Vince Lovegrove first met Bon in the mid 60s, with both of them belonging to small rock and roll bands in the Perth scene, when Bon was playing drums for the Spektors. The pair had struck up a friendship, and Vince noted that Bon had a very unique, guttural voice that would serve him better if he sang more. John Collins was the current singer of the Spektors, and there was no chance of Bon having a shot at singing full time for his current band, so he and Vince struck an accord to form a new band, one where they were both lead singers. Thus, the Valentines were born. Funnily enough, Vince recalls that he didn’t originally know what the band was going to be called, just that the concept is what they wanted.

Vince recalls how the Valentines were intended as a R&B based pop band, and they got caught up in the trend that was bubblegum music. They wrote all their own material, which was an important goal to them, however in order to garner a following they were required to play some songs they didn’t write: the established hits of the day. While they occasionally went back to their R&B roots, the popular audiences and big payouts that came with being Yet Another Bubblegum Band were a little too sweet to ignore any more. After some reflection, the Valentines decided to amicably split up, because they felt they had lost their way by chasing what was popular. Bon and Vince would then join Fraternity together. At a future date, Vince would act as a manager, and would introduce Bon to AC/DC. Bon would replace Dave Evans as vocalist – we all know how that turned out.

The Valentines split up because they felt they weren’t following their passions, and pursuing what they loved would prove to be the right move as we all know. Living through passion would lead Vince to become an AIDS awareness pioneer, especially after his second wife Suzi Sidewinder and their son Troy Lovegrove died of HIV/AIDS. He made a documentary about each one of them – “Suzi’s Story” and “A Kid Called Troy”. This also lead to a few written releases on this topic.

Living through passion would also become the mantra by which Bon and Vince lived their daily lives, and the tenet that would define their friendship. They bonded in similar circumstances, experienced a false image of success and rejected it together, then worked until they became the number one rock and roll act on the planet. Even to this day, the hard work of both Bon Scott and Vince Lovegrove is not forgotten and is appreciated in the hearts and minds of millions. We were extremely fortunate to get an interview with Vince before he tragically passed away in a car crash in 2012. Vince and Bon will both be dearly missed, both as rock and roll legends, and as empathetic and loving human beings.