 131 weeks.
04:15 To date, it's the second biggest-selling album of all time,
04:18 after Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
04:20 Not only is it the greatest comeback album of all time,
04:23 it's also arguably the greatest rock album ever made,
04:27 and still an influence on pop culture.
04:30 How much more black could this be? And the answer is none.
04:33 None more black.
04:35 The events of 1980, losing their friend and singer,
04:38 and coming back from that, stronger and wiser,
04:40 had given AC/DC's music something the band had never had before.
04:45 Gravitas.
04:46 It wasn't sad or depressing.
04:48 "Back in Black" was a wake for Bon, a celebration of his life,
04:51 a full-throated, big-hearted party that said goodbye to Bon
04:55 and welcomed a new member into the gang.
04:58 Brian Johnson and AC/DC had arrived.
05:01 (SCREAMS)
05:02 (SCREAMS)
05:03 (SCREAMS)
05:05 (SCREAMS)
05:06 (SCREAMS)
05:14 (HORN BLOWS)
05:15 (HORN BLOWS)
05:17 (HORN BLOWS)
05:18 (dramatic music)
05:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]