AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson tells the fascinating story about getting the call to join AC/DC and how he flew to the Bahamas to help make the album, "Back In Black".
The Conversation
the first line I wrote down was she was
a fast machine she kept the motor clean
you know that was the first thing I
could come up with pter bank and black
was finished in this studio that's where
I remember it from I remember every
detail of doing that album you know
because uh at the time I had me a little
business in Newcastle and I played in
the band in a band at nighttime I'd
already been quite successful with a
little band called Jordy would had two
or three hits and I was more broke than
when I joined so I had to start earning
some money to pay the
mortgage and uh you know I got a phone
call one day right out the blo and it
said you are Brian Johnson this is you
and I went who are you what do you want
you must come to London and think this a
group and I said which group you invited
an audition yeah she wouldn't tell me
and I said well I'm not coming down and
uh and at the end she said something
like said you must come and I said tell
me the name of the band and she said no
but I can give you the initials says AC
on DC I said you mean say
D I have said too much so I was going
down to get something down and that's
when I went down and met the boys we had
a we sang two songs or something and
then there was some noise and smiles and
I guess it was just this wonderful
moment when you know the stars align or
something like that well then you must
have done a pretty good audition yeah it
was pretty good I remember I sang Tina
Turner uh not Bush City Limits and they
had to learn it like what the hell but
it was wonderful and two or three weeks
later I was on a plane to the Bahamas
never been there in my life well ACDC
they lost their lead singer
unfortunately bon bon left yeah left to
ear and that's the reason that they had
to find a new singer mhm now did you
have any trouble fitting in I mean first
of all you come in after the death of
their rightfully legendary if not iconic
lead singer it was scary D and we that
was beautifully scary it was because I
was 32 years old I thought what am I
doing here listen they're going to find
out after a couple of days that I'm I'm
just not that good you know Malcolm came
up to was I think on the second day and
he said can you write lyrics and I said
I'll give it a shot he said well here
you go and he give us a cassette uh it
were these horrible little rooms with a
hand Bas and a bed and a little desk and
that was it and we got a machete and a
six foot uh fishing spear from the woman
because the uh tesan drug dealers in the
jungle who were coming down trying to
steal everything so that wasn't a good
start
and a yellow legal pad and a
pen and he said there you go and he put
it there and and I just heard this riff
and I just wrote you I was a caran
addict then as well so the first Lan I
wrote down was she was a fast machine
she kept them M Clean you know that was
the first thing I could come up with
best D woman I ever seen so and it just
went on from there only we only there
weeks done I mean it the belief that we
actually did this album This moner Album
in 6 weeks but the budget was in such a
way that really couldn't afford to hang
around did the thought occur to you
you've just joined ACDC and the back and
black takes off and dominates the charge
obviously made every lot of money did
the thought ever occur to you you know
what this is my first time with them
really to hit the big time so that's it
I'm going to walk away from it it's like
Ted Williams hitting home run his last
night bat or something yeah I waited you
know it seemed like forever it must have
been about a month and a package came
and it was it was Back in Black the come
and I went wow look at this it's it's
black and and uh I was living with me
Mom and Dad at the time and living with
your mom and dad because you were broke
well I was separated from you know was
from the wife so I was Liv me Mom and
Dad and they didn't have a record player
oh anything uh so I went oh my God so i
f one of the boys from the band I was in
deck ruam who was a guitarist and Jordy
too and I said J D can I come down I've
got
this this new album that we did it's
called you know the back in black one
you went all right he said is that
nonsense not finished yet he said come
on we got to get back together again cuz
you know old yeah me old band and I felt
terrible because you know we were very
popular in the castle
and uh and so I took it down to him and
he went what a bit of a cheap
skirt and he put it on and it was Hell's
Bells was the first thing and he went on
and I started singing and he went no no
no no no he said it's too high man too
high he said they've ruined you he said
here come on let's go for a paint and I
went what and that was all I'd heard
of I was going oh Jesus May and I hat it
and of
course it turned out to be completely
the opposite but it was my first uh
reaction I'd got from somebody else n
it's too high we're too high that is
ACDC is known as one of if not the
greatest live acts in rock and roll yes
thank you which rais a question do you
think you were a born
performer I think I was yes that's hard
to say I'm not you know I remember for
no other reason than I was in the city
Scouts City Scouts are and uh what
thing called Gang shes it happens once a
year where the the guys the you know
they sing songs and you know they do
little skits and all of that and without
KN why I was picked to sing all the
songs and be in in the skits and then uh
I was asked to join the church choir
which was tough because there it was
Catholic well still spoken Latin and
done and I was head suddenly I was head
quiet boy so they had to write it out
fanatically so you don't you know you
know how many Spirit you know all of
this but so you think you you were born
to
perform well I guess I must have been I
mean I wouldn't even you know I wouldn't
sit in a bragging way I I just did it I
enjoyed it you know it didn't seem like
work at talk to me you know fair or
unfair to say that heavy metal is less
melodic than Hard
Rock uh yeah absolutely it's it's go for
the throat time and some of it is
Sensational and its
intensity uh Metallica
uh particularly Grand fist laws you know
is another drama that is uh just right
there and I mean he is one of the best
in the world I mean Phil's hero drummer
was Ringo Star and he said you know a
Ringo Star was one of the it still is
one of the greatest drummers and I agree
with him totally you know but you know
to be surrounded by the Father the Son
and the Holy Ghost you and you sitting
playing drums for them three you it's
going to be pretty tough gig I never
heard him describe that way we had Ringo
Star in this program recently by the way
he was Terri Ric yeah he's love but I
never heard it put that way with the
Beatles in effect you had what you call
quote father son the Holy Ghost and the
drummer yeah Ringo and then I was the
drummer for the father son of the Holy
Ghost it's pretty tough gig you know uh
but he accounted him quitted himself
brother I thought he was brilliant you
know it's there's so many great acts and
different things out there now it's
almost hard to put your finger on
anything in music anymore now it's just
with the internet and the the different
Outlets it's just music is everywhere
it's readily available to anyone anytime
you know