Bon The Last Highway

The death of Bon Scott is the Da Vinci Code of rock In death, AC/DCÕs trailblazing frontman has become a rock icon, and the legend of the man known around the world simply as ÒBonÓ grows with each passing year. But how much of it is myth? At the heart of Bon: The Last Highway is a special Ñ and unlikely Ñ friendship between an Australian rock star and an alcoholic Texan troublemaker. Jesse Fink, author of the critically acclaimed international bestseller The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, reveals its importance for the first time. Leaving no stone unturned in a three-year journey that begins in Austin and ends in London, Fink takes the reader back to a legendary era for music that saw the relentless AC/DC machine achieve its commercial breakthrough but also threaten to come apart. With unprecedented access to BonÕs lovers, newly unearthed documents, and a trove of never-before-seen photos, Fink divulges startling new information about BonÕs last hours to solve the mystery of how he died. Music fans around the world have been waiting for the original, forensic, unflinching, and masterful biography Bon Scott so richly deserves Ñ and now, finally, itÕs here.

With sales of over 200 million albums, AC/DC is not just the biggest rock band in the world. It's a family business built by three brothers: George, Malcolm and Angus Young. And, as with any business, some people prospered while others got hurt along the way. 'The Youngs' is unlike any AC/DC book you've read before. Less a biography, more a critical appreciation, it tells the story of the trio through 11 classic songs and reveals some of the personal and creative secrets that went into their making.

For a quarter century, Luis Antonio Navia worked as a high-level cocaine transporter for all of the major Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, including Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel, and flooded the United States and Europe with cocaine before his dramatic arrest in Venezuela in 2000 during the 12-nation Operation Journey. The story of Navia’s rise, fall, takedown, imprisonment, and redemption is expertly researched and told by acclaimed biographer Jesse Fink, who has gathered interviews with Navia, Navia’s family, and a dozen law-enforcement agents in the United States and Great Britain from agencies such as the DEA, ICE and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise (now Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). Told in vivid detail, this true crime story will captivate the reader from start to finish.

Over three decades and more than 150 million albums, AC/DC has established itself as much more than just a great rock band. For millions of fans spanning several generations across the world, they are an ear-bleedingly loud, sweat-soaked religion, courtesy of such classic albums as Highway to Hell and Back in Black. Now, in a book of astonishing breadth and scope, comes, for the very first time, the complete story of AC/DC. Everything you ever wanted to know and plenty more you never dreamt of is all here, the ultimate balls-out adventure, laced with sex, drunken escapades and brawls. It's a journey that started in the suburban Sydney, Australia, bedrooms of brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, boys who could wreak havoc with their guitars. Over their power chords were the lyrics and voice of Bon Scott, who would lead them higher and higher—until his tragic death in 1980. The bittersweet irony after his death was that not only did the Youngs manage to hold together without him, but the band's fortunes and status skyrocketed with his replacement, Brian Johnson, and the album Back in Black. Five long years in the making, AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll is sourced from more than 1,300 interviews the band has given over the past thirty years combined with in excess of 75 of the authors' own interviews with those who worked with AC/DC both in the studio and on the road—many of whom have never spoken about the band publicly. It's topped off with stunning, never-before-seen photos to create the ultimate portrait of the ultimate rock band.

An affectionate, honest tribute now updated with new revelations about the rock and roll icon who helped make AC/DC an international sensation The second edition of Bon: The Last Highway includes a brand new 16-page introduction. Fink examines… • New information from French media that changes what we know about who was with Bon Scott the night he died • The London drug-dealing connections of the late Alistair Kinnear • A possible heroin link involving the late Yes bassist Chris Squire • Revised theories on how Bon died With unprecedented access to Bon’s lovers and newly unearthed documents, this updated edition contains a new introduction and more revelations about the singer’s death, dispelling once and for all the idea that Scott succumbed to acute alcohol poisoning on February 19, 1980. Meticulously researched and packed with fresh information, Bon: The Last Highway is an affectionate, honest tribute to a titan of rock music.

This is the definitive account of AC/DCs rise to fame, when the ribald lyrics and charismatic stage presence of singer Bon Scott, together with the formidable guitar work of Angus and Malcolm Young, defined a new, highly influential brand of rock and roll. Drawing on first-person interviews and featuring a gallery of rare photos, Clinton Walker traces AC/DCs career through the life of their original front man, from the bands shared Scottish roots to small- time gigs to recording studios and international successright up to Scotts shocking death in 1980, just as the band were attaining the worldwide recognition for which they had worked so tirelessly. AC/ DCs undiminished superstar status and their influence on a succession of genres from metal to grunge ensure that Bon Scotts presence continues to be felt. Highway to Hell offers the full story of this seminal rock figure.

Angus Young, the co-founder and the last surviving original member of AC/DC, has for more than 40 years been the face, sound and sometimes the exposed backside of the trailblazing rock band. In his trademark schoolboy outfit, guitar in hand, Angus has given his signature sound to songs such as ‘A Long Way to the Top’, ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘Back in Black’, helping AC/DC become the biggest rock band on the planet. High Voltage is the first biography to focus exclusively on Angus. It tells of his remarkable rise from working-class Glasgow and Sydney to the biggest stages in the world. The youngest of eight kids, Angus always seemed destined for a life in music, and it was his passion and determination that saw AC/DC become hard rock’s greatest act. Over the years, Angus has endured the devastating death of iconic vocalist Bon Scott, the forced retirement of his brother in arms, Malcolm Young, and more recently the loss from the band of singer Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd. Yet somehow the little guitar maestro has kept AC/DC not just on the rails, but at the top of the rock pile. ‘High Voltage is a great read, easy to whip through and take in, but it doesn’t leave you feeling short-changed, it simply opens your thoughts up to: what if there were more?’ —Shane Murphy, Daily Review ‘Apter’s lively and highly readable biography . . . is an inspiring story. Angus was the son of Scottish migrants, brother of one of the Easybeats, who gave up a printing apprenticeship to pursue his dream of being a rock star.’ —Daily Telegraph ‘A GRIPPING new book about AC/DC schoolboy guitarist Angus Young charts the carnage around the supergroup from wild groupies, violent fist-fights, tragic fans’ deaths – and even being linked to a serial killer.’ —Scottish Sun

To fans and critics alike, the years 1973 to 1980 – the Bon Scott era – are the most significant of AC/DC's five-decade career. In a prolific and frequently brilliant run, they recorded six studio albums, established a diehard fanbase that stretched from Australia to the UK, Europe to North America, toured relentlessly, and created no small amount of controversy and chaos. At one low point in Australia, the band's records were banned, their shows were cancelled, and they were hounded by police – all because Angus Young dared bare his spotty backside at a press conference. In the midst of the mayhem, however, they were building a body of work that remains unmatched in hard rock. Many of AC/DC's classic songs were cut during this time – Dirty Deeds, Rock and Roll Damnation, High Voltage, If You Want Blood (You Got It), Whole Lotta Rosie, Long Way to the Top, Let there be Rock, and more – and it says plenty that these fan favourites are still staples of the band's current live sets today. Illustrated throughout with rare photographs from the era, this book documents all the key events of this frenetic time, beginning with the band's very first shows in the bloodhouses of suburban Sydney – even before the name AC/DC had been dreamed up by Margaret Young, Malcolm and Angus's big sister – and culminating with 1979's Highway to Hell, the album that paved the way for the mammoth success of Back in Black and all that was to follow, and the untimely death of Bon Scott, both an end and a new beginning for the band.