3/15: MY THOUGHTS ON LATEST BRIAN JOHNSON AC/DC STUFF

Lots of news today made by my friend Jim Breuer and his podcast stating that Brian Johnson was pushed out of AC/DC. Notable that the podcast has since come down and Jim has softened some of his story. Read into that what you will. In light of all of this I’ve been asked about my thoughts by many. I’ll say this; it does seem strange that a hearing issue could come on so quick that it would end a tour. It does seem strange that something like this couldn’t be managed in some way. I am no sound engineer but there must be some protection that can be taken I would think? As I’ve said all along what direction AC/DC goes next will tell you a lot about all of this. If they go get a younger guy Angus (who is youngest in the band) may keep this band going 10 more years. If they get a few celeb singers and do a sort of Farewell then Brian’s situation may be very real and they bow out gracefully.

I know Brian. I am not going to tell you I know him well and hang with him. But we have spoken from time to time and he has done my radio show several times as well as TMS. He is one of my favorite people. A real guy for sure. I had never heard of him having hearing issues or needing to raise my voice around him as was the case with others. I can also tell you he always at times almost talked about AC/DC like he wasn’t in the band. “Whatever Mal and Ang say..” was a familiar line. He is a good guy, was great in the gig, and will be hugely missed if this did not happen on his terms. In the last week it has been STUNNING to me to see how many fans are already talking about who the next singer is without asking questions and worrying about Brian. This is BRIAN JOHNSON! 36 years in AC/DC! Singer in one of the biggest bands and on one of the biggest albums EVER! It’s not like another drummer change (and I say that with all respect to drummers, but you get it).

I also know Brian was getting tired out there. In his late 60’s that is understandable. This is a high energy show and tough stuff to sing. I know the band were only able to play no more than 3 times a week max because he needed rest. This is not uncommon for older singers. Same goes with Steve Tyler these days. But it is expensive for a band to sit around in hotels off that many days. All of this plays in to the equation I think. It could be that Brian had some hearing issues and there was other stuff brewing. Angus saw it as a chance to do a third AC/DC and do another 10 years of more activity by using this as the vehicle to make a change. We have seen the very familiar move in music these days where bands are selling a logo and maybe one original member. The name AC/DC is one of the biggest on the planet. With that logo, those songs, and Angus, if they find the right guy they will find an audience. But it’s tricky and these are huge shoes to fill. So I think there are a combination of things at work here. And what AC/DC do and say going forward will be telling. They have always been a very close knit quiet camp. So until there is something real to announce everything is speculation for sure. But it will be interesting to watch. Most importantly if Brian is having any issue I hope he is well. I left him a voice mail today with my regards. He is a class act all the way and it would be greatly disappointing if this did not happen on his terms given how much he has put into this band over the decades.

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  • Chris Bacchi on

    I’ve read a few things along the lines of “Replace Brian Johnson? Are you kidding? Impossible!”…which is exactly what people said about Bon Scott! Personally, I think the Bon stuff is some of the best rock and roll EVER, but that’s not to slight Brian Johnson–just saying he turned out to be the perfect guy to fit that role for the band after Scott’s death.


  • Doug R. on

    Brian rode the “Highway To Hell” as far as he could go. All that matters now is that he gets well, and maybe if we’re all fortunate enough he’ll be “Back In Black” one more time!


  • Michael B on

    With the advances in in-ear monitoring and ear protection, I’m sure that the ear damage could be helped quite a bit, but maybe the damage is so severe that even that is risky.

    If Brian is out, I certainly understand. I have hearing damage from cars and drums, which makes it unpleasant to play live anymore, unless I wear huge cans on my head like Paul Gilbert.

    There are new and expensive therapies coming out for hearing loss, so maybe he can benefit from that, maybe everyone can.


    • el loco on

      Let us not forget Pete Townshend who has been struggling with this for maybe 20 years now and uses a complex arrangement on stage to protect what is left of his hearing, so there are possibilites. Regarding the human factor and aspects of how to deal with each other in a band, let us also not forget the way Def Leppard treated their drummer after his terrible accident, they waited for him for years to find a way back into the band, rearranged the drum kit and learn how toplay it, so why not wait a year or so to find out if there is a way for Brian to deal with it on stage? AC/DC fans would certainly wait that year or so to go the the rescheduled concert, don’t you think?


  • Tony Marino on

    This story caught my eye a few weeks ago.
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ac-dc-united-center-wrigley-field-20160224-story.html
    So when the original story of Brian’s illness broke, I smelt a rat. It’s an age old trick to cut your losses and cancel your tour and collect insurance money. It looks like the tour was still making money but perhaps Angus saw this as his chance to get a new singer and collect on a tour that isn’t selling as well as they’d like.


    • Jason Falkinham on

      That’s an odd story…I was at both of those shows and they were both packed to the rafters. My buddies tried getting tix to the UC show a week before, and they were sold out on Ticketmaster and uppers were $150-200 on stubhub. They do lose tix because of the walkway and Angus’ solo stage on the floor, and obviously don’t sell seats behind the stage. I also don’t see how the UC holds 23,500 for shows, unless you’re Pearl Jam and Springsteen and sell tix behind the stage and have a GA floor.


    • Harold Taint on

      Put the crack pipe down Tony. The tour was doing fine. Has nothing at all to do with “collecting insurance money”. Are you just making s–t up now?


  • chad bormann on

    i don’t know about the “tour not doing well angle.” i saw them about a month ago in minneapolis. tickets to that show sold out in 25 minutes. it wasn’t robots buying seats that didn’t get resold either, there was a packed house. brian had tons of energy, running al over the whole show. it went off great. whole thing seems off.


    • Kevin G on

      Saw them at Gillette Stadium and they absolutely kicked ass. The last time I saw them was on the racers edge tour and to me, they’ve only gotten better with age. Brian sounded fantastic and had tons of energy. Absolutely mind blowing show. Had to be at least 70000 people there. Doesn’t appear the tour was having any problems selling tix at all.


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