Noddy Holder Recalls Refusing AC/DC’s Offer Due To His Loyalty To Slade

Former Slade lead vocalist Noddy Holder recently appeared in an interview with NME and shared some significant points from his music career. Holder confirmed that AC/DC wanted him to join the band; however, he declined the offer as he was loyal to his band.

Bon Scott, who contributed to AC/DC’s successful albums like ‘Highway to Hell’ delivering lead vocals, deeply saddened the music scene with his sudden passing in the early ’80s. While Scott was in the process of working on the band’s upcoming record ‘Back in Black,’ one day, he passed away in his sleep.

When his friend could not wake the singer up in the morning, he was taken to the hospital, and his death was declared. The cause of death was announced as ‘acute alcohol poisoning.’ Although the band initially considered quitting, they decided to continue, especially with the encouragement from Scott’s family.

During this period, the members began to look for a new vocalist to replace the late frontman. The press mentioned the names like the Easybeats’ Stevie Wright and former Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser as potential replacements. Noddy Holder, who contributed to Slade since the mid-’60s, was another name the band considered recruiting.

In a recent interview, Noddy Holder confirmed that AC/DC wanted him to join the band, filling the space for the lead vocal in 1980. The singer said the band did not call him personally, but he learned about their wish later as the management prevented this replacement in the first place. Holder noted that he could not leave Slade due to his loyalty.

Noddy Holder said the following while confirming that AC/DC wanted him to join the band:

“I never got the call directly from them, but I found out later they wanted me to replace frontman Bon Scott when he died, but were cut off at the pass by our management. I was loyal to Slade and wouldn’t have left the band anyway.”

After considering many names, including Slade’s Noddy Holder, ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson impressed the AC/DC members during the audition and became the new frontman. On the other side, Holder kept going with Slade until his departure in 1992.