Bon Scott-era songs will be well represented when AC/DC rocks Vancouver on the Power Up Tour

By Steve Newton

In a few hours AC/DC will hit the stage at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium, and the spirit of its beloved former frontman will be on full display.

That’s because nearly half of the band’s 21-song setlist will be made up of tunes from the six studio albums it released between 1975 and 1979 that featured the one-and-only Bon Scott on vocals.

Nothing against Brian Johnson–the singer who took over after Scott died in 1980 and did a fine job himself–but it seems to me that the true AC/DC tracks, the raunchy ones that really get people riled up, were delivered with Bon Scott’s cheeky and devilish flare.

Maybe that’s why the band has been kicking off its shows with “If You Want Blood (You Got It)”, a track off the last album it recorded with Scott, 1979’s Highway to Hell.

Other legendary Scott-era tracks that will light up BC Place tonight include “Shot Down in Flames”, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, “High Voltage”, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, and the first encore number, “T.N.T.”.

And fans of what is arguably AC/DC’s finest album, 1978’s Powerage, can expect to get their ears rattled by the gritty sounds of “Sin City” and “Riff Raff”.

As far as AC/DC’s most recent material goes, the current setlist only includes two tracks from its latest album, the so-so Power Up, “Demon Fire” and “Shot in the Dark”.

To hear the full audio of my 1983 interview with AC/DC subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with rock legends since 1982.