That time I asked AC/DC’s Malcolm Young what it was like making Back in Black without Bon Scott on vocals

By Steve Newton

Way back on October 10, 1983, I interviewed three members of AC/DC–rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, singer Brian Johnson, and drummer Simon Wright–at a swanky Vancouver hotel. The next day the band was kicking off a North American tour in support of its new album, Flick of the Switch.

Three years earlier AC/DC had released Back in Black, its first LP with Brian Johnson, who’d taken over the lead vocals from Bon Scott, who’d died in February of 1980 at the age of 33.

So at one point in the conversation I asked Mal what it was like making that album without Bon.

“It was different,” he replied. “But that material, we were working on it for Bon at the time. So that was the weirdest part. And when Brian stepped in he stepped in right on that album, having not even gone on the road or anything.

“It was a bit strange,” he added, “but it was good because we really had to work hard on it.”

That hard work paid off, obviously, as Back in Black went on to sell an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, making it one of the top selling albums of all time.

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