Allan Fryer, frontman with Australian rock band Heaven, has died at the age of 60 following a long battle with cancer.
The Scots-born Australian auditioned for AC/DC following the death of Bon Scott in 1980, and believed he’d landed the job.
He formed Heaven under the name Fat Lip in 1980 and moved to Sydney shortly after, changing the name in the process. They went on to released three albums Twilight Of Mischief (1982), Where Angels Fear To Tread (1983) and Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (1985) and toured with artists including Dio, Kiss, Judas Priest and Motley Crue.
In a 1999 interview, Fryer said: “AC/DC were interested in trying me out – I just dropped everything. They took Bon’s voice out of the tapes on songs like Whole Lotta Rosie, Shot Down In Flames and Sin City. They shoved me in them.”
He was under the impression he’d been confirmed in the role, and the news had even leaked onto Australian TV by the time he got home. But he said: “The boys were in London trying out Brian Johnson. To cut a long story short, he ended up getting the gig.”
The news of his death was confirmed on the Heaven Facebook page. The band simply stated: “R.I.P - Edward Allan Fryer.”
