On Wednesday, it was revealed that the former bassist of legendary rock band AC/DC Paul Matters passed away, but the cause of death was not reported.
Matters’ friend Rod Wescombe shared the news of Matters’ death on Facebook. Wescombe shared a touching tribute about his friend and fellow bassist.
“Shocked and sad to hear of the passing of Paul Matters,” Wescombe wrote. “I first met Paul in 1973 when he was playing bass in ‘Armageddon’ at a gig in Hamilton, Newcastle N.S.W. When I was living in Toronto he would drop into the house in the late hours to party and he loved to party.”
“I recall he could always make me laugh when he was in the mood,” Wescombe continued. “After leaving New South Wales I lost contact with him as did many other people over the years. From all reports he lived a reclusive life in his later years and his early rock n’ roll life style led to ailing health. He will be missed by all who knew him.”
AC/DC Bassist Matters’ Short Stint With the Band
In 1975, the bassist played with the classic rock band while they recorded their hit album High Voltage. At the request of lead singer Bon Scott, bassist Mark Evans replaced Matters just weeks after he joined AC/DC. The reclusive Australian rocker only ever officially spoke to author Jesse Fink about his short-lived stint with AC/DC.
In 2017, Fink wrote a book based on AC/DC’s original lead man Bon Scott titled “Bon: The Last Highway.” The bassist confessed that he, “was only with them a short time. I did the High Voltage tour around Australia.”
In addition, Matters spoke to Fink about Scott firing him from the band. In the book, Fink wrote:
“He got out the back of a truck… and he told me I wasn’t going back to Melbourne with them. We were up in Sydney doing a concert for schoolkids. So I didn’t play that day. I just turned around and didn’t say a word to him. I turned around and walked out.”
Recently, the iconic Australian rock band announced the release of a new album titled Power Up, which will be released on Nov. 13. The lead single called “Shot in the Dark” has already flown up the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart and sits at No. 5 on the list.
[H/T FOX News]
