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| (L-R) Sculptor John McKenna, Bon Scott statue, AC/DC bassist Mark Evans |
A statue of AC/DC legend Bon Scott will be officially unveiled in the late singer’s Scottish hometown of Kirriemuir this weekend.
The Courier reports £45,000, 450kg bronze statue – funded by fans around the world – is the first in the country of the late rocker, who was born in Kirriemuir, Angus, but moved to Australia with his family when he was six.
The AC/DC landmark will have its official unveiling this Saturday as part of the 10th annual BonFest, a three-day music festival celebrating the singer’s roots.
“It’s amazing how many people don’t know that Bon Scott came from Kirriemuir,” says BonFest chairman John Crawford. “People know about J.M. Barrie and Peter Pan, but they are both famous sons of the town and there is room for them both.”
"In 2008, Bon's Australian home town, Fremantle, unveiled a statue of him. At that point we started thinking it might be good to have one here where he started his life,” said DD8 Music development worker Graham Galloway. "The unveiling will take place on Saturday, 30th of April, and will be carried out by some very special guests: Mark Evans, bass player on four of the Bon-era albums; Tony Currenti, drummer on AC/DC's first album; and Mary Renshaw, Bon's seamstress and 'soulmate.'
"We are looking at a total attendance of 3,700 and are expecting fans from all over the world to travel. We have confirmed travellers from the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Norway, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. All in all, it is shaping up to be an amazing weekend."
The statue, which took sculptor John McKenna three years to complete, presents a legendary Scott pose and is surrounded by a mosaic featuring his lyrics from a 1977 AC/DC classic: “And the music was good and the music was loud, and the singer turned to the crowd and said ‘Let there be rock’.”
Scott died in 1980 at the age of 33 after a night of heavy drinking in London.
Full details on the annual weekend event are available at bonfest.com
AC/DC will continue its “Rock Or Bust” world tour with European dates featuring Axl Rose in place of Brian Johnson starting May 7 in Lisbon, Portugal.
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