Brian Francis Johnson is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC, after the death of their second lead singer Bon Scott.
Background
Brian Francis Johnson was born in Dunston, Gateshead, on the banks of the River Tyne in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. He is of partial Italian descent and is the oldest of four siblings. His father, Alan, was a sergeant major in the British Army's Durham Light Infantry and a coal miner; he died during AC/DC's Ballbreaker World Tour. Johnson's mother, Esther (née De Luca), was Italian from Frascati.
Career
His first and only solo single, "I Can't Forget You Now", he released also as a member of Geordie in January 1976 on the Red Bus label. In 1982, a compilation including only Geordie's 1973–1976 ten songs was issued as Brian Johnson's solo album Strange Man on the MCA label. The U.S. 1989 CD Keep On Rocking, with re-recorded versions of the band's twelve known songs was released under the name of Brian Johnson and Geordie as well as the Australian 1991 compilation CD Rockin' With The Boys 1972–1976.
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, fucking hell, 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, for tax purposes) 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 didn't 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.
In April 2016, during the Rock or Bust World Tour, AC/DC announced the departure of Brian Johnson citing hearing issues. As the band explained it, Johnson risked total hearing loss if he continued. Johnson stated that his hearing issues hadn't come from performing for 36 years with AC/DC, but from having forgotten to put ear plugs in during a race that left him with a punctured left ear drum. Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose was recruited to complete the remaining 10 shows in North America and 12 shows in Europe. His last show with AC/DC was on 28 February 2016; at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. After departing AC/DC, he recorded a new song with comedian Jim Breuer called "Mr. Rock'n'Roll". Johnson made a cameo appearance with rock band Muse on 31 August 2017, performing a rendition of "Back in Black" with the group.
In April 2017, Sky Arts broadcast the first episode of Brian Johnson: A Life on the Road. Series 1 comprised six episodes, with Johnson meeting contemporaries in the music industry to talk about their musical upbringings and careers. Featured were Roger Daltrey (The Who), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Sting (The Police), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), and Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin).
When he was young, Brian Johnson sang in a church choir. But in an interview with Pop Eater he said religion wasn’t his motivating factor.
“I did, me darling, and do you know why I did that?” Johnson said when the interviewer pointed out that people might be surprised to hear he sang in a church choir. “Was it religion? No, it was two shillings and six pence a week!”
“Well I don’t believe in religion, let’s put it that way,” Johnson said. “I believe all religions are bad. I think they’re a waste of time. Jesus was a clever man. He wasn’t the son of God. We all know that he was a very clever, wonderful man and he said, ‘Church is in here, meaning you are your own church.’”
Views
Quotations:
"Quit putting yourself in a little box by trying to live consistently with your past and explaining every little action you take. BE YOU. Fully. In this moment. Independent of what others may or may not 'expect' from you."
"Where I lived, it was a cold mining place, a village called Dunston. The only time you saw a Rolls-Royce was when somebody died."
"Happiness isn’t some elusive treasure we chase after. It’s a state of being we need to PRACTICE."
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
A symbol of the working class in the North of England, Brian 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 September 2009, Johnson was diagnosed with Barrett syndrome. This caused AC/DC to cancel several shows on their 2010 tour in support of Black Ice; however, doctors were able to successfully prevent the disease from developing into cancer.
Interests
A car and racing enthusiast, Johnson currently enjoys racing his vintage race cars: a Royale RP-4 and a Pilbeam MP84, which he races in vintage and historic races throughout the United States. In 1997, Johnson recorded with the band Jackyl on their song "Locked and Loaded", and in 2002, wrote lyrics on the track "Kill the Sunshine" from their album Relentless. In the video game Call of Duty: Finest Hour, he voices Sergeant Starkey. He made a cameo appearance in the 2005 film Goal! where he appears as a Newcastle United fan in a bar in California watching a Newcastle game.
Sport & Clubs
football
Athletes
Newcastle United
Connections
Johnson married his first wife, Carol, in 1968, and they have two daughters: Joanne (born 1968), and Kala (born 1973). They divorced during the writing of The Razors Edge album. He is now married to Brenda, and lives in Sarasota, Florida.