‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be – The Story Of Bon Scott’ is an absolute must-see show for any AC/DC fan.
Nick Barker performing for Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
The show debuted last night at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre for a limited two-week season.
‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’ is not a play. It is a stage show featuring anecdotes as told by his good friend Doug Parkinson and from a fans perspective by Melbourne musician Nick Barker.
Many people would associate Bon Scott with AC/DC but the Scottish singer had a long history in three Australian bands before he joined Acca Dacca at the age of 29.
‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’ tells the Bon story, not the AC/DC story, starting out with Bon as a kid in Scotland, the family migration to Perth in Western Australia, his marriage to Irene and his pre-AC/DC successes in The Spektors, The Valentines and Fraternity.
Bon’s time with AC/DC was short but efficient. Between 1975 and 1979 AC/DC recorded six albums with Bon, ‘High Voltage’, ‘T.N.T.’, ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’, ‘Let There Be Rock’, ‘Powerage’ and ‘Highway To Hell’.
The stories by Doug Parkinson about Bon Scott are revealing because he was there at the time. It is a first hand account of Bon from a mate’s point of view.
