The AC/DC ‘Back in Black’ Track That Brian Johnson Ultimately Sang and Bon Scott Played Drums on in an Earlier Demo

Within the decade before joining AC/DC in 1974, Bon Scott was predominantly a drummer in bands, including the pop group the Spektors in 1964-1966. Later renamed the Valentines, Scott remained behind the drums before moving forward as the band lead vocalist and hitting the top 30 on the Australian chart with the band’s “Juliette,” before breaking up in 1970.

After another run with Fraternity, 1970 through 1973, and two albums, Scott was recruited as the new vocalist of AC/DC. Fronting the band for six years, Scott played on seven AC/DC albums, including their final one with him, Highway to Hell, in 1979, the band’s breakout album, which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and earned them their first gold album in the U.S.

Shortly after releasing Highway to Hell, AC/DC started work on their next release, Back in Black.

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‘Have a Drink on Me’

During the earlier sessions for Back in Black in London, Angus Young and Malcolm Young were playing around with riffs in the studio and recorded some demos with Scott on February 15, 1980, just four days before his death at 33.

While working through deeper cut “Let Me Put My Love Into You”—which later made Tipper Gore’s PMRC “Filthy 15” list in 1985—and another, “Have a Drink on Me,” Scott didn’t sing either track. Instead of working out lyrics or singing, Scott sat behind the drums for the demo versions of each to work out the music with with Angus and Malcolm.

Though Scott helped with drums on some of the initial demos, he died before he could contribute any of his lyrics to Back in Black. “Bon never really got the chance,” recalled Angus Young in 2011. “At the time, me and Malcolm were writing songs, which became the songs for ‘Back In Black.’ We were in London in a rehearsal room, and Bon had come down, too. And what used to happen was, me and Malcolm would get together and get a drum kit, and Malcolm would get behind the drums sometimes, and I’d get on the guitar and just tap out a riff. Or other times, Malcolm would get on the guitar and he’d get me to just knock out a simple beat on the drums.”

While the Youngs were working on a riff which would eventually become the intro for “Hells Bells,” Scott showed up to the studio. “Malcolm said, ‘Oh, great, Bon. You can get behind the kit, because originally Bon started as a drummer,” added Young. “So Bon got behind the drum kit so we could try and work out this intro, how we wanted to do it. So we sorted that out how we wanted. And the other one was ‘Have A Drink On Me’, a riff Malcolm was playing around with. So we worked out the intro on that and how the song was gonna go. So he had Bon tapped to do a demo for that.”

Young continued, “So that was it, really. If you were looking up what Bon had done, it was really just to help us with those demos on the drums. And he even said to us, as we were knocking off in the night time, ‘Look, we’ll hook up next week.’ He’d been working on some lyrics, and said, ‘We’ll hook up next week and maybe the three of us can just start going through stuff.’ But unfortunately, he passed before that.”

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“Have a Drink on Me”

Though it was later written by Angus and Malcolm Young and then-new vocalist, former Georgie frontman Brian Johnson, the band kept “Have a Drink on Me” on the album since it was a song Scott would have approved of if he were still around. The song follows the simple thread of buying your mate a drink to take his mind off his worries—Join me for a drink, boys / We’re gonna make a big noise / So, don’t worry about tomorrow.

Whiskey, gin and brandy
With a glass, I’m pretty handy
I’m tryin’ to walk a straight line
On sour mash and cheap wine

So, join me for a drink, boys
We’re gonna make a big noise
So, don’t worry about tomorrow
Take it today
Forget about the check, we’ll get hell to pay

Have a drink on me
Yeah, have a drink on me
Yeah, have a drink on me
Have a drink on me

I’m dizzy, drunk and fighting
On tequila, white lightnin’
Yes, my glass is gettin’ shorter
On whiskey, ice and wate

Released July 25, 1980, Back in Black was the first AC/DC album featuring Johnson and become the third-largest selling LP of all time, hitting No. 1 in the UK and Australia, and peaking at No. 4 in the U.S. “Have a Drink on Me” was never released as a single but remains a fan favorite from the band’s Back in Black era.

Photo: AC/DC (l to r) Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Cliff Williams, Angus Young, and Phil Rudd (Fin Costello/Redferns)