A renaming of a boulevard and town square, a new theatre, an arts installation, a massive tribute concert, the lighting of a tourist landmark, and the setting up of a memorial park.

These are ideas being tossed about in three Australian cities on how to honour AC/DC when The Seedies ride around the country in November and December. 

It’s not just that the band soundtracked the lives of many generations, or sold 200 million albums worldwide with an estimated worth of US$380 million.

But their cultural impact extends to the current Mitsubishi Outlander ad which uses It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock’n’Roll). 

Cutely based around the schoolyard pun of It’s A Long Way To The Shop If You Want A Sausage Roll it struck a chord with Australians. Adam Rose, Chief Creative Officer at creative agency Richards Rose reckoned, “We have heard reports of a spike in sausage roll sales across the country, so we’re quietly hopeful of snagging an Effie [awards for ads which make an impact] for that.”

Melbourne, VIC

It’s not often a rock song is heard during a City of Melbourne committee meeting.

But that’s what happened last week when the Future Melbourne Committee updated plans at Town Hall on welcoming AC/DC back to town.

It came at the tail end of a three-and-a-half hour and tiring broader session. “It’s been a very long night and I think we have to put us in the mood,” Cr. Mark Scott quipped before blasting out a bit of a recording of Thunderstruck.

The Committee got in the mood enough, ending up unanimously approving a budget of $110,000 for two key events.

One is a free tribute concert at Federation Square “showcasing a high profile tribute act to be announced shortly,” Cr. Scott advised. 

With a date to be announced, it is expected to draw thousands of fans “and generate $1.5 million benefit to hospitality, transport and retail.” Other “exciting” events will be unveiled in time.

Funding would be shared with the State Government as well as with “corporate partnerships and co-investment opportunities.”

A large crowd would be expected: Cr. Chris Thrum, a musician and busker, assured his colleagues in the run-up to the vote that the band of the hour had sold out two 100,000-strong shows at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds.

He also recalled attending Robbie Williams’ free impromptu show at Federation Square this January. It drew 10,000 fans and the singer was presented with the key to the city by Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

“There was an incredible buzz and excitement, and hopefully we can replicate that kind of atmosphere.”

Over six people in Council worked on logistics for the concert and celebrations, including liaising with AC/DC’s record label Sony Music.

These were based around the video for It’s A Long Way, which saw the band play on a rolling flatbed truck down Swanston St. and end up at what is now known as Federation Square.

Cr. Scott said of the video, “It didn't just immortalise our city on the global stage but it really did help cement Melbourne’s identity as Australia’s live music capital.”

It was earlier hoped that the current lineup would get into the spirit by recreating the video, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next February.

But that was always a false hope: after playing the song 235 times in concert, Angus Young and Brian Johnson retired the song after frontman Bon Scott’s death in tribute.

In either case, that recreation – which would have incurred expenses including the staging of the concert, closure of road and tram, and safety & security –  would have cost $1 million. 

The second initiative for the November affair is a new light installation on AC/DC Lane, to highlight the site and increase its profile as an international tourist destination.

Cr. Scott urged his Council colleagues: “Let’s show the world that when Melbourne does AC/DC we don’t just turn up the volume, we truly leave people thunderstruck.”

Cr. David Griffith, who’d attended the AC/DC concert ten years ago, hinted that AC/DC should contribute financially to the City of Melbourne, the way the millions of dollars of profit from Ozzy Osbourne’s final show were donated to a children’s hospital, a hospice and the Cure Parkinson’s charity in his hometown of Birmingham.

Burwood, Sydney, NSW

Burwood in Sydney’s Inner West is where the Young family settled in after their move from Glasgow in 1963.

They lived in a couple of addresses in the area. The best known was at 12 Burleigh St. The Burwood Council wrote on its website: “At one stage in their early fame crowds of young people started to gather around the house on Burleigh Street – breaking windows, obstructing the street and even breaking into the house.”

Last April, when Burwood celebrated its 150th anniversary, it commissioned a Malcolm and Angus mural on the street and a 300-strong choir performed a medley of Akka-Dakka klassiks at a street party.

The mural will be updated to include elder brother George, the family’s first global celebrity as guitarist and songwriter with The Easybeats.

Calling Burwood the “home of AC/DC”, Council is spending $57.8 million to remind global and Australian music tourists of that. A social media post by Mayor John Faker outlined the plans.

Railway Square – at the corner of Burwood Rd. and Railway Pde., and currently an area adorned with street art – becomes AC/DC Square. It will have individual life-sized bronze statues of Angus, Malcolm and George.

The new 300-seat theatre in the $50 million Burwood Culture House will be called the Young Theatre. The building replaces the car park beside the Burwood library and community hub just three blocks from the Young’s old home.

When the band get to Sydney in November, they get an official invitation to attend, and cut the ribbon for the opening of the renamed square.

Faker emphasised that these plans had been on the drawing board, and not a knee-jerk reaction to the public backlash when 12 Burleigh St was demolished by developer Burwood Square Pty Ltd. 

It had bought the house in February 2023 for $5.8 million, also acquiring the house next door to build a $28.75 million 39-storey development with offices, apartments and a hotel.

The developer apologised saying it had not been made aware of its cultural significance. In 2015, an independent assessment commissioned by Burwood Council passed on giving it heritage protection.

In a peace offering, the new building is expected to be marked with a blue plaque to denote its place in rock history.

Faker said that Burwood’s homage would eclipse Melbourne’s AC/DC Lane. “While it’s a dedication, I don’t think it’s impressive,” he sniffed.

Burwood’s focus on all-things Young is inspired by Liverpool’s homage to The Beatles, which brings nearly £82 million (AU$168.9 million) to the English city’s economy each year, and supports 2,335 jobs.

Faker emphasised: “We’re not forgetting what AC/DC contributed to world music, and we’ll celebrate that here in Burwood. 

“When Angus comes home this November, we’ll be ready to shut down the streets to give them the welcome they deserve.”

City Of Melville, WA

The City of Melville, WA, is currently number-crunching what it will cost to give a permanent tribute to AC/DC’s second singer Bon Scott.

Melville is 12km south of Perth’s central and east of Fremantle.

Scott grew up here, and experiences such as riding on his bike down the dangerous Canning Highway to meet up with mates in watering holes such as Leopard Hotel (which last week revealed it was closing) and The Raffles found their way in songs as Highway To Hell.

He was also laid to rest at the Fremantle Cemetery in Palmyra. 

According to Melville Deputy Mayor, Karen Wheatland, who set the process in motion, it’s been looking at possible sites since July.

These include renaming a local thoroughfare Bon Scott Boulevard, the naming of an existing park or performance space, or a public artwork in conjunction with local musicians and visual artists.

She recounted, “The story of Bon Scott and AC/DC is a huge part of our unique shared story and local history. The Raffles Hotel, where Bon and AC/DC performed many legendary gigs, is right here in Melville.

“Bon Scott is one of Australia’s most iconic cultural figures and his connection to Palmyra forms part of the rich musical and social history of the City of Melville.”

AC/DC and management have been invited at the unveiling of the spot, when they arrive in Perth for two shows in December.

The Melville gambit has started a good-natured slam-back from Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge who insists Fremantle has a better claim to the singer.

She pointed out to Perth Now it was Fremantle which set up a Bon statue in the Fishing Boat Harbour in 2008, his grave is in Fremantle Cemetery, he went to North Fremantle Primary School, played drums in the Fremantle Scots Pipe Band, and attended John Curtin Senior High on 90 Ellen Street.

“He even did a short stint in Fremantle Prison’s assessment centre after a run in with the law,” Firzhardinge added. “If Melville think they can claim Bon, they’re going to get Shot Down In Flames!”

And There’s Also Glasgow…

There’s an upsurge in a push to set up a statue of Malcolm and Angus in their birthplace of Glasgow as part of the city’s 850th birthday celebrations this year.

Thomas Kerr, former leader of the Conservative Group on Glasgow City Council, wants something in the suburb of Cranhill where he and the Youngs grew up. “This is something I’m still pushing heavily for.”