AC/DC’s earliest recordings with founding vocalist Dave Evans have remained one of Australian rock’s great unknowns for more than half a century. While fans have long debated the extent of Evans’ contribution before Bon Scott’s arrival in late 1974, very little has ever been formally confirmed-until now.
Watch the new Noise11 Dave Evans interview with news about Rabbit as well
In a new interview with Noise11, Dave Evans has finally clarified exactly what was recorded in those formative months of AC/DC’s existence. According to Evans, five tracks were completed for what would have become the band’s debut album, before the group changed direction and re-recorded material with incoming vocalist Bon Scott.
“We had five songs down for the first album,” Evans tells Noise11. “‘Little Lover’, ‘Rock And Roll Singer’, ‘Soul Stripper’, plus the two singles ‘Can I Sit Next To You Girl’ and ‘Rockin’ In The Parlour’.”
Those two singles, released in 1974, stand as the only officially issued recordings featuring Evans as AC/DC’s frontman, marking the true beginning of the band that would go on to become one of the biggest rock acts in the world.
Evans also reveals that the band was preparing to record a sixth track, ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’, a song that later became part of the band’s early Bon Scott era repertoire. “I used to perform it with Angus on my shoulders,” Evans says. “Bon Scott copied that after joining. When Bon came in, he re-recorded those songs and rewrote some lyrics to material I had co-written.”
The original Dave Evans recordings-if they still exist-have never surfaced. “I don’t know if the original recordings are still around,” Evans admits.
Beyond the recorded material, Evans confirms that three additional original songs existed in AC/DC’s earliest setlists but were never taken into the studio. Those songs were ‘Stay For A While’, ‘Old Bay Road’, and ‘Midnight Rock’.
“Yes, they were all unrecorded,” Evans says. “Malcolm Young wrote Stay For A While and Old Bay Road. I wrote Midnight Rock.”
The only surviving evidence of these tracks appears on the extremely rare double live album In The Beginning, a bootleg-style release sourced from a rough live recording made at a Kings Cross pub during a rehearsal with new rhythm section members. The tape was later salvaged and issued without the band’s involvement, but it remains the earliest known live AC/DC recording.
“It’s a real historical snapshot,” Evans says.
Listeners who can track down the elusive release will hear the following performances:
Soul Stripper
No Particular Place To Go
Stay For A While
Carol
It’s All Over Now
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Rock & Roll Singer
Blue Suede Shoes / Shake Rattle & Roll / Tutti Frutti
Rockin’ In The Parlour
Bye Bye Johnny
Lucille
All Right Now
Baby Please Don’t Go
Honky Tonk Women
https://www.discogs.com/release/7053836-ACDC-In-The-Beginning
Among these performances is AC/DC’s unreleased early version of ‘Stay For A While’, sung by Evans, now viewable online.
As Evans continues to tour internationally and maintain a devoted following, the interest in AC/DC’s earliest era grows each year. With 2024 marking 50 years since the Evans-fronted AC/DC lineup toured Australia’s east coast pub circuit, renewed attention has been placed on the band’s origins and the material that paved the way for one of rock’s greatest careers.
Whether the original Evans-era studio recordings will ever emerge remains uncertain, but the singer’s recollections offer the clearest picture yet of AC/DC’s earliest creative steps. For historians, collectors, and diehard fans, these rediscovered details shed new light on the band that rewrote the rules of Australian hard rock.
Meanwhile, ‘Defenders of Rock’ was released on CD and digitally on October 31
Get it here:
https://rabbit.lnk.to/defendersofrock
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