Highway to Hell

Clinton Walker’s biography of Bon Scott is the definitive account of the life of the iconic rocker, tracing his musical apprenticeship in bubblegum pop band the Valentines and blues-rockers Fraternity through to joining up with Angus and Malcolm Young in AC/DC, where his racy lyrics, unique vocal style, and sheer charisma helped define a new, highly influential brand of rock and roll. Drawing on many first-person interviews and featuring a gallery of rare images, Clinton Walker traces AC/DC’s career through the life of their original front man, from the Scottish roots he shared with the Youngs to small-time gigs to recording studios and international success, right up to Scott’s shocking death in 1980, just as the band were getting the worldwide recognition they’d worked for so tirelessly. Wild theories about how Scott died have surfaced at intervals over the intervening forty years, flaring up again recently. For this edition, Clinton Walker reviews the evidence surrounding Scott’s death, reveals new details that have come to light, and concludes that such conspiracy theories have no basis in fact. The result underlines Highway to Hell’s status as the authoritative version of the life, and untimely death, of one of rock’s greatest characters.