“We don’t want to promote him”: The one musician AC/DC wanted nothing to do with
Nothing that AC/DC ever played was meant to be the most complex thing in the world. Even though they had some of the meanest grooves in rock and roll history, their best work revolved around them having straight-ahead riffs that weren’t exactly hard but hit like a sledgehammer when you heard them in context. Although they survived losing Bon Scott and thrived with Brian Johnson behind the microphone, the Young brothers admitted that one singer never quite fit with what they wanted to do.
Because when listening to AC/DC songs out of context, it’s all about making the kind of raucous rock and roll that no one can mess with. It can slip into dad-rock territory a lot more these days, but considering how much power is behind Angus and Malcolm Young’s guitars on those early records, every song still sounds like a young-and-hungry rock and roll looking to tear through any town they come across.
And even though the band viewed Scott as disposable in the beginning, the whole reason why they worked was because of his bluesy charisma. The lion’s share of his lyrics may have been absolutely filthy from one bar to the next, but hearing something like ‘The Jack’ in context makes you forget that the whole song came from a sexually transmitted disease and has everyone focus on the bluesy foundation.
Before Scott came into the picture, though, the band were slogging it out with Dave Evans behind the microphone. Looking at their first single, ‘Can I Sit Next To You Girl’, the original frontman certainly had a fine set of pipes and that distinctive hard rock growl, but the minute that he got onstage, he didn’t look the part at all.
The whole identity of AC/DC was about making something raucous and fun, and seeing him playing the smooth lover man schtick and blowing kisses out into the audience wasn’t the kind of face that Angus or Malcolm envisioned for the band. And when Evans started trying to dictate things, Malcolm knew that they had to change fast before the singer’s head filled the entire room.
Looking back on their stint with Evans, Malcolm said that the band wanted nothing more to do with him, saying, “The guy was a schmuck, to be honest. When we kicked him out, he thought we would be finished. Every time we come back to tour here in Australia, Dave seems to get himself into the newspapers by saying he was the star and he made AC/DC. So we certainly don’t want to promote him.”
Considering how far AC/DC have come since then, though, it’s not like Evans has a winning argument about them being washed up. He could sing his heart out if he wanted to, but looking at their vast body of work afterwards, it’s not like he was suddenly going to come out with something as hooky as ‘Shoot To Thrill’ or ‘Back in Black’ on a whim.
Because no matter who is upfront singing for the band, AC/DC belonged to the Young brothers, and even if Angus is left as the sole leader of the group, they still have the same spirit they did back in the day. Evans may have had the looks to get them to stardom, but no one questioned who owned the band the minute that the riffs started.
