‘Bon: The Last Highway’ by Jesse Fink review

Date: 01/11/2023

Title: Bon: The Last Highway

Author: Jesse Fink

‘Bon: The Last Highway’ uncovers the truth behind one of rock n’ rolls most revered frontmen: AC/DC’s Bon Scott. The last years of Bon Scott’s life have remained shrouded in mystery, which has only fuelled the legend of a man who found himself struggling with alcohol, drugs, and a life on the road. The book tells the uncensored story of a key period in Bon’s life from 1977 until his tragic death on a cold night in London February 19 1980. As the story unfolds we hear details of his from former lovers, close friends, and an array of people who spent time with Bon during the final three years of his life. The book examines the suspicions many held about his involvement in writing a number of tracks on Back in Black, which the second highest selling album of all time, and one which Bon received no writing credits for.

Jesse Fink is no stranger to researching into the taciturn world of AC/DC. His first book, ‘The Young’s: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC’ tells the uncensored story of the often cold, selfish but determined attitudes of the three brothers who turned AC/DC into the biggest rock band in the world. In ‘Bon: The Last Highway’, Fink triumphs where so many other writers have failed: managing to separate the legend from the reality, and shedding light on the often uncomfortable truths of a man with very human flaws. If anything is to be marvelled it is the extensive research that it took to illustrate Bon Scott’s life. Fink travelled around the world, meeting up with Bon’s former lovers and close acquaintances, each of whom give first-hand insights into the singer’s life, which helps build a comprehensive and reliable account of how Bon’s final years unfolded. The book pays particular attention to the Bon’s time in the United States, where the band toured extensively in the late seventies. Fink unravels one of rock’s oldest and blurriest mysteries.