Original AC/DC Singer Dave Evans Says He Was the Band’s Best Vocalist
Original AC/DC singer Dave Evans picked which of the band's vocalists he thinks is the best, though he argued that "real" fans should appreciate all of the members past and present.
Evans was one of the founding members of AC/DC in late 1973, along with Malcolm and Angus Young, drummer Colin Burgess and bassist Larry Van Kriedt. Evans sang on the band's first official single "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl," which featured "Rocking in the Parlour" as the b-side.
Bon Scott replaced Evans as the group's vocalist in the fall of 1974, and released a handful of successful albums with them throughout the decade until his untimely death in 1980. Brian Johnson was recruited as their next singer a few months later, and has fronted the Australian outfit ever since.
During a recent interview with José Luis Mata Sanchez, Evans discussed the different eras of the band and named which of their singers he thinks is the best.
Evans Names the Best AC/DC Singer
"Well, first, Dave Evans is the best, of course. That's me, okay? Of course. And most of my fans will tell you exactly that, too," Evans asserted, adding that his fans called him "maestro."
However, the vocalist further argued that he, Scott and Johnson shouldn't be compared to one another because of how different their vocal styles are, and that only biased fans have a favorite.
"If you're an AC/DC fan, you must embrace the whole band, because first of all, there was the five founding members, and I'm one of 'em," he continued. "And if you're biased against one or the other, then you're not really an AC/DC fan. If you're a Bon Scott AC/DC fan or a Brian Johnson AC/DC fan, you're a fan of part of the band."
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Evans concluded that without him, there wouldn't have been a Bon Scott era in AC/DC, and without Scott, there wouldn't have been a Brian Johnson era.
Original AC/DC Singer Dave Evans Says He Was the Band's Best Singer
The Reason Evans Left AC/DC
Evans left AC/DC in '74 for financial reasons, explaining in an episode of the Guarda Volume podcast that they weren't getting paid, and he got into an argument with their manager because of it.
"I said to him, 'What's happening here?' I confronted him. We were all bitching about it. And he got up and smart-mouthed to me. So I got up and bang, knocked him down. And the other boys got me and pulled me off the manager," the singer recalled.
As a result of not getting paid adequately, Evans left the band.
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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner