More than 150,000 people in Perth, Australia turned out over the weekend for a massive musical parade in tribute to AC/DC and its late singer Bon Scott. The event, dubbed “Highway to Hell," was not just a march but a concert on wheels, as several music acts performed AC/DC songs along the route.
According to Australia’s ABC News, the “Highway to Hell” parade took place Sunday (March 1st), serving as the showcase event of this year’s Perth Festival. A number of AC/DC tribute bands, as well as the Perth Symphony Orchestra, performed the iconic act’s songs nonstop while traveling on flatbed trucks and trailers.
Sunday marked 40 years to the day that Scott was buried in Fremantle Cemetery, where his grave is considered a national monument. The legendary singer died on February 19th, 1980 after recording six studio LPs with AC/DC and was replaced by Brian Johnson.
AC/DC guitarist Angus Young told us a while back that he and Scott got along so well because they shared the same sense of humor and both had rebellious streaks: "Well, Bon was just… he was just one of those people. We have a tendency to laugh a lot about… things that go on. You know, Bon was the same. And I think if you're playing rock and roll, there's just a streak of rebellion in you, you know?" SOUNDCUE (:15 OC: . . . you, you know.)
The event opened with Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan, declaring, “Let there be rock!” and ringing a “hell’s bell.” McGowan, who was sporting an AC/DC T-shirt, said, “People will talk about (this event) for years to come. It will be one of those, very, very unique West Australian events that will go down in history.”
The parade also featured a record-breaking air guitar performance, with more than 3,500 people strumming along to “Highway To Hell."