Bon Scott's Brother Discusses AC/DC Singer's Death For First Time

Derek Scott, brother of the late AC/DC singer Bon Scott, has publicly opened up about his rocker sibling for the first time in a TV documentary in the band's native Australia. He said it's the first and last time he'll grant such an interview.

On the Brink, the Bon Scott-focused docu-special produced by current affairs show Australian Story, premiered on ABC Australia on Monday (May 9). In a preview clip, Derek says that many stories written about his brother, who died in 1980, are "bullshit."

Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.

In On the Brink, Derek addresses Bon's alcohol abuse issues. Some mystery still surrounds the circumstances of the AC/DC singer's death, but it's known he died from alcohol poisoning in what authorities infamously classified "death by misadventure."

"He did get bored very quickly," Derek says of Bon, the influential AC/DC frontman whose real name was Ronald Scott. "That was the biggest problem. When he got bored, he drank. He never worried about tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day." (via Classic Rock)

Devastatingly, Derek also remembered the life-changing phone call his family received from the late AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young informing them of Bon's death.

"[Mum] thought, 'Oh, Ron's ringing me to say happy birthday,' which he often did," Derek shares. "Malcolm didn't have time to explain because it was hitting the airwaves, and he didn't want them to hear it on the radio. So he just said, 'Ron died.'"

In the preview for On the Brink, Derek justifies his decision to remain publicly silent about Bon all this time, explaining some of his feelings about his familial connection to the singer.

"Everyone's interested, and that's fantastic, but leave me out of it," he remarks. "People would [say], 'Yeah, you're Bon's brother,' and they'd start asking me questions. I'd just think, It's not my life."

Bon died at 33, months after AC/DC issued Highway to Hell with the singer. Vocalist Brian Johnson, who's still in the rock band today, replaced him for Back in Black.

Last month, a 53-year-old man was found dead at Bonfest, a festival held in Bon's honor in Scotland. Organizers acknowledged the death in a statement, which authorities suspected didn't involve foul play, and offered condolences to his loved ones.

Bon Scott's Brother Opens up on AC/DC Singer's Death on Australian Story

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