50 Years On: Remembering AC/DC’s First Gig with Bon Scott — Angus Young Reflects on That Fateful Night
This month marks a thunderous milestone in rock history—50 years since AC/DC played their very first concert with the legendary Bon Scott as frontman. The date was May 1975, and the venue? A small, now-defunct Sydney club called the City Disco in Newtown. The crowd wasn’t huge, but the electricity in the air that night sparked a legacy that would soon blast its way across the globe.
Bon Scott had just joined the band a few months earlier, replacing original vocalist Dave Evans. He wasn’t the band’s first singer—but as time and fate would have it, he would be the one to define their sound, their swagger, and their unstoppable energy. To commemorate this moment, we look back at what Angus Young had to say about that very first gig with Bon during a 1997 interview, unearthed from the archives of Classic Rock Magazine.
“He Was Fireworks in Human Form”
In the interview, Angus Young, then still donning his signature schoolboy outfit at age 42, recalled the moment Bon walked into the room and onto the stage like he’d already been born into it.
“We were young,” Angus said. “But Bon—he came in like he owned the joint. Didn’t ask what the setlist was, didn’t need any warmup. He just plugged in and went for it.”
The gig wasn’t a grand affair. No pyrotechnics, no massive crowd, no towering Marshall stacks. Just a handful of punters, a handful of pints, and five young Aussies with something to prove.
“Honestly, I don’t even know if the crowd knew what hit them,” Angus laughed. “We were rough. Real raw. But Bon—he was fireworks in human form. Had that grin like he knew something you didn’t, and the minute he opened his mouth, you wanted to know.”
From Pub Rock to World Domination
That early gig with Bon marked a turning point. The chemistry was instant. Though AC/DC had already started building a reputation on the Sydney pub rock circuit, it wasn’t until Bon Scott joined that their identity fully clicked into place.
“With Bon,” Angus explained, “we had that mix of danger and charm. He could make you laugh, make you sweat, and make you want to go raise hell—all in the same song.”
From that tiny stage in Newtown, the band would go on to become one of the most enduring and influential hard rock acts of all time. Over the next five years, they’d release landmark albums like High Voltage, Let There Be Rock, and Highway to Hell. They’d pack out stadiums and ignite audiences around the world. But it all started on that night, 50 years ago.
“Those early days were wild,” Angus said in the 1997 interview. “We were broke half the time. Sleeping in the van. Playing three or four sets a night. But with Bon, it never felt like a slog. He’d get up there and sing like the world was ending—and you had to listen before it was too late.”
A Voice and a Spirit That Never Left
Bon Scott’s time with AC/DC was tragically short. He died in 1980 at the age of 33, just as the band was on the cusp of international superstardom. But in the years since, his legacy has only grown. His voice—gritty, soulful, mischievous—remains one of rock’s most recognizable. And his lyrics—equal parts poetry and barroom confessional—helped define the sound of an era.
“He lived it,” Angus said. “He didn’t write songs about things he wished he’d done. He wrote about things he’d done three times before breakfast.”
When asked what he remembered most about that first show, Angus paused for a rare moment of quiet.
“I remember the way he looked at us after the last song,” he said. “We’d just finished ‘Can I Sit Next to You, Girl’—it was probably the only song we all knew back to front. And he looked over, sweating and grinning, and said, ‘That’ll do for a start.’ That was Bon. Always looking to the next song, the next show, the next adventure.”
The Legacy Lives On
In the five decades since that modest debut, AC/DC has become one of the biggest rock bands in the world, selling over 200 million records. Their sound has remained remarkably consistent—loud, proud, and unapologetically raw. And even as vocalists have come and gone, Bon Scott remains the band’s spiritual center.
As fans around the world celebrate this 50th anniversary, tributes are pouring in from rockers old and new. Social media is ablaze with clips of Bon-era performances, rare interviews, and photos from those sweaty, early gigs. There’s talk of a documentary in the works, and even a special reissue of High Voltage rumored to include never-before-heard live audio from the first tour.
But for those who were there—or those, like Angus, who carry the memory close—it’s not about stats or reissues. It’s about that moment. That first gig. That first spark.
“Fifty years,” Angus said in closing, “and I can still hear him singing. Some voices never leave.”
Bon Scott: 1946–1980. Forever on the highway to hell—and beyond.
