Paul Matters (14 October 1952 – 14 October 2020) was a bassist for the Australian rock band

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

in 1975, joining the group after the recording of their debut album ''

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...

''. He was fired by lead singer

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotland, ...

several weeks after joining the group and replaced by Mark Evans.

Career

Born in

Toronto, New South Wales Toronto () is a lakeside suburb within the city of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, approximately from Newcastle's central business district and is a commercial hub for the sprawling suburbs on the western shore ...

, Matters was the bassist of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

band Armageddon until parting ways with the group in 1974 over what drummer Les Gully described to AC/DC biographer Jesse Fink as "musical differences". Matters was hired by AC/DC and performed live on tour in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, but had not taken part in the recording of the group's debut album, which was recorded before his recruitment, and was then sacked from the group. According to Gully, Matters "didn't fit the values of the Young rothersoligarchy. ... He didn't really fit, had strong opinions and sensitivity, and played just what he liked." Matters only gave one press interview following his sacking by AC/DC in 1975, to Fink for the book ''Bon: The Last Highway'', in which he claimed that he was "a bit lazy" and "a bit cranky" but did not have enough money to eat: "I didn’t have any food in my stomach. They anagementdidn't give us any money to buy food or anything." Matters quit music after his departure from AC/DC in 1975. He lived on a disability pension for the rest of his life.

Death

Matters died of heart disease in his hometown of Toronto on 14 October 2020, his 68th birthday.

Career

Death

References

Further reading