The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Last Rockstar makers start work on Bon Scott documentary
‘Deeply personal’ biography of rocker being turned into film
A “deeply personal” biography of Kirriemuir’s native son Bon Scott is to be turned into a documentary by a Sydneybased tech millionaire.
Helipad Records and X Studio owner Ron Creevey is the architect behind the upcoming Michael Hutchence documentary, Michael Hutchence: The Last Rockstar, which was produced by Mark Llewellyn.
The feature-length documentary is expected to hit cinemas at the end of the year to mark the 20th anniversary of the INXS singer’s death.
Creevey has started work on his next documentary, the story of Bon Scott, based on the book Live Wire by Mary Renshaw, John D’arcy and Gabby D’arcy.
Like the Hutchence documentary, Live Wire is described as the story of the person, not the band, as told by three of Scott’s best friends.
“Mark (Llewellyn) has done an incredible job maintaining a factual account of the final years of Michael’s life,” said Mr Creevey. “That same level of professionalism and attention to detail will drive the Bon Scott Live Wire story.”
Scott earned his keep in bands very different to AC/DC before hitting the big time – most prominently bubblegum pop outfit the Valentines in the late 1960s and prog-rockers Fraternity in the early 1970s.
John D’arcy was Scott’s roadie and friend and Gabby D’arcy met him in the Valentines. Mary Renshaw was – as AC/DC’S former bass player Mark Evans called her – Scott’s soulmate and companion.
“Ron Creevey treated the Michael Hutchence story with dignity and honesty,” said Mary.
“When we wrote Live Wire, John, Gabby and I wanted to show fans that there was a warm and genuine person behind the Bon image and that with all the glamour, there were equally as many struggles.”
Scott was born at the Fyfe Jamieson maternity hospital in Forfar in 1946 and his family lived in Kirriemuir, where father Charles Scott worked in the family bakery in Bank Street. In 1952, the family emigrated to Australia.
He became part of one of music’s biggest success stories after joining Glasgow-born brothers Angus and Malcolm Young in their band, AC/DC.
Scott died after a night out in London in 1980.