During an August 29 appearance on “Joe Walsh’s Old Fashioned Rock N’ Roll Radio Show”, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson spoke about how he is dealing with the coronavirus crisis. He said: “I think it’s made us realize how much we took for granted. When you’ve gone to a gig or something and you hear somebody hit that guitar, like your good self, and just knock the snot out of it and you just get that shiver down your back. Now when you hear a band start up, hearing the live music — I think that’s a big miss for everybody.”
Asked if he has spoken to AC/DC guitarist Angus Young lately, Brian said: “Actually, it’s the craziest thing. Angus‘s wife, Ella, she loves to cook. And that’s what we were talking about — how to make scones. It had nothing to do with music. And Angus is safe and well. And so is Phil [Rudd, AC/DC drummer]. Cliff [Williams, AC/DC bassist] is up in the mountains of North Carolina… Cliff‘s a huntin’ and shootin’ and fishin’ man. And I don’t know where Stevie [Young, AC/DC rhythm guitarist] is. He’s somewhere.”
Earlier in the year, prior to the coronavirus outbreak, it was rumored that AC/DC was about to announce a world stadium tour. The trek will apparently include Johnson, who was forced to leave the band mid-tour four years ago due to a dangerous level of hearing loss. He was eventually replaced on the road by GUNS N’ ROSES vocalist Axl Rose.
Two years ago, Johnson and Rudd, along with Angus Young and Stevie Young, were photographed outside Vancouver’s Warehouse Studios. Based on the pictures, the assumption was that AC/DC was in the midst of making — or at least planning — another album, with Rudd and Johnson both back in the lineup.
Ever since AC/DC completed the tour cycle for its 2014 album “Rock Or Bust” four years ago — a turbulent trek that weathered the forced retirement and eventual death of co-founder Malcolm Young, plus the departures of Johnson, Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams — fans have wondered whether sole remaining founding member Angus Young would keep the band going or decide it was time for AC/DC to pack it in.
In February 2019, a photo surfaced on social media suggesting that Williams has also returned to AC/DC and will appear on the rumored comeback album, which is expected to be released in 2021.
