page_title: Brian Johnson
section_title: AC/DC
hierarchical_section_title: Brian Johnson / Career / AC/DC
caption_attribution_description: English: AC/DC plays the song "Hells Bells" at the Rogers Centre
context_page_description: Brian Francis Johnson is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. In March 2016, he stepped down from touring on the Rock or Bust World Tour due to hearing problems. He stated in an interview that he "had a pretty good run" in AC/DC and implied that he might not be returning.
  Johnson was one of the founder members of the rock band Geordie formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1971. After a few hit singles, including UK Top 10 "All Because of You", the band split up in 1978. Following the death of Scott on 19 February 1980, Johnson was asked to audition for AC/DC. Lead guitarist and co-founder Angus Young recalled, "I remember Bon playing me Little Richard, and then telling me the story of when he saw Brian singing [with Geordie]. [...] There's this guy up there screaming at the top of his lungs and then the next thing you know he hits the deck. He's on the floor, rolling around and screaming.
context_section_description: Following Bon Scott's death, the remaining members of the band briefly considered quitting, before concluding that Scott would have wanted AC/DC to continue. Various candidates were considered for his successor, including ex-Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser and Slade's Noddy Holder, who declined, before selecting Johnson.
  AC/DC guitarist and co-founder Angus Young later recalled, "I remember the first time I had ever heard Brian's (Johnson) name was from Bon. Bon had mentioned that he had been in England once touring with a band and he had mentioned that Brian had been in a band called Geordie and Bon had said 'Brian Johnson, he was a great rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard.' And that was Bon's big idol, Little Richard. I think when he saw Brian at that time, to Bon it was 'Well he's a guy that knows what rock and roll is all about.' He mentioned that to us in Australia. I suppose when we decided to continue, Brian was the first name that Malcolm and myself came up with, so we said we should see if we can find him." In March 1980 Johnson received a phone call inviting him to London to audition as the new vocalist for AC/DC. As a big AC/DC fan, he was happy to oblige. Malcolm remembers the day: "We were all sitting there going, Where's this guy Brian? He should have been here an hour ago. 'Oh him? He's downstairs playing pool with the roadies' – so we thought, well, at least he plays pool."
  When someone fetched him to meet them, Malcolm recalls that Johnson, "had tears in his eyes. He was as sad about Bon as we were. Anyway, we said, Do you want to give it a go? And he said, 'I do "Whole Lotta Rosie" with Geordie,' and off he went. We went, this guy is cutting the mustard. Anything else you know? "Nutbush City Limits"? OK, we can knock that out, and he sang that great too. It put a little smile on our faces – for the first time since Bon. So we just started working with him then." Within days, Johnson was in the band, the news being made official on 1 April. A week after that he was sent a plane ticket to the Bahamas (their management's idea, partly for tax purposes and partly because there were no vacant studios in the UK) where he joined the Youngs, bassist Cliff Williams, drummer Phil Rudd and Highway to Hell producer Mutt Lange in Compass Point Studios.
  The result was the album Back in Black, which was released in July that year. It was a worldwide success and went on to become the second best-selling album of all time. In 1986, Johnson returned to Tyneside and appeared in the controversial music video for "You Shook Me All Night Long", and the video received significant airplay on MTV.
  The 1988 album Blow Up Your Video was the last AC/DC album to feature lyrics from Johnson. Starting with The Razors Edge in 1990, guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young have written all of AC/DC's material. When asked by a fan during a radio interview why he stopped contributing lyrics, he laughed, "I ran out of words" and went on to explain that during recording he did not always enjoy the pressure of having to come up with an album's worth of lyrics and was relieved when the Young brothers filled in during The Razors Edge. The band has since continued in that tradition for every album since. In 2014, they released their eleventh album with Johnson, Rock or Bust.
  A symbol of the working class in the north of England, Johnson customarily wears a newsboy cap on stage and frequently off. Johnson has occasionally worn baseball caps as well. His brother suggested that the singer wear the cap onstage to prevent sweat rolling off his thick, curly hair into his eyes while singing. "He said, 'Put it on, at least you'll be able to see what the bloody freak you're doing!' So I put it on and after three songs in the second set, I looked at him, put my thumbs up – 'This is brilliant!' He never did get that hat back."
  In April 2016, during the Rock or Bust World Tour, AC/DC announced the departure of Johnson, citing hearing issues. As the band explained it, Johnson risked total hearing loss if he continued. Johnson stated th
caption: Johnson hangs on to a bell while performing the song "Hells Bells"
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