Credit: Far Out / Harry (Howard
October 25th, 2026 · 10:30pm GMT
If you don’t believe in serendipity, look at Brian Johnson and AC/DC. That will change your mind.
Bon Scott had one of the greatest voices in rock, and he was a massively intrinsic component to the niche that AC/DC were steadily carving out for themselves. As such, when he passed, there were plenty of people who thought that that might have been the end for the band, but the band wound up finding Brian Johnson. Sceptical fans tuned into the Back In Black album, but the minute they heard the opening line on ‘Hells Bells’, they knew the band was in safe hands.
“The start of that album, ‘Hells Bells’, it took a long time before Brian opened his mouth,” said Joe Elliott when discussing Johnson’s AC/DC debut. “There was this big intro, and it was really clever how they built that song up, almost like the start of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, where you’re waiting for the vocals to come in. In that intro to ‘Hells Bells’ you’ve established the sound of the band, and then in comes this new singer and…wow! At the time, he made it cool again to sing high.”
So, when Bon Scott sadly passed away, the band managed to find a suitable replacement, but what about when Brian Johnson couldn’t perform? No, the gravelly voiced singer hasn’t passed away, but there was a period in 2016 when he was forced to stop gigging on the AC/DC Rock or Bust Tour because doctors told him if he were to keep playing, then there’s a chance he would totally lose his hearing.
A daunting prospect for sure, and a risk that Johnson wasn’t comfortable taking; however, the rest of the band wanted to keep touring and taking their shows to as many crowds of people as possible. Johnson wasn’t out of the band, but AC/DC needed to find a suitable replacement, and they did just that in the form of Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose.
“I called the day I read about it in the news, that there was a situation going on with Brian’s hearing,” said Rose when discussing the circumstances leading to him fronting the band in an interview with The Guardian. “I called a guy who’s their production manager right now … So if I could help, and if I was able to do it, and they were interested, I’d love to help. And that’s how it started. I wasn’t looking at it like, ‘I’m singing for AC/DC’. I was looking at it like, ‘Y’know, if I can, and if they think I’m able to do it.”
So, how did the shows go? Well, it depends on who you ask. If we’re being objective about it, Axl Rose did a fine job; he was never going to sound better than Brian Johnson singing those songs because they’re Brian Johnson’s songs; however, he carried the AC/DC sound well and did the tracks justice. Some fans liked that the show went on, whereas other loyalists were angry at the replacement, but this was a move that was always going to divide audiences.
Further reading: From The Vault
In more interesting news, what did Johnson think? Well, simply put, he was heartbroken. He thought that Axl Rose did a great job filling his shoes, but also said that he “just couldn’t watch.”
“It’s like finding a stranger in your house, sitting in your favorite chair,” wrote Johnson in his book The Lives of Brian. “But I bear no grudges. It was a tough situation. Angus [Young] and the lads did what they felt they had to do. That said, after the band released a statement confirming that I was leaving the tour and wishing me all the best for the future, I couldn’t relax or concentrate on anything. It was just always there.”
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