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AC/DC Singer's Gravesite Vandalized

Hell's bells! Fans visiting the gravesite of original AC/DC singer Bon Scott made an unhappy discovery on Sunday: An honorary plaque identifying the grave as an Australian heritage site was missing, presumably stolen sometime the night before. Adding insult to injury, the discovery came on what would have been Scott's 60th birthday.

Doug Thorncroft, an AC/DC superfan and head of the Western Australia Bon Scott Fan Club, described the theft as "very disappointing, particularly at this very special time of the year."

"It may be somebody...who had just a little bit too much to drink on the Saturday night and thought they'd get a souvenir, maybe they're a big fan or it could be somebody with a grudge," Thorncroft speculated. "They're possibly sitting at home now feeling terrible, which I hope they are."

The National Trust of Australia has already announced plans to replace the plaque, which was stolen from Perth's Fremantle Cemetery. Scott was cremated and his remains are not actually at the site, but it is his official gravesite and a popular tourist attraction.

Bon Scott, born in Scotland and raised in the Western Australia capital of Perth, originally worked as AC/DC's chauffeur, but became the band's lead singer in 1974 when the group's original singer suffered an attack of stage fright and refused to perform. With Scott's snarling vocals, the band had a string of international hard rock hits throughout the '70s, including "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Highway to Hell," and "Let There Be Rock." He was found dead of apparent alcohol poisoning in a friend's car in London on February 20, 1980 at the age of 33.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
07.11.06