CREATIVE WRITING COMPONENT: BAD BOY BOOGIE — THE ADVENTURES OF BON SCOTT DISSERTATION: BON SCOTT AND THE BLUES LYRIC FORMULA James P. Quinton Bachelor of Arts (Hons.), UWA. Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Hons.), UWA. This thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Arts (Creative Writing) at The University of Western Australia. School of Humanities 2015 ABSTRACT Creative Component: Bad Boy Boogie —The Adventures of Bon Scott Dissertation: Bon Scott and the Blues Lyric Formula Bad Boy Boogie — The Adventures of Bon Scott is a historical fiction on the life of Bon Scott. Scott was the original singer in the Australian band AC/DC. He was 33, in 1980, when he died. The novel intentionally blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction. By drawing on available literature and interviews with people who knew Scott, the novel develops a picture and chronology of his life. With this picture I distorted the chronology for dramatic effect. Some of the characters are based on real people, and some are fabricated. The objective is to bring Scott to life. The hope is that readers will get a sense of the context and circumstances that bought about his choices. The intended style of the novel is the picaresque form. The rogue protagonist, Bon Scott, works his way through life moving from one injustice to another. Scott meets most challenges with wit and humour. He is barely able to hold his job and often flirts with the boundaries of criminality. When it appears the main character has finally achieved his goal, once again something or someone conspires to restrict his advance. The novel is separated into six chapters, covering the most important periods in his life. The first chapter follows Scott’s juvenile delinquent phase. He is sentenced to nine months in detention and discovers his desire to be a rock and roll singer. Chapter two sees Scott in the pop group the Valentines. In chapter three Scott is in Adelaide-based band Fraternity. The chapter ends with Scott crashing a motorcycle and ending up in hospital. Chapter four follows Scott’s involvement in the early days of the band AC/DC. Chapter five traces AC/DC’s rise to success and concludes with the ejection of the bass player from the band. Chapter six details Scott’s health decline and simultaneous rise to the top of the music world. Bon Scott and the Blues Lyric Formula examines the question of how Bon Scott employed the blues lyric formula in the music of AC/DC. My argument is that because of the apparent ease of Scott’s delivery, little scholarly attention has been paid to the quality of his lyrics. To begin with, the dissertation aims to outline general theories in lyric formula literature and oral poetry studies. I draw on theorists such as Milman Parry, Albert Lord, David Evans and Michael Taft. To ground the dissertation historically, I give an outline of the social context and history that brought about the conditions for the creation of blues music. With this background I then describe and present the blues lyric formula as presented by Taft. Some objections to this model of the blues lyric formula are examined. 3 The dissertation moves to represent aspects of Scott’s life and examine how Scott was able to use the blues lyric formula. I attempt to show that because of Scott’s intimate musical knowledge, he was able to work within and build upon the blues lyric formula. Systematic comparisons between Taft’s twenty most common blues lyric formulas and Bon Scott’s lyric are undertaken. I conclude the dissertation by examining the importance of Scott’s work in relation to the blues lyric tradition. My conclusion is that Scott’s lyrics have a claim to the blues tradition both as a continuation of that tradition and a worthy addition in their own right. 4 CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FICTION AND DISSERTATION For Bon Scott, life on ‘the road’ was a series of ongoing performances. The process of record- ing was also a performance with the band preferring to record ‘live’ with limited overdubs and sound effects. Scott carried with him notebooks within which he would jot lines and ideas for songs. These notes would remain in draft form until the band entered the studio, where the lyrics would be considered in relation to the music and then edited in relation to a concept that would suit the tune in question. In the fiction part of this project I attempt to recreate the moments in time when Scott wrote the drafts of the songs which then become the compositions. I take it as a presupposition that Scott was so highly skilled and knowledgeable in his craft and that he was essentially composing and performing ‘in his head’. Put more clearly, Scott did not need the band to help draft the composition. The performance may well have taken place alone. Nevertheless it is misleading to suggest the performance is as complete and compelling without the expertise of the other members. To recreate the ‘moment in time’ is a major element in historical fiction. It is also, as Lord ar- gues, an integral part of oral poetry studies (Lord, 2000, 13). It could be argued historical fiction has a formula as much as the traditions of epic poetry or blues music. The concept of verisimili- tude, or truthful similarities crosses the work of both fiction and non-fiction. To ‘truthfully’ and factually represent Scott’s life would take thirty-three years, the amount of time he lived. In my research, I discovered that many of the resources on Scott’s life were unreliable. Many of the dominant myths were distortions of Scott’s character and often events were fabricated to support the view of that character. A peer-reviewed, academic biography of Scott’s life is a project yet to be undertaken. By interviewing people who knew Scott, I soon learned that the majority of the quotes in authoritative texts were not word-for-word transcriptions of interviews but paraphrased sound bites recreated later. Many interviewees have became disgruntled with the manipulation of their memories. Journalists and writers were perpetuating the myths rather than critically analysing them. I do not present these inconsistencies as a sort of trial of process. Rather, the point is to suggest that my own processes will be, and are, flawed. My conclusion then, is that it is better to say the work is completely fictional. I need always to start from the sources that are reliable, and these are the lyrics and letters we know to be the works of Scott. In the creative component of this thesis, I have taken these letters and lyrics and attempted to recreate the moments in time when they were written. Some of the letters in the novel are based on letters Scott wrote, and some are fictionalised. The lyrics in the novel are intended to be read as imagined drafts of the songs that would be published on the AC/DC albums. The dissertation aims to disclose the tradition to which those lyrics belong. 5 STUDENT DECLARATION Statement of candidate contribution: I certify that this thesis has been written by me, and reserve my rights as the author of this work. This thesis contains only sole-authored work, none of which has been published and/or prepared for publication under sole authorship. I certify that all the sources of information and assistance used in the research for writing of this thesis have been properly acknowledged. I certify that the work in this thesis has not been previously submitted, in whole or part for the requirements of any other degree. James Quinton 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gratitude to my supervisors and friends John Kinsella and Stephen Chinna for their patient advice, comment and encouragement. To Van Ikin for his administrative dexterity, and to the University of Western Australia staff. Thank you to my partner Rosemary Halsmith. Thank you to Bon Scott’s friends who opened their doors and hearts. In no particular order: Lyn and Brian Gannon, Maria Short, Murray Gracie, Bruce and Anne Howe, ‘Uncle’ John Ayres, Carol Anderson, John Freeman, Fifa Riccabono, Silver Smith, Gabby and Darcy, Michael Browning, Sue Lovegrove, Chris Gilbey, Peter Head, Rob and Theresa Booth, Martin Johnson, Ian Meldrum, Paul Drane, John Bissett, Vicki De Bellis and Mary Renshaw. To Clinton Walker and Tim Fisher for their time. Thank you to my friends and family for support and dialogue — Neil and Julie Collins, Mau- reen Murray, Stanley Bill, Mathew Hall, Lorenz Gude, Jim Mitchell, Keith Ashbolt, James Ricks, Hugo and Paul Clifford, and Peter Stafford. Thanks to the Welke family for the roof over my head. Thank you to Alan Sanders and Alan Dawson for providing access to Riverbank Detention Centre. The novel is dedicated to Justin Quinton who encouraged me to listen to Bon Scott. 7 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 3 CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FICTION AND DISSERTATION 5 STUDENT DECLARATION 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7 CREATIVE WRITING COMPONENT: BAD BOY BOOGIE - THE ADVENTURES OF BON SCOTT 13 DISSERTATION COMPONENT: BON SCOTT AND THE BLUES LYRIC FORMULA 137 9 10 CREATIVE WRITING CONTENTS BAD BOY BOOGIE — THE ADVENTURES OF BON SCOTT • ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SINGER 14 THE VALENTINES 34 FRATERNITY 49 AC/DC 75 GONE SHOOTIN’ 97 HIGHWAY TO HELL 114 11 12 BAD BOY BOOGIE — THE ADVENTURES OF BON SCOTT I won’t tell you a story, tell you no lie I was born to love til the day I die. Bon Scott - Bad Boy Boogie 13 ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SINGER Fremantle - 1962 I blame school. All this sitting still and same old, over and over.