For the best part of the 20th century Kirriemuir's most famous son was JM Barrie. The small town in Angus, nestling in the southern slopes of the Grampian mountains, imprinted the concept of Neverland into the budding playwright. That being said, Peter Pan only flew when the adult Barrie moved to London.
But in recent months, visitors to Kirriemuir's museum, Gateway to the Glens, have instead been presented with information on another, less commemorated son: Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC and star of his own exhibition, Rock Legend Son of Kirriemuir, until August 20.
Ronald Belford Scott was born in Kirrie in July 1946. The Scott family's bakery in the town was well known as the home of Kirriemuir gingerbread. Perhaps Scott's taste for edgy music performed by overdressed musicians started in the house. A photograph in the exhibition shows his father, Charles, as a member of the fearsome-looking Kirriemuir Pipe Band. A more concrete fact is that the young Ronald left Kirrie for good at the age of six.
To be blunt, does the exhibition push Scott's infantile connection with the town beyond its significance? Since his death in the back of a car aged 34, Scott has enjoyed a devoted fanbase — the visitors' book records effusive enthusiasm from Italy, the US, France and Australia. But locally there is more of an ambivalence. The curator, Fiona Guest, says: "There are some townsfolk who aren't comfortable celebrating the connection with the way he lived hard and died young. But there have also been some grandparents bringing in their grandchildren to discover the music together."
Perhaps the exhibition says less about Scott and more about those who organised it. Glen Robertson provided much of the research for the exhibition and can quote the date and time of the Australian TV chat show in 1976 when the host asked Scott about being an Australian star. Scott's mother chipped in, "We're not from Australia. We're from Kirriemuir."
Edinburgh banker Neil McDonald, who modestly describes himself as "one" of Britain's biggest AC/DC collectors, is responsible for loaning most of the exhibits. He has more items of memorabilia in his front room than Kirriemuir had exhibition space for. Local artist Eddie Summerton has commemorated the exhibition by producing a limited run of 400 sticks of rock with the words "LET THERE BE ROCK" running through them. Next, he plans a statue of Bon Scott made of sweets to echo the figure of Peter Pan which stands outside the Gateway to the Glens museum. The Bon Scott version will be lickable.
John Forsyth