As we hit what would have been Bon Scott’s 80th birthday on Thursday, July 9, one has to wonder what the shirtless, gleefully irreverent singer of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation” and “Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap” might be like at that age.

“Is there such a thing as a wild 80-year-old?” his rarely interviewed younger brother Derek Scott asks Billboard via Zoom from Perth, Australia. “I don’t think he would have changed.”

Forty-six years after his death on Feb. 19, 1980, from acute alcohol poisoning in London at the age of 33, Scott’s legacy and influence loom large. Born in Scotland and raised in Western Australia, Scott performed in other bands — most notably the Valentines and Fraternity before joining AC/DC as its second singer, replacing Dave Evans during the fall of 1974. He recorded six studio albums with the group, with his last, 1979’s Highway to Hell, an international breakthrough and AC/DC’s first top 20 Billboard 200 release in the United States.

Even now, on its Power Up world tour — returning to North America on July 11 in Charlotte, N.C. — more than half of the current AC/DC’s set hails from Scott’s era with the band.

“When Bon was asked, ‘Are you AC or DC?’ his answer was, ‘I’m the lightning bolt in the middle,” AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Angus Young says in a special birthday message provided to the Bon Scott Estate. “In my mind he was, and always will be the lightning bolt in the middle. He gifted us with great rock ‘n’ roll lyrics delivered in an impish manner, and was determined to show us all, it is a ‘long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll’.”

Judas Priest’s Rob Halford says in his own birthday message that, “Bon had a rare gift — he made people feel alive. His voice carried mischief, grit, humor and honesty…And that authenticity continues to resonate across generations.”

Derek Scott, 77, adds that his brother — who cared for him when he was younger because both of their parents worked — “was totally different to anybody else, even in the band. Those guys (in AC/DC) will say he was always a little bit different. It was his attitude; he knew where he wanted to go, and he did it. I don’t know how he got there. It was a lot of work…Overnight success always takes a lot of years. It was good to see him get the results he finally wanted.”

High Voltage

Scott’s birthday has become an annual rite of celebration during recent years, and this year’s 80th has an even greater sense of occasion.

The Estate, in partnership with Australia’s Sonic Rights Management and New York-based Jacksonic Sound and Vision, is bulking up the Bon Scott YouTube channel with more footage — including Fraternity performances from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) program GTK and new birthday wishes from Young, Halford, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Anthrax’s Scott Ian and others.

Meanwhile, the third annual Bon Scott Birthday Bash concert is taking place July 9 at the Cutting Room in New York City, with guest vocalists including Living Colour’s Corey Glover, American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis, Trixter’s Steve Brown, Peter Shaw of Trans-Siberian Orchestra and others. On the same day the elite German microphone manufacturer Neumann will release a Bon Scott Edition of the mic Scott used while recording at Albert Studios in Sydney, marking the first time the company has branded one of its products.

Scotland’s annual Bonfest took place during early May in Scott’s early home of Kirriemuir and has already announced its 2027 return next April 30-May 2. And on July 16 the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will honor Scott during an AC/DC Fan Day that includes artifact displays, film screenings and archival footage, educational presentations and a trivia contest.

“The amount of interest that remains with Bon after all this time, it’s staggering,” says Jacksonic founder John Jackson, who previously worked with AC/DC’s catalog during his tenure with Sony’s Legacy Recordings. “You reach out to any of these companies and they just immediately want to get on board with doing something with his name and likeness.”

Problem Child

The Scott estate wasn’t always quite so dialed-in, however.

He died without a will, and while appropriate financial arrangements were made after his death, other matters were left unattended according to Sonic Rights’ Damian Rinaldi, who co-manages the estate with Jackson and the Scott family. “He was such an icon, and yet there was no business structure around his rights, which was amazing to me,” Rinaldi explains. “The estate was not in order up until 2020. That’s when I started talking to the family and said I really do feel like they need someone who understands the industry and can help navigate it.” The Scotts were ultimately motivated by “bad actors,” including one company that was posing as the official Scott estate and releasing recordings it claimed featured Scott singing on them.

“The family could either get upset about the fact people they didn’t know were ripping off the estate, or they could actually do something about it and help the fans at the same time,” says Rinaldi, who worked with AC/DC during the ‘70s at the Australian music company J. Albert & Son (now Alberts). “We were starting from scratch — what it is you’re trying to identify, the rights and where they sit, who owns the pre-AC/DC copyrights. It’s come a long way.”

Derek Scott notes that, “I think as a family we didn’t want to exploit (Bon) in any way. We didn’t want to be the ones hanging off his coattails all the time…plus, we never had the knowledge of how to go about it for 40-odd years. We didn’t have a clue.” A catalyst, he adds, came when his son Daniel moved back to Perth after living in London and Brazil. (A younger brother, Graham, resides in Asia but has just tacit involvement with the estate.) “My two older sons weren’t as interested in getting involved, but (Daniel) had a big interest in it, and it was good,” Derek says. “If he hadn’t come back the way he did, it wouldn’t have happened.”

One of the estate’s earliest endeavors was the first authorized documentary, On the Brink, that aired during 2022 as part of ABC’s Australian Stories series. The estate has also partnered with a variety of manufacturers, including Knucklebonz, Funko Pop and Super 7 for figures and statues, and Copa and Dixxon for apparel. Australian artist Reg Mombassa, meanwhile, has created a special Scott image for a variety of products, and it’s also the source for a mural painted by artist Era at the beginning of AC/DC Lane in Melbourne. Separately, the Perth Mint has pressed commemorative gold and silver bars featuring the Bon Scott logo and bespoke packaging.

“People think we’re motivated by money and things like that. Nothing can be further from the truth,” says Daniel Scott, who serves as one of the estate’s officers. “Obviously the relationships evolved over time with Damian, who could drag us kicking and screaming into modern times, and then John with the creative side of things. I guess you’d say that after a long period of nothing from the estate, everything is aligned, which is great.”

Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be

All of the parties acknowledge a warm and supportive relationship with the AC/DC camp. “Everything we do gets run by Angus and the AC/DC brain trust. That’s a very important relationship,” Jackson says. Daniel Scott adds that, “Angus and Malcolm (Young), when he was alive, have always been extremely welcoming and fantastic over the years, and we have a communication and let them know what they’re up to.” The estate principals add that deference is why we’re unlikely to see a Bon Scott biopic come before a similar project from AC/DC.

“AC/DC very much take the view that they’re still ongoing, and biopics are probably for those who are looking back after they finished,” Rinaldi notes, to which Daniel Scott adds, “If AC/DC’s plans aren’t to do sorting such as that, neither are ours. We’re quite happy with how we’re going at the moment.”

The warm feelings extend to Brian Johnson, who replaced Bon Scott in 1980. “Brian’s fantastic,” Derek Scott says. “He’s jovial and fits in. It was very fortunate to have him come on board. He’s done a fantastic job. We’ve always got a lot of time for him.”

Rinaldi, meanwhile, observes that, “The story of Bon wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for Brian. Bon took the band up to the point of being huge and we lost him, and then Brian was able to take the baton and take it further. If it wasn’t for Brian we might not still be remembering Bon in the way we do today — and if it wasn’t for Bon, Brian wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do what he did. There’s massive mutual respect, which is something we foster. We love people loving Bon, but we love Brian as well.”

As the 80th birthday celebration gets underway, Derek Scott says he still has “mixed” emotions of pride in his brother’s accomplishments and sadness that he’s not around. Ultimately, he says, “it’s still great. It’s always good to hear his music and the old songs. Of course they bring back memories, but things move on. He wasn’t good at sports or school. He put his whole heart into the music and…here we are with it, still listening today.”