AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Had Thoughts of Driving His Car into a Wall When He Was Replaced by Axl Rose
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The post AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Had Thoughts of Driving His Car into a Wall When He Was Replaced by Axl Rose appeared first on Consequence.
AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has opened up about being replaced by Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose after exiting his band’s 2016 tour due to hearing loss.
Johnson was forced to leave AC/DC’s “Rock or Bust” tour due to hearing issues, and it was none other than Axl Rose who famously stepped up to fill in for a run of shows. He has now revealed that his departure led him into a state of despair, as described in his new memoir The Lives of Brian, set for release this Tuesday, October 25th (pre-order here).
In the book, Johnson writes that he had been receiving treatment for his hearing and was intent on fulfilling contractural obligations to perform until a medical professional told him that he had to immediately cease performing or lose what was left of his hearing.
“I called Tim, the tour manager, on my mobile right there in the room to tell him that I just couldn’t continue,” Johnson writes (as transcribed by Ultimate Classic Rock). “It was one of the most difficult conversations of my life – the pain of it made worse over the weeks that followed when the tour simply went on without me. It was a sheer cliff. I didn’t tumble down, I was in free fall.”
He goes on to write that he began to blame himself for being in “the loudest band in the world,” and although he was told that Axl did a “great job,” he couldn’t bring himself to watch his substitute perform.
“It’s like finding a stranger in your house, sitting in your favorite chair,” he writes. “But I bear no grudges.”
Describing his mental and emotional state as “something closer to despair” than depression, Johnson, a race-car enthusiast, adds: “I just didn’t fucking care any more. I’d always thought that the best way to go out would be at 180mph, flat-out around a corner. You’d hit the wall and boom, it would be over, just like that. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want to die. … I just wouldn’t have minded all that much.”
AC/DC Singer Brian Johnson’s Autobiography The Lives of Brian to Arrive in October
Thankfully, a hearing specialist reached out to Johnson with a new technology that has allowed the singer to perform again. He rejoined AC/DC to record their 17th studio album, 2020’s Power Up. However, the band hasn’t performed since those Axl Rose shows in 2016, although Johnson has made a few one-off performances himself, including joining Foo Fighters onstage a couple of times to sing a few AC/DC classics.
You can order a copy of Brian Johnson’s new autobiography, The Lives of Brian, here.
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AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Had Thoughts of Driving His Car into a Wall When He Was Replaced by Axl Rose
Jon Hadusek
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