You are here:
AC/DC/Bon Scott
Advertisement
Question
I've been a huge Bon Scott fan since I first seen ACDC in concert back around 1978.I don't know much about thier history before this, but I just heard about a group called the Valentines. Are there any recordings, or videos around of Bon with these guys.
Hello Scott,
Thank you for your question. Yes, Bon was in a band called The Valentines from 1967 to 1970, who were a bubble-gum pop group that appealed to a younger audience. The band was a singles only band and released 9 singles in Australia during this time, including a few Easybeats covers. Bon later went on to a progressive rock band called Fraternity for the next 3 years, releasing 2 albums "Livestock" and "Flaming Galah". He lastly performed a few recordings with a band called The Mount Lofty Rangers in 1974 just before getting the gig with AC/DC shortly after.
Most of the Valentines and Fraternity recordings have all been reissued since on CD, and many of these titles should be readily available through online CD vendors, and possibly even if you checked some of your local CD shops.
The Mount Loft Rangers songs were also released on CD, but was just titled "Bon Scott".
Bon's very first band was called The Spektors, a band where he shared the vocal and drum duties. Some very early recordings of this band had also surfaced several years ago on a CD release.
Video footage hasn't been commercially available to date, but you can likely find some Fraternity and Valentines clips online.
Here are the majority of the LP/CD reissues:
Compilations & reissues:
The Valentines LP (Clarion Records CLR-501) 1987 (Australia)
Bon Scott With The Valentines The Early Years (C5 Rec/Pinacle C5 520) 1988 (Australia)
Seasons Of Change The Early Years 1967-72 (Raven/Festival RVLP-33) LP released 1988, compilation of Valentines & Fraternity tracks (Australia)
Bon Scott With The Valentines The Early Years CD (C5 Rec/Pinacle C5 520) 1989 (UK)
The Early Years 1967-1972 CD (See For Miles/Pinnacle SEECD247) 1991. compilation of Valentines & Fraternity tracks (UK)
Bon Scott With The Spektors CD (See For Miles/Pinnacle SEACD6) 1992 (UK)
Bon Scott “Round & Round” (Mount Lofty Rangers) CD (Head Office HOR 002) 1996 (Australia)
Bon Scott “Round & Round” CD digipak (Head Office/EMI 7243 8 7409422) 1996 (Australia)
Fraternity The Complete Sessions 1971-72 double CD (Raven/Festival RVCD-56) 1997 (Australia)
Bon Scott “Round & Round” CD (Metal Bastard/BMG-Ariola 74321619622) 1998 (Germany)
Fraternity “Livestock” CD (Archive/Navarre ARCH 80018) 1998 (U.S.A.)
Bon Scott With The Spektors And The Valentines CD (See For Miles SEECD 704) 1999 compilation of Valentines & The Spektors tracks (UK)
Bon Scott “Round & Round” CD (Metal Age Recordings 300119-2) 2000 (Germany)
The Valentines CD(Ascension Records CDANSI 03) 2002 (UK)
Best Regards,
Bill
Related Articles
Bill V.
Expertise
I am an AC/DC history, discography and collectibles expert, and can answer any question about the band, it's members past and present, as well as questions related to bands that members were in previous to being in AC/DC. I am well versed in the bands history, album and single releases (vinyl, CD), and worldwide discography and collectibles/memorabilia, past and present AC/DC news, album sales, tour dates and tour history, and anything else about the band. I am also an AC/DC (Especially Bon Scott) autograph expert.
Experience
I have been a fan and collector of AC/DC for 30+ years and have written published articles about the band for Goldmine magazine, as well as several publications. I have interviewed past members of the band, and attended the bands Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction as a press guest. I possess one of the world's largest AC/DC collections, and plan to have my own publication about the band in the future.
I was hired in 2008 by a marketing firm to help promote and market AC/DC's "BLACK ICE" release and the AC/DC "Rock Band" game in New York City. I also have participated in several other marketing and promotional campaigns for AC/DC. Most recently, I have contributed to a new book by Phil Sutcliffe "AC/DC: The Ultimate Illustrated History" as well as penning an AC/DC Collectibles article for Record Collector magazine (UK).
Organizations
I run the AC/DC fan & collector's site "Highway to Hell" and am the webmaster and designer.
I am the official Sony/Columbia records AC/DC forum moderator for their record companies website, and content manager for acdc.com
Publications
GOLDMINE (Krause Publications)(USA)
Daily Dirt (Germany)
Record Collector (UK)
Contributed to "AC/DC: The Ultimate Illustrated History", by Phil Sutcliffe (Voyageur Press, Oct. 15, 2010, Hardcover, 224 pages, 300+ illustrations)
Education/Credentials
AC/DC Expert
Past/Present Clients
I have interviewed: Mark Evans (AC/DC Bassist 1975-77), Simon Wright (AC/DC Drummer 1983-1989), Dave Evans (AC/DC singer 1974), Noel Taylor (AC/DC Drummer 1974), Neil Smith (AC/DC Bassist 1974), Larry Van Kreidt (AC/DC bassist 1973-4), John Bissett (Fraternity (w/Bon Scott) keyboardist), Vincent Lovegrove (Valentines (w/Bon Scott) singer & former AC/DC manager), Bob Defrin (AC/DC Logo designer & album cover designer for Atlantic records), Mike Fraser (AC/DC Mixing engineer), Joshua Levy (AC/DC Black Ice album cover designer) and many others
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.