The only AC/DC member the band were happy to lose: “People cheered when he left”
AC/DC’s first singer, Dave Evans, was replaced by Bon Scott after the band’s manager judged Evans’s glam-rock style too limited. Malcolm Young later said the band welcomed Evans’s departure, claiming people cheered because they could finally jam. Scott’s arrival brought new ideas and motivation, helping the group develop its sound.
Evans’s exit remains disputed: he said a physical confrontation with the manager over money was the main reason he left. He continued a music career and still tours smaller venues in South America. The article places the change in the context of AC/DC’s later line-up shifts, while Angus Young remained the only member to play at both the band’s first and final shows, according to the article.
- Malcolm Young said AC/DC were glad when Dave Evans left.
- Bon Scott brought new ideas and direction to the band.
- Evans said a dispute with the manager drove his departure.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The band’s perspective is that Evans’s glam-rock approach did not suit the sound they wanted to build, and his departure gave them room to experiment together. Malcolm Young’s account that the group could finally jam, alongside the motivation and ideas Scott brought, supports the view that the change helped AC/DC find its direction.
The case against
Evans’s account is that a dispute over money and a physical confrontation with the manager, rather than artistic fit, drove his exit. That makes the band’s later description of his departure as welcome an incomplete account of a contested episode, and Evans’s continued music career shows that leaving AC/DC did not end his work as a performer.