Classic Rock Stories
A Tale of Two Singers: Paul Di’Anno and Bon Scott
In the early 80s Iron Maiden and AC/DC were about to hit the big time. Then they lost their singers.
In 1979 Sony released the most important piece of technology ever made. Forget the PC, the iPad, the iPhone, or the Remington Foot Spa. The Sony Walkman, that small box of whirring cogs, saved the lives of countless teenagers during the 1980s.
Me included.
I went to a boys boarding school from 1982 to 1992, and for ten years slept with 30 other boys in cold, high-ceilinged dormitories. Our only solace at night, a soft pillow, a box of tissues, and our Walkmans — if you had one.
Every night, I used to listen to music on a continual loop, sometimes until two or three in the morning. Lying on my bunk listening to Genesis, Level 42, UB40, Madness, Queen, Madonna, Elton John Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, and Erasure, to name a few.
First pleasure
One day, a kid at school called Bobby Blake gave me a couple of AC/DC and Iron Maiden cassettes. I knew the names, but as I wasn’t really into heavy metal, I wasn’t sure. Blake suggested listening to High Voltage, AC/DC’s first album, released in 1975. And Killers…
