Tag: Fremantle

Bon Finds a Home at Last

greg finishing touches on pedestal

While the world goes nuts over accadacca’s new album, in Fremantle, some quieter developments long overdue…

These pix were sent to me by Gabby and Darcy, courtesy of Greg James, the sculptor who made the bronze statue of Bon in Fremantle.

[The photos are by “Genm152”, whose handiwork can also be seen here: flickr.com/photos/fun4me/]

Finally, it seems that the statue has found a home at the fishing boat harbour. And by the looks of the photo above, it was worth waiting for Greg to finish the custom Marshal amp which is Bon’s pedestal. It looks amazing!

Here’s Bon being craned out of the ute on site:

bon crane ute fremantle

Here he is being forklifted into position:

bon forklift

And finally, the proud sculptor with his work:

bon with greg

Apparently, there was a ceremony yesterday to celebrate the final placement. Thanks to the kind anonymous soul who sent me through some photos and movies live from the event. Unfortunately, my mobile phone is so old, it struggles to read those big files.

Any chance of emailing through those pictures to me? lucas[at]bonscottblog[dot]com

update: (29 Oct 2008)

Andre from the Fremantle Arts Centre went along to the unveiling ceremony for the pedestal-and-statue. He said it was a surprisingly modest affair, considering the potential volume of Bon’s fan base. There has been a change of government in Western Australia, and the minister in charge of this bit of land, Alana McTiernan, is no longer in power. Apparently she was a big AC/DC enthusiast, and one imagines that her successor has different tastes. Anyway, the Mayor, Peter Tagliaferri, presided over the ceremony. Does anyone else who was there have anything to add to this brief account??

Andre took the following photos on the day (thanks to Jasmin for emailing them through). [By the way, you can click on these images to see them a bit bigger…]


unveiling at cicerellos

unveiling at cicerellos

A Ghostly Apparition!

apparition of Bon Scott

A ghostly apparition (albeit a rather zany one) of Bon Scott has been spotted under “the new bridge” in Fremantle.

I raced down on my bike to shoot the above snap. The apparition seems to glow in the dark. When I went back the next day, I took some closer shots:

bon scott apparition daylight

Maybe it’s painted with luminescent paint? Here’s another day shot:

apparition daytime

If you wanna go check it out, here’s the location on google maps.

21 characters, 4 lines…

lcd sign

Yesterday Jasmin and I went down to visit John Longley from the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce. He’s kindly agreed to let us use the Freo red LCD sign. As you drive into Fremantle, over “the old bridge”, you inevitably sit at the traffic lights for an aeon and stare at this electronic billboard. It says things like

DONT DROP
LITTER
IN
FREMANTLE

or

QE2 SHIP IN PORT
WED 5TH MARCH
LAST CHANCE AT
PASSENGER TERMINAL

or

OUTDOOR FILMS
TONIGHT AT FILM AND
TELEVISION INSTITUTE
STARTING 7:30 PM

or (my favourite)

FAREWELL TO CITY OF
FREMANTLE CEO, RAY
GLICKMAN. TODAY
IS HIS LAST DAY.

Continue reading “21 characters, 4 lines…”

Lost Saints

daniel and josh in freo
[Daniel and Josh waiting for the truck to arrive…]

Bec gave me the hot tip, so I raced down to the Fremantle train station to witness a re-enactment of AC/DC’s It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll). Way back in 1976, on this very day, 23rd of February, AC/DC shot a video clip of the song in downtown Melbourne. They travelled down Swanston Street on a flatbed truck, accumulating a small crowd along the way. The video clip, and the event, have become something of a local legend. A few years ago in Melbourne, a street called Corporation Lane was renamed AC/DC Lane as a memorial to this great moment in rock history.

I arrived just before noon. Small groups were starting to cluster around the station, hiding from the sun under shady trees, craning their necks this way and that in order to catch a first glimpse of the truck. I wandered over and took a photo of two eager young fans, Daniel and Josh. They’re only 16 years old. Daniel told me he’s been listening to AC/DC for four years now. He first became aware of their music while playing a video game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The song T.N.T. appears as background music to this skateboarding game, and that’s how Daniel got hooked. He also told me a curious story about his “Pop” and Bon hanging out together. The two rascals once “borrowed” a hotted up Holden to go joyriding around Freo. That must have been sometime in the 1960s I guess. Daniel’s Pop is now 62 years old.
Continue reading “Lost Saints”

Last Minute Hot Tip

Word on the street is that there will be a band playing Long Way to The Top, complete with bagpipes, parading through the streets of Fremantle today.

My secret informant told me to be at the train station at high noon. The parade will depart from the square outside the station and then wend its way through Freo’s “Cappuccino Strip”.

That’s all I know. See you all there!

– – –

UPDATE, 6pm Saturday:
lost saints play long way to the top
The Band was “The Lost Saints”. Click on the image above to see more photos, along with a few surprises! Today was a day for impromptu celebrity meetings, with none other than Bon’s old mate Mary Renshaw and former AC/DC bassist Mark Evans!! (Thanks to Bill and Ashley for making the introductions. I’ll write up the full story soon…)

PS:
I spent this arvo at a photoshoot with a bunch of terrific Scarborough bogans. Thanks to Ava for setting it all up for Bec Dagnell, the photographer. See my pictures of Bec shooting the fans here.

Bec’s doing a project where she shoots fans in their own environments, and a selection of these shots will be presented in the Bon Scott Project exhibition in May. If you want to book in for a shoot (its free!) get in touch (email lucas[at]bonscott.blog or just leave a comment below) and I’ll pass your details along to Bec…

At the Cemetery

a sip for bon

[David giving Bon a sip…]

Yesterday was the anniversary of Bon Scott’s death. I kept a vigil all day in Fremantle Cemetery, resting in the shade of a tree near Bon’s grave.

Even though I had never been to the cemetery before, I was aware that Bon’s grave, like Jim Morrison’s in Paris, has long been the most popular slab in Freo’s city of the dead. Fans from all over the world make their way to Bon’s final resting place to pay their respects.

Rumour has it that a few weeks back, none other than heavy metal legends Iron Maiden were chauffeured to the cemetery to have a drink with Bon. Apparently this kind of thing happens all the time.
Continue reading “At the Cemetery”