Bon Scott's brother gives first interview in new documentary about AC/DC legend - watch
Derek Scott's first and only interview
A new Bon Scott documentary is streaming online featuring the first and only interview with the late AC/DC legend’s younger brother, Derek.
Created for Australian TV channel ABC News and available to watch in full below, the ‘Australian Story: On the Brink - Bon Scott’ documentary clocks in at 37 minutes and it says it ‘unravels the legend of AC/DC front man Bon Scott.’
The TV programme features an introduction from Bon Scott’s successor in AC/DC, Brian Johnson, alongside Derek Scott’s only interview.
A synopsis reads: ‘For the first time ever, the programme has been granted access to Bon’s family and friends who provide fresh insights into his vulnerabilities and state of mind leading up to his untimely death in London in 1980.’
Watch Australian Story: On the Brink - Bon Scott:
Speaking about the impact of having a famous sibling, Derek Scott says in the documentary: “When the band was making it in London, I lost my first name. I became ‘Bon Scott’s brother.’
“Everyone knew me as Bon’s brother for about 30 years. It’s nice, everyone’s interested and that’s fantastic but leave me out of it.
“People would ask me ‘oh, you’re Bon’s brother’ and they’d start asking me questions. That’s his life. That’s not my life. Even at the cemetery – if people see me at the cemetery, I’d say ‘oh no, I’m an uncle’ or something like that.”
He adds later: “A lot of of the stories that have been written in the books (about Bon) are bulls---‘. A lot of what was written early (on) upset my mother greatly.”
Explaining why he’s taking part in the documentary, Derek Scott says: “This is the first interview I’ve ever done, and it will be the last one I ever do. I’m only doing it because I’m the last person standing!”
The programme also speaks to Bon Scott’s close friend Bruce Howe, who noticed a big change when he last saw Bon in late 1979.
“He wasn’t bubbly and laughing. Maybe he’d come to the state where he’d achieved his dream, he found his holy grail, but found that his holy grail might have looked like an empty goblet,” he said.
Bon Scott died on 19th February 1980 in East Dulwich, London following a night of heavy drinking at the Music Machine club in Camden. He was just 33 years old.
Rock stars immortalised as statues, including Bon Scott:
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