The rock and roll star’s life has been excessively idealised, especially in the media of film and television. The “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” stereotype may be far from the reality of dedicating your life to music and performance. Consider Brian Johnson, the front man of AC/DC. Having played with the Australian rock icons for decades, Johnson is in many ways the quintessential rock vocalist. However, the frontman admits that it hasn’t always been easy.
To be fair to Johnson, there have been challenges along the way since he joined AC/DC. Ultimately, Johnson had to step into the enormous shoes of Bon Scott, the lead singer who helped define the hard rock band’s formative years. Following Scott’s sudden passing, the other members of the band discussed a number of possible successors. Eventually, they decided that Johnson would be a good fit for AC/DC.
Many fans of the band were initially dubious about the idea. They doubted anyone, especially Johnson, a relative unknown, could replace Bon Scott. This skepticism is typical when a band experiences a significant personnel change. In decades with AC/DC, Johnson has clearly proven himself through touring and recording. Even now, more than 40 years after Bon Scott’s passing, fans and critics still highly regard the group’s new era.
However, being a member of a rock band—especially one as iconic as AC/DC—is, to put it mildly, extremely demanding. The band members have suffered from exhaustion as a result of the incessant tours, shows, festivals, and studio sessions over the years. So much so that major health issues forced Johnson to withdraw from the band’s Rock Or Bust tour in 2016. In essence, they informed Johnson that he would nearly completely lose his hearing if he continued to perform.
Consequently, Axl Rose, the frontman of Guns ‘N’ Roses, briefly replaced Johnson on the tour. In his 2022 memoir The Lives of Brian, the vocalist looks back on this time and remembers the negative thoughts that this replacement caused. He wrote, “I just didn’t fucking care anymore.” He had always believed that turning a corner at 180 mph would be the ideal way to go out. It would end abruptly and without warning if you struck the wall. Please understand that I did not want to pass away. Simply put, I wouldn’t have objected too much.
Johnson described the decision to end the tour as “one of the most difficult conversations of my life.” It appears that the singer is not particularly upset about Rose taking over. But, he did observe, “It’s like finding a stranger in your house, sitting in your favourite chair.” Brian Johnson, who has been an essential member of AC/DC for decades, found it difficult to watch the remainder of the band’s 2016 tour from the sidelines.
Johnson inevitably rejoined the group in 2018 after taking a few years off to heal and focus on other endeavours. The singer, who was born in Dunston, is still with AC/DC today, touring and recording with the group he obviously loves.
