Before embarking on the Japanese leg of Def Leppard‘s world tour in November, Rick Allen joined an interview with Forbes. Sharing his early experiences in the music industry, he recalled a memory with AC/DC’s Bon Scott:
“I remember sharing a cup of tea with the Bon Scott. We opened for AC/DC on their ‘Highway To Hell’ tour at three or four venues. And it just so happened that on my 16th birthday at the Hammersmith Odeon, Bon Scott came up and gave me a bowl of Smarties and wished me a ‘Happy Birthday,’ and we had a cup of tea together.”
In the past interviews, Allen described Scott as a ‘humble and quiet guy.’ This time, he delved more into his thoughts about the difference between his on and offstage personas, explaining:
“[He was] lovely, very unassuming. He didn’t strike me as being a wild man. What a huge loss. I remember watching the opening night of that tour. They came on stage and played ‘Live Wire,’ and they were one of the most powerful bands I’d ever experienced at that point: hard rock and roll, well-executed and well-crafted songs. Great musicianship, great singing. Everything a rock band, to my mind, needed to be.”
His early experience with the band and its former vocalist also affected the Def Leppard drummer’s musical choices when he made a list of all-time favorites for Spin last year. He put AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ on the number one spot and said:
“This album is raw, unapologetic Rock and Roll.”
Retelling his meeting with Scott, he added:
“I had to pinch myself… It was a birthday I will never forget.”
You can check out Allen’s new interview here.
