A winged, guitar-bodied creature with a lolling tongue now stands on the back of an AC/DC flatbed truck in a Melbourne laneway, mic in hand, with “Bon Scott 80!” in speech bubbles around it.
The mural was unveiled on Friday (June 26) in AC/DC Lane, in the city center, just minutes after Australia wrapped up its final Group D match at the 2026 World Cup, Billboard reports. Melbourne artist Era painted it from commemorative artwork by Reg Mombassa, the Mental As Anything co-founder and visual artist. A stenciled portrait of Scott sits at the left of the wall.
The timing is a birthday. Scott, who fronted AC/DC through its first seven studio albums, would have turned 80 on July 9. He died in February 1980, at 33, six months after Highway to Hell.
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The truck recalls one of the band’s best-known moments. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece, speaking at the unveiling, said it was 50 years since Scott and AC/DC “rolled down Swanston Street on the back of a flatbed truck – bagpipes in tow” for the video for “It’s a Long Way to the Top.” “Melbourne is the undisputed home of live music in Australia, and AC/DC is part of our city’s DNA,” Reece said.
A Laneway With a History
The mural joins other public art in the laneway, as 929 The Wave noted. An earlier piece is a three-meter concrete likeness of Scott that street artist Mike Makatron made with Cherry Bar owner James Young in 2018, per Music Feeds, set into the bar’s brick wall.
Scott’s family said in a statement that they have been fans of Mombassa’s artwork “for many years.” “His visual style is an iconic piece of Australian culture,” the statement reads. “To have him create a special piece commemorating Bon’s 80th birthday is an honor and a thrill.”
Why It Matters
Billboard notes that AC/DC salutes Scott at every concert, and that the band was among the first names read out for induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1988. A mural by a beloved Australian artist, in the laneway that already carries his name, is the street-level version of that tribute. It follows June’s other music-meets-museum stories, from Lennon’s drawings in Liverpool to Thomas Bangalter’s Art Basel rave. Scott’s birthday, July 9, is next.
- Where
- AC/DC Lane, Melbourne
- Unveiled
- Friday, June 26, 2026
- Artists
- Era, from artwork by Reg Mombassa
- Occasion
- Bon Scott’s 80th birthday, July 9
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
