THE BEAST

KROKUS   singer   Marc Storace   says that he has no regrets about turning down a chance to audition for   AC/DC   more than four decades ago.

The 70-year-old Maltese-born vocalist — whose band had opened for   AC/DC   in the past — passed on the opportunity to try out to replace the late   Bon Scott   in 1980.

In February of that year,   Scott   died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking at a club in London, just days after attending a session with   Malcolm   and   Angus Young   where they began working on music for what became the   "Back In Black"   album.

"Back In Black"   was the first album   AC/DC   released after singer   Brian Johnson   replaced   Scott , and it went on to become the third-biggest-selling LP of all time.

Asked in a new interview with   Barbara Caserta   of Italy's   Linea Rock   if he ever wonders what could have been had he gotten the   AC/DC   job,   Storace   responded (as transcribed by   BLABBERMOUTH.NET ): "That's a hypothetical question. It's all open to fantasy and dreams, but reality can take a different direction. And at that moment, I thought, 'Well, I'm sitting on my high horse, enjoying success with   KROKUS .' My debut album [with   KROKUS ],   'Metal Rendez-Vous' , went like a rocket. We did   'Hardware'   and we had, actually, a brand new light show, which arrived from Birmingham. And the CEO of that company in Birmingham — the whole hard rock scene, the center was Birmingham;   LED ZEPPELIN   and everyone else, and   AC/DC , they were all doing their production stuff there. And the guy took me to the side, the CEO, because he drove down to show us this new light show computer, which we'd never seen one like that [before]. And then he took me on the side and he said, 'Would you like to audition for   AC/DC ?' And I said, ' Steve , I'm so happy here. Things are happening, and we're gonna go places. And these are my new mates.' I had a kind of loyalty. I was really thankful that I joined   KROKUS   because it suddenly happened. And I had been trying in many different ways. And even with [Swiss progressive rockers]   TEA , though we had enjoyed an amount of success, it was nothing like what we achieved later on with   KROKUS . So, looking back at this little guy in Malta, where there's no record companies, no big rock and roll life and no tours the way I dreamed of and everything, and looking at Switzerland, where actually it's more known for the banks and the chocolates and the watches than hard rock bands, and seeing how far that   KROKUS   got to, I think we should be thankful. And that's the way I feel; I feel thankful for what I've achieved with these guys."

He continued: "The thing about   AC/DC   is it's not realistic to think that way, when you think why I decided that way. And I wouldn't change a minute. I'm happy. I have a loving wife. I have two beautiful children. They're intelligent. They're doing their own thing. I have my own house. I'm an ambassador for [the French car company]   Peugeot . It's great to be alive. And that's why I'm doing my solo album. And I don't wanna stop."

Six years ago,   Storace   said that he would "certainly" accept an invitation to step in for   Johnson   after the   AC/DC   frontman was advised by doctors to stop touring or risk total hearing loss.

Marc   admitted in a previous interview that he initially had some understandable reservations about being repeatedly compared to   Scott , feeling he was being "branded as a copy of somebody who, at the time, I didn't even know that well." But he eventually started seeing things differently. "Today, I look at is as a big compliment. I think he probably had many of the same idols I had, and we were both gifted with the same vocal tonalities."

Back in 2000,   Storace   released an album with a project called   DC WORLD   in which he sang   Bon Scott -era   AC/DC   songs. Audio samples from that effort can be heard in a   YouTube   clip below.

Storace 's first-ever solo album,   "Live And Let Live" , was made available in Switzerland in December and was released in North America earlier this month.

Via Blabbermouth