Rock rebel Bon Scott given mythical qualities in new mural

A new and distinct mural featuring former AC/DC singer Bon Scott has been unveiled in the laneway named after the legendary band he fronted.

Commissioned by Bon Scott’s estate and designed by former Mambo artist Reg Mombassa, the AC/DC Lane artwork depicts Bon as a creature that’s part lion, part winged guitar.

The artist said he had been contacted and asked to design a T-shirt or poster to celebrate what would have been Bon’s 80th birthday on July 9.

“So, I thought … I’ll maybe try and put together a creature that kind of metaphorically represents Bon somehow,” he said.

“I often do graphic stuff with guitar creatures with big eyes on, so I thought I’d do something along those lines, but I wanted to personalise it more to Bon.”

“It’s got the lion’s head that was a tattoo that he had of a lion holding a microphone singing away, so I put the lion’s head on the guitar-kind of creature body and … I think it was a Bedford flatbed truck that they played on in Melbourne, so I put the creature on the truck.”

He has also given the Bon figure wings.

Reg described the charismatic singer as “the best rock ‘n roll frontman in Australia – even though he was from Scotland”.

Although not originally from Melbourne, AC/DC made their first album, High Voltage, here, and recorded the film clip for the iconic song It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock’n’Roll) on the back of a truck going down Swanston St in 1975.

Five years later the hard-living, tight pants-wearing lead singer with the powerful voice and talent for lyrics died in the back of a parked car in London aged 33.

A coroner identified the cause as “misadventure”, finding Bon had choked on his own vomit.

The unveiling of the new mural, rendered onto the wall by street artist “Era”, was also attended by Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

“What that band did for this city is the stuff of folklore,” he said.

In November 2025 the band, featuring original founding member Angus Young and Bon’s replacement Brian Johnson, played what was described as a “thrilling”, hit-studded show at the MCG as part of their “Power Up” world tour.

The volume was so loud it reportedly registered on earthquake detection equipment. •