High voltage AC/DC tour kicks-off in Fremantle

ARGUABLY one of Australia's best-known rock bands is AC/DC, and this Thursday (July 9) one Fremantle tour operator will launch a Highway to Hell Tour to commemorate what would have been home-town hero and lead-singer Ronald "Bon" Scott's 63rd birthday.

Jon Tomkins, of Fremantle Tram Tours, has extensively researched the Scottish-born lead singer's somewhat wild teenage years spent in WA's port city to develop an entertaining tour that takes in Scott's childhood home, schools he attended, his brush with the law in Fremantle Prison, a commemorative statue and his grave at the Fremantle Cemetery.

Scott's grave is reportedly the most visited in the country - the National Trust of Australia classifies it as a heritage site – and it regularly draws comparison to the homage shown at The Doors front man Jim Morrison's plot at Paris' Père-Lachaise cemetery.

One enduring Bon Scott fan is Fremantle Mayor Peter Tagliaferri who chose the hugely popular AC/DC rock anthem It's a Long Way to the Top as his theme song in his successful 2001 campaign to become Mayor. His office still features a Bon Scott poster.

The Mayor will launch the tour to media and the tourism industry at 11am on Thursday, July 9 at Fishing Boat Harbour, Fremantle.

Tour operator Jon Tomkins says the interactive Highway to Hell tour will enable people to select which particular AC/DC songs are played during the 90-minute tour that starts and ends at the Bon Scott statue near Cicerello's at Fishing Boat Harbour three times each Sunday. Another mid-week day will be included as demand for the tour grows.

And as if perfectly staged, the accidental blowing-up of an amplifier on the tour vehicle during early testing suggests this will be an authentic rock 'n' roll experience. The tour will explore the charismatic performer's life such as how he got the nickname "Bon" and the mystery surrounding his premature death at age 33.

The tour is just one of many attractions which draw 3.5 millions tourists to WA, including the iconic port city of Fremantle each year.

For more information on how to make a booking for the tour watch this site.