Dave Evans, the original lead vocalist of AC/DC, has called himself the “best” of the band’s singers and revealed that his fans like to call him “maestro”.
Evans was a member of AC/DC from their inception in November 1973 until October 1974, when Bon Scott replaced him. While in the band, Evans recorded vocals for their debut single, Can I Sit Next To You, Girl, and its B-side, Rocking In The Parlour.
AC/DC later re-recorded Can I Sit Next To You, Girl with Bon Scott as they moved away from the glam rock sound of their past and edged closer to their blues-influenced hard rock.
Bon Scott sang for AC/DC until his tragic passing in 1980. The band continued with singer Brian Johnson, who remains with them to this day—only experiencing a short stint away in 2016 due to health issues, in which AC/DC toured with Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose on lead vocals.
In a new interview with José Luis Mata Sanchez posted to YouTube, Evans discussed the best singer of AC/DC, where he quipped, “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.”
That’s when Evans revealed that his fans call him “maestro”, which he loves. “It’s nice to be called maestro,” he said.
Later in the interview, Evans stated, “If you’re an AC/DC fan, you must embrace the whole band,” including himself, other founding members, and new singers. He also said that comparing Brian Johnson and Bon Scott isn’t possible as they’re “completely different”.
“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,” Evans said. “Without us, there’s no AC/DC at all. So, if you’re an AC/DC fan, then you must be a fan of the whole band. And if you’re biased against one or the other, then you’re not really an AC/DC fan.”
Telling Sanchez that there should be no division between the singers, he continued, “Without Bon and Dave, there’s no Brian. Without Dave, there’s no Bon. And so that’s the whole band. It must be celebrated by all the fans, and any fan that disparages any one of us can’t call themselves AC/DC fans, and they should be completely ashamed of themselves.”
You can watch the interview below.
Earlier this year, AC/DC unveiled a new-look touring line-up ahead of their upcoming European tour, starring bassist Chris Chaney (formerly of Jane’s Addiction), who’s “carrying the torch” for Cliff Williams, and the return of Matt Laug, who performed with the band on their epic return to the stage at the inaugural Power Trip festival in October.
