ROCK’N’ROLL SINGER by AC/DC. Story by Robert Lastdrager.

Collingwood, Melbourne.

April 20^th, 2005

Bon Scott lives.

For months I walked past an old, abandoned hotel in Collingwood and occasionally peered through its smashed windows and steel bars.

Inside the walls were sprayed with graffiti, the floors covered with broken glass and burnt paper and in the centre of the room stood an old safe that had been blown open.

This morning the sun fell upon green felt pen graffiti with a large cross and the words “BON SCOTT Lives”.

I stopped and was compelled to read the verse. For the rest of the day, I couldn’t get the power, resolve and pertinence of those words out of my head. Later I returned and took the shot through a broken window. Within a week the auction signs were hung, and the windows boarded up.

These lyrics had a powerful effect on me, even though I’ve been playing in rock and roll bands for over forty years. They reminded me that the lyricist has the power to inspire pride and respect, to make people feel strong, and to connect with people in all walks of life. Good lyrics, honest lyrics, true words don’t age, and neither does having a good time.

I’d like to thank whoever scrawled those lines from Rock and Roll Singer on that wall. In a world of neon signs and endless advertising angles this was the most uplifting piece of graffiti I’ve read in a long time.

Stereo Story #762