AC/DC 1973-1980: The Bon Scott Years, a richly illustrated guide to the glory years of Australia's finest musical export by Jeff Apter, will be published on November 14th by Jawbone Press.

“We were a scandal in Australia. They love scandal there. Mums tugging their kids away from us on the street. Oh look - THEM!” - Malcolm Young to Rock Star magazine, March 1977

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 fan base that stretched from Australia to the UK and 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 the 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 ’N’ Roll Damnation", "High Voltage", "If You Want Blood", "Whole Lotta Rosie", "It’s A 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 live sets today.

Packed full of rare photographs and memorabilia, this large-format, full-colour 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, which prompted both an end and a new beginning for the band.

JAM Magazine recently reported that AC/DC ’s upcoming studio album will include the late Malcolm Young playing rhythm guitar on all tracks. Angus Young has decided to select the best tracks from those recordings that Malcolm played on and is now back in the studio recording and mixing them with fellow band mates Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams and Brian Johnson on vocals.

AC/DC are currently working at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studio in Vancouver with engineer Mike Fraser - who mixed and engineered the band's last three albums (Stiff Upper Lip, Black Ice and Rock Or Bust).

In 2016, Brian Johnson was forced to step down as AC/DC’s frontman after doctors told him to quit or go deaf. He was replaced on the road by Guns N' Roses singe Axl Rose. Malcolm Young died in November 2017 after suffering from dementia for several years.

Stay tuned for further updates as more information surfaces.