The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
To the faithful departed... AC/DC fans gather in Kirriemuir to honour Bon Scott and rock out at BonFest.
AC/DC fans gather in birthplace of Bon Scott for weekend of music and celebration
Angus’s annual invasion of AC/DC fans from around the globe is under way after events to mark the opening of 2017’s BonFest in tribute to Kirriemuir’s rock god son.
A new information board about baker’s boy Bon Scott, right, was revealed alongside the crowdfunded bronze statue of the front man on the Angus town’s Bellies Brae as the first visitors arrived for three days of music and celebration.
Ex-AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd is headlining the festival and has promised to pay homage to Bon in his performances during the weekend.
Rudd played in several Melbourne bands before joining up with the band formed by Glasgow brothers Angus and Malcolm Young and went on to appear on all but three of AC/DC’s 18 studio albums.
Another Melbourne visitor for the festival is Mary Renshaw, a close friend of Bon in his heyday who penned a book about their relationship as soulmates, and is making a return to Kirrie, having also been present for the statue unveiling last April.
The new information board was a collaboration between Bonfest organisers and community youth group DD8 Music, the town’s Gateway to the Glens Museum and Angus Alive.
It highlights Bon’s first experiences of music through his father Chic’s membership of the local pipe band and charts the story of success with one of the world’s biggest rock bands before his death in 1980, aged just 33.
A BonFest spokesperson said they are looking forward to another huge influx of visitors for the celebration, which will get started in earnest at 1pm today with a recreation of the famous Long Way To The Top video, when band Stinger will perform the song on a vintage flatbed lorry on a procession through the town.
“We’re lucky we are once again being supported by EventScotland’s National Funding Programme and are also part of VisitScotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology,” the spokesperson added.