by MARYAM EL-MALAK

“LET there be rock!” roared WA premier Mark McGowan as he launched last Sunday’s record-breaking Highway to Hell event.

Canning Highway was closed from Applecross to Fremantle as bands performed AC/DC songs on eight moving trucks, with more than 150,000 people turning out to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Bon Scott’s death and his enduring musical legacy with AC/DC.

There were also four entertainment zones along the route, where the trucks stopped and bands like The Pigram Brothers and Steve ‘N’ Seagulls performed AC/DC classics.

Record breaking

“Highway to Hell was a truly epic event and I have only heard good feedback from the community,” Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt said. 

“I loved that one of the maddest ideas Perth has ever heard of – closing down 10km of one the city’s major arterial highways for a moving rock concert – made it through the bureaucratic maze and was actually able to happen”.

• There were massive crowds along the Canning Highway for Highway to Hell, including this little fella (he’s probably the same height as Bon).

The Tompkin Park zone even set a world record for the largest air guitar performance with 3722 people taking part. 

Led by Australian air guitar champion Alex Roberts, the crowd rocked out to the AC/DC classic Highway to Hell.

“I loved that it celebrated one of Freo’s – in fact Australia’s – best ever music exports 40 years on from Bon Scott’s death, with a tribute that was both fittingly fun and wild. Highway to Hell even saw cars take a rare back seat in Perth,” Dr Pettitt noted. 

Local businesses reported a massive boost in trade.