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 seventh album to be an enormous success.
00:12Formed by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young and fronted by singer Bon Scott,
00:16the Australian band's previous album, Highway to Hell, had broken the top 20 in the UK.
00:21But in February 1980, tragedy struck.
00:25Bon Scott was found dead in a parked car in East Dulwich, South London.
00:30The night before, he'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,
00:38so he left him in the car. He 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 on.
00:56The band regrouped in London and began auditioning singers,
00:59and there was one guy whose name kept coming up.
01:01He was called Brian Johnson, a singer from the North East who'd briefly tasted chart success
01:06as 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.
01:19When producer Mutt Lang also mentioned Brian, the band took the hint and invited Jono down to London to audition.
01:29But Brian was reluctant. He felt burnt by the music business after being put through the ringer with Geordie.
01:34I've never been for an audition in my life.
01:36You know, I said, I can't go to London, you know. I can't afford it.
01:41You really couldn't afford to go down to London?
01:44No, no. I was drunk.
01:46In the end, he only took the trip to London because he was offered a chance to sing on a new advert for Hoover.
01:52At the audition, the band knew instantly they found their man.
02:05As soon as I walked in, it was like a real friendly atmosphere.
02:10They just said, oh, hello, and had a can of brownie waiting for us.
02:12You know, the news from Newcastle.
02:13Brian Johnson was announced as the new singer for ACDC on April 1st, 1980,
02:19just six weeks after Bon Scott's death.
02:23Recording for Back in Black started weeks later at Compass Studios on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas.
02:29The first song they recorded was the title track.
02:38Built on a juddering riff, it sounded like the blues might if it was deconstructed by Satan
02:43and then rebuilt by Tony Stark.
02:46Just as Brian began to worry that he was going to run out of ideas for lyrics,
02:50a storm broke outside.
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.
03:00By the end of the night, the opening track, Hell's Bells, with its mournful tolling bell intro,
03:09was in the can.
03:10The inspiration kept on coming.
03:12Brian claimed later that he felt an almost supernatural force helping him along.
03:16And Bon Scott had had an influence on some of the songs.
03:19Have a Drink on Me had already been demoed with Bon on drums.
03:22And What Do You Do For Money, Honey, was around from the recording of the Power Rage album.
03:27But 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.
03:35And You Shook Me All Night Long was tailor-made for radio with a huge sing-along chorus.
03:40You shook me all night long.
03:43The album was released on the 25th of July, 1980.
03:48Packaged in an all-black sleeve that the 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.
04:00Not only did the album go to number one in the UK,
04:02previous releases Highway to Hell, Let There Be Rock,
04:05and live album If You Want Blood joined it in the top 100
04:08as people brought up 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,
04:18after Michael Jackson's Thriller.
04:20Not only is it the greatest comeback album of all time,
04:23it's also arguably the greatest rock album ever made,
04:27and still an influence on pop culture.
04:30How much more black could this be?
04:32And the answer is none.
04:34None more black.
04:35The events of 1980, losing their friend and singer,
04:38and coming back from that, stronger and wiser,
04:40had 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.
04:50A celebration of his life.
04:51A full-throated, big-hearted pie that said goodbye to Bon
04:55and welcomed a new member into the game.
04:58Brian Johnson and ACDC had arrived.
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