The Valentines: Bon Scott’s bubblegum pop group before AC/DC
The name AC/DC may be poorly etched onto the T-shirt of every cringeworthy uncle in your family. But behind the crinkled cotton and bursting beer belly is a band who changed the face of modern rock and afforded the right to have their name banded about on every T-shirt worn during summer BBQs.
Musicality aside, they won the hearts of fans all over the globe for their commitment to producing something boisterous, loud and beautifully chaotic. The simple striking of a chord on Angus Young’s guitar was a siren call to submit yourself to a primal rock and roll release.
While the snarling guitar parts played a large role in making that happen, their vocalist, Bon Scott, was somewhat of an unsung hero in that capacity. During that era of rock, some of the heavy hitters were leaning on powerful rock titans who had somewhat of an operatic underbelly to lead their bands. Take Ronnie James Dio, for example. When he took over from Ozzy Osbourne, he had all the necessary darkness and charisma to operate as a growing pitbull but with a classic style of range that could soar the songs to new heights.
Scott wasn’t necessarily of that type and, for that reason, garnered some criticism. But it was his character that was important to the Young brothers, who recalled, “Bon, you felt his charisma. You could see him coming from a mile away. He was originally a drummer, and when he first joined up with Mal and I, he said, ‘Ahh, I just want to play drums.’ And we went, ‘No, no, no. You’re singing.’”
That’s the sort of anecdote that lends itself to a mythologised background for Scott. You can easily imagine him emerging from the murky shadows with a mythical allure like that of Nick Cave, showcasing a penchant for off-beat literary works and unknown historical figures.
But it was quite the contrary. While Scott may have approached the band and modestly stated he was nothing more than a drummer, his music history from 1966 to 1970 tells quite a different story. In those four years, Scott performed on lead vocals for the Australian bubblegum pop band The Valentines.
While they were inspired by The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, the music was very much on the take-home-to-your-parents end of the spectrum, with plenty of doo-wops and choruses of moonlit adolescent romance. But the rumblings of a rockstar couldn’t stay hidden forever. As The Valentines’ super-slick sound began to gain radio traction, so did the commercial pressure to grow into pop titans.
Labels had dollar signs in their eyes, determined to push the band into the next product of pop royalty. Such a journey would have required a much cleaner lifestyle than the one the band were living, and a much-publicised drug bust in September 1969 initiated the demise of the band. Five years later, Scott’s rebel sensibilities were given space to flourish as he helped carve the history books of rock with his new bandmates at AC/DC.
