Bon Scott memorabilia up for bids
AC/DC front man Bon Scott has been hailed as one of the all time greatest rock legends. Now, 26 years after his tragic death, Scott’s ex-wife has decided to auction off some of his most personal possessions, in a move that has drawn sharp criticism from some fans.
Irene Thornton was married to Bon Scott for only two years, but their devotion for each other carried on long after the divorce papers were signed. Thornton’s decision to auction some of her ex-husband’s belongings and consequently make public their love, and his fight with drugs and alcohol, has caused much public debate.
The items Thornton has placed up for auction include letters and cards, expected to sell for AUD$25,000 to $30,000. The letters document Scott’s personal feelings and thoughts throughout the last few years of his life. Also up for auction are love letters to Thornton from Scott, which divulge the softer and more personal side of the singer.
Many AC/DC fans have labelled the move as tacky. On Blabbermouth’s website, one fan wrote: “let’s just honour his memory and music…not try to cash in on a dead person,” while another said: “it is wrong to sell a legendary musician’s stuff unless of course if it's for [the] hall of fame or something.”
Guitarist Mark McEntee from the 1980s rock group Divinyls believed better things could have been done with the priceless possessions.
“I personally wouldn’t want to [sell my Divinyls memorabilia] unless I had to. I think it depends on what kind of financial situation she is in. She could consider opening ‘Bon Land’. She should get the old house, open it up, put all of his stuff in there and charge people to come and have a look at it, ” he said.
Ex-Clash guitarist Nick Sheppard backed Thornton though and said “it is a free market and if people are willing to pay for it, go for it.”
“There have been worse things sold in the world,” Sheppard said. “Even now you can walk into any newsagency and buy pornographic magazines. That is a lot worse than what she is selling."
President of the WA Bon Scott Fan Club Doug Thorncroft, hopes the items will remain a part of Australia’s rock and roll history, to be shared with the generations of fans. He said the items were a form of closure for Thornton.
“It’s hard,” he said. “Irene is entitled to sell it I suppose, but it would be nice it if was bought by the family or by someone from WA to keep it here. It would be very disappointing if it went overseas.”
Australian music manager Vincent Lovegrove was a close friend of Scott. They formed The Valentines together in 1967, and Lovegrove was an agent for AC/DC (for a short time), Cold Chisel and Divinyls. He believed the decision rested with Thornton.
In a brief interview with Patrick Donovan of The Age, Thornton, 55, said she had been planning the auction for some time. “Last year, kind of spur-of-the-moment, I made photocopies of them and decided to do it. I would look at them from time to time and they made me laugh. But now I feel that I can part with them.”
When asked what Scott would think of his intimate feelings being made public to the world, Thornton answered: “He would think it was funny.”
Lachlan Burnet from Leonard Joel Australia, the auction house handling the sale, said the release of Scott’s letters to Thorncroft would show fans a different side from the usually tough rock star. “Irene wants to show people the caring side of Bon Scott and that he wasn’t really the hard man like a lot of people thought he was, and to show he was in love with her, through the love letters.”
Other items up for auction include Scott’s shaving mirror, a photo album bearing approximately 75 photos of Bon and Irene’s wedding and family shots and a 1974 AC/DC vinyl test pressing of High Voltage, with the original first track being Jailbreak, not Little Lover.
The Bon Scott memorabilia items will be up for auction on April 12, 2006 in South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. For more information contact Leonard Joel Australia on (03) 9826 4333.
Read on for an exclusive statement given to 3rd Degree by Vince Lovegrove.
Do we have the right to make judgements about others without making judgements on ourselves? That is the question.
In the case of Irene Thornton, she was married to Bon for just two years after all, and his girlfriend for two years prior to that. So does that give her the right to make claims on anything sacred between she and Bon now that he's dead? Would she have sold mementos were he alive? Does that mean that those of us who were friends with Bon for half of his life should sell our mementos, too?
The business of celebrity death is lucrative, and the music industry in particular is strewn with musicians and singers whose finances were boosted beyond their dreams once they died; Sid Vicious, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Elvis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Karen Carpenter, Brian Jones, and so many more. And the list continues.
When these people died, their fame boosted into the stratosphere of legend, their estates were enriched, their families and relatives sometimes fought over money, friends, foes, media et al chased the cash-cow gravy train. Bon Scott's demise was no exception to the rule.
It is ironic that in life Bon was a near-pauper and in the 26 years since his death he has become a multi-millionaire many times over, his riches supporting an entire family business.
But the people who have financially gained the most from absolute fortune since Bon's death are the members of AC/DC and the record companies. AC/DC are now in the top four album selling bands of all time, but, interestingly, half of their fortune continues to be through the money gained from just five (not counting a live album) albums written by and sung by Bon prior to his death in 1980. AC/DC have made around 11 albums in 26 years since 1980, and they still don't sell as many as those recorded by Bon. So, the question is, should they and the record companies return all the money they've earned, all the exploited mementos of Bon? And to whom should they return those riches?
Then there is the question of whether or not it was Bon Scott who actually wrote the lyrics for AC/DC's biggest selling album, Back In Black, the one released immediately following his death.
Who hasn't made money from the death of Bon Scott? Every time you hear a song, see a video, read a book, read an article, see a T-shirt, read a memory, hear about a statue, the naming of a street after the pint-sized street poet, someone is making money from the death of Bon Scott.
So in the final analysis, does Irene Thornton have the right to sell her personal memories? She has just as much right as AC/DC, record companies, T-shirt manufacturers, and all the rest of the money-making concerns that continue since my little mate's death.
It is a personal choice and those making judgements on Irene or anyone else should check their own backyard before they point the finger.
Personally, I'll never sell any of my Bon Scott mementos, they belong to my memories. But I would never tell Irene Thornton she shouldn't sell hers. That is her business and I don't think anyone has the right to tell her otherwise. That is her business and between her and her personal memories of Bon.
