AC/DC: Bagging A Bit Of BON SCOTT
May 4, 2006Patrick Donovan of The Age's "Sticky Carpet" (web site) has issued the following report:
South Yarra's Leonard Joel auction house had never seen anything like it. Last month, mingling with conservative art collectors, were some black-clad hard-core AC/DC fans wanting to take home a piece of Bon Scott history.
The singer's former wife Irene had decided to sell her collection of personal letters from Bon as well as their wedding photos, his shaving mirror and a test pressing record.
With much interest from overseas, Sticky made a plea a few weeks ago for an Australian fan to buy them. After the first two items were surprisingly passed in, two bidders, including a representative from Cherry Bar in AC/DC Lane, went head to head for the mirror.
The room buzzed with excitement as they traded bids like ping pong balls before an anonymous Australian bidder, who had earlier picked up the vinyl, paid an astonishing AUD $12,540 for the black leather-encased shaving mirror, given to Scott by his mum.
Asked what he was going to do with the items, he said: "I am going to love them". But Cherry Bar wasn't going to let it rest there; they later bought the photos and letters for an undisclosed sum.
Cherry owner Bill Walsh said he wanted to share the rare items with all AC/DC fans at the band's spiritual Victorian home. "The content of these letters is quite incredible. Like the song "Ride On" they are the detailed notes of a lonely, mischievous Aussie rock legend with a heart of gold on a highway to hell."
Walsh and partners plan to display the 70 never-before-seen photos (circa 1972) and 16 letters, postcards, cards, marriage and divorce certificates at Cherry in the near future.
"It's fair to say our accountant wants to kill us," says Walsh, "but I see this as a genuine investment. I mean, Bon ain't writing any more letters!"
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