Bon Scott Letter From 1978 Goes to Auction
The handwritten note, which is up for auction with a current bid of $6,500, was written two years before his death at the age of 33.
He told his friend Valerie about challenges including the mental well-being of drummer Phil Rudd, living in debt to the band and drinking too much, and made reference to wanting to check himself into a sanitarium.
“Phil had a bit of a nervous breakdown and had to spend a lot of time with a shrink,” Scott wrote. “It was really bad but luckily he got over it quickly enough not to upset the band. We had to treat him with kid gloves for a bit but he's OK now.”
Apologizing for falling out of contact, he explained that he's "always traveling or drunk or hungover or ... or ... today I'm shaking so much I can hardly write, but I have been meaning to write you for weeks, so today I'm doing it. I had to stop making phone calls when I got too much in the red with the money situation. I'm already about $130 into this week's wages, but about two weeks ago I owed the band about $70 on pay day, and that's crazy. But being crazy is about the only way to keep my sanity, if you know what I mean.”
Scott described AC/DC’s touring schedule as “one hell of a blur” and admitted he was beginning to “feel and look just a little haggard." “I'd love to check myself into a sanitarium for a month, but after this tour it's straight to Europe & England for a month and then back here for the winter [and] end of the year," he added. "So the next time you see me, it might be in a geriatric ward.”
Changing the mood, Scott acknowledged he was "making it sound that life's hard at the moment, but I'm not complaining cause there's always good times, and we're selling lots of records and making people happy, so it can't be all that bad.” He said he was looking forward to spending “a month on the beach” at his mother’s home “before tearing into it all again.”
The letter is being sold by auctioneers Nate D. Sanders, with bids accepted until 5PM PT on Jan. 31.