Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be – The Story of Bon Scott comes to Ferntree Gully for a one off outdoor concert

The City of Knox in Melbourne’s east will be rocking on Friday 4 March when Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be – The Story of Bon Scott is presented as an outdoor concert performance for the first time at Wally Tew Reserve, Glenfern Road Ferntree Gully.

Following a season at the National Theatre Melbourne last weekend, the show has been programmed to lead in to the two-day Knox Festival on 5 and 6 March.

The show is narrated and sung by Australian music legend Nick Barker with an incredible four-piece rock line up including Ashley Naylor from the RocKwiz Orkestra. Nick and the band perform more than 20 songs from all stages of Bon’s career in the two-hour show.

The show tells the story of Bon Scott’s life – his childhood, his family, his secrets, the bands that came before his rise to fame with AC~DC, and his rock and roll dreams. It follows Bon’s life from Scotland to Australia, through his hell-raising teenage years and the bands that came before AC~DC – the Spektors, the Valentines and Fraternity.

From hippie epiphanies to bubblegum pop to the iconic early years of AC~DC. The show celebrates the music, the heartbreak and the life of Bon Scott – a quintessential rock and roll story that ended far too soon.

“The story is so familiar that it’s in everyone’s memory as if we were all there. AC~DC, riding high through the middle of Melbourne in the 1970s, singing the story of life on the road, of dreams and broken promises, of the long way to the top. At the centre of the band stands a man with bagpipes and a wicked grin – Bon Scott. Bon’s bravado was famous, his survival skills finely tuned, and at that time he was ready to be a rock and roll superstar, “ Producer and Writer Andrew Barker said.

Barker also highlighted that it is the first time the show has been staged as an outdoor performance and that “Wally Tew Reserve is the perfect location to present a narrative concert like this. We also felt it was a unique way to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the 1976 filming of AC~DC’s iconic Countdown clip for It’s a Long way to the Top”; an anniversary that was celebrated last Tuesday 23 February.

Nick Barker who has performed the lead role since 2011 said, “AC~DC played a lot of gigs in a lot of pubs in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs that don’t exist anymore so I am very excited to be performing the show back in the heartland of Aus Rock in the 70’s. Many locals may even remember the band’s legendary gigs at the Ferntree Gully Hotel.”

Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be is part narrative, part rock concert and the outdoor setting is the perfect environment to listen to the story of Bon Scott’s life and discover things you will never have known about him. It’s going to be fantastic to crank up the sound and play the songs that tell the story of his life.”

Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be – The Story of Bon Scott takes place tomorrow, Friday 4 March, at Wally Tew Reserve, Glenfern Road, Ferntree Gully with entry from 6.00pm with the show set to start at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available now and can be purchased HERE and range in price from $28.50 to $35. As a special bonus all ticket holders will receive free entry to Knox Festival on 5 and 6 March.

Though please note this performance is not recommended for children under the age of 15 years due to the occasional use of coarse and strong language and alcohol and drug references.

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Simon Clark

Books Editor. An admirer of songs and reader of books. Simon has a PhD in English and Comparative Literature. All errant apostrophes are his own.