Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Bon’s boy back again for AC/DC fest return
THE worldwide AC/DC family has descended on Kirriemuir – including the son of town rocker Bon Scott.
Dave Stevens from Melbourne said he was thrilled to be back in Angus for the return of Bonfest after a two-year Covid break.
And as fans of the band arrived from around the globe for the three-day festival, Dave believes the dad he never knew would have revelled in the gathering.
“I’ve been here once before in 2018 and it was fantastic,” said Dave.
“Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.”
His mum met Bon at a Valentine’s gig when she was just 16. The Scott family had emigrated to Australia around a decade previously.
But Bon was yet to join the band formed by Glasgow brothers Angus and Malcolm Young which would become one of the world’s most successful rock outfits.
Dave was given up for adoption at the age of three months.
So he never knew his dad. It was only after he went through the freedom of information process to try to trace his biological parents when he turned 18 that his mother let him know the link to the rocker.
“In 2018 I arrived here in Kirriemuir and never knew anyone,” said Dave. “And when I left I knew everyone. It’s fantastic.
“I think he would have laughed to see all this for him.
“What inspires me is that no one who knew him has a bad word to say and they’re genuine.
“They all say he was a great bloke, kind and friendly and looked after his mates.”
Dave travelled from Melbourne with Mary Renshaw and Glenn Smith.
Mary, 71, is a former girlfriend of Bon and remained close to him until the frontman’s London death in 1980 after a night of heavy drinking. Scott was 33.
She first met the Kirrie rocker as an 18-year-old when she went to see his former band, The Valentines.
They stayed
lifelong soulmates, exchanging letters which Mary previously shared with fans at Bonfest exhibitions in Kirriemuir’s Gateway to the Glens museum.
Kirrie town centre and the Bon Scott statue was buzzing yesterday as the AC/DC influx flooded in.
The main festival site has moved to a new location at Kirrie Show field this year and will welcome around 1,500 fans today and tomorrow.
But thousands more will pack the town for free gigs in local pubs.
A highlight will be the recreation of the Long Way to the Top video on the back of a lorry through Kirrie this afternoon. Friday night headliners Thunderstruck from Australia will perform the hit.