Original AC/DC Drummer Colin Burgess Dead at 77

Former AC/DC drummer Colin Burgess has died at the age of 77.

The news was confirmed on AC/DC’s social media: “Very sad to hear of the passing of Colin Burgess. He was our first drummer and a very respected musician. Happy memories, rock in peace Colin.”

No cause of death has been announced.

Burgess served as the band’s original drummer, playing with them from November 1973 to February 1974. He appeared on their first single, “Can I Sit Next To You Girl,” which was later re-recorded with Phil Rudd on drums. Burgess was fired from the group for being drunk on stage, which he would allege occurred because someone had spiked his drink.

Prior to AC/DC, Burgess was the drummer for a band called the Masters Apprentices from 1968 to 1972. They enjoyed a number of hit singles in their native Australia, including “5:10 Man,” “Think About Tomorrow Today,” “Turn Up Your Radio” and “Because I Love You.” In 1998, they were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Hall of Fame.

Burgess later claimed he might have been present at the Music Factory in London on the night AC/DC singer Bon Scott died in 1980, and though he couldn’t remember for sure, he didn’t recall Scott being intoxicated. “I cannot remember Bon being drunk enough to kill himself in a car,” he said, as noted in Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC’s Back in Black.

Following his time with AC/DC, Burgess continued to play music. Along with his brother, Denny, he formed His Majesty with Japanese singer Yukiko Davis and Spike Williams on guitar. He and Denny also performed as the Burgess Brothers Band, and in later years, Burgess was a member of the Dead Singer Band, which paid tribute to deceased Australian singers.