Brian Johnson

Following the death of Bon Scott on 19 February 1980, Johnson was asked to audition for AC/DC, whose guitarists and founders, Angus and Malcolm Young, remembered when Scott had been impressed with Johnson as Geordie's frontman. Johnson's first album with AC/DC, Back in Black, became the second-best-selling album of all time, according to most estimates. The Guardian ranked the successful transition to Johnson at No. 36 on their list of 50 key events in rock-music history. Johnson and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. In March 2016, he temporarily left the band during the Rock or Bust World Tour because of hearing problems. In September 2020, AC/DC confirmed that Johnson, along with bandmates Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams, had rejoined the group in August 2018 to record the album Power Up. Johnson is known for his distinctive singing voice and strong Geordie accent. In July 2014, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music by Northumbria University in Newcastle in recognition of his significant contribution to the music industry.

• Name — Brian Johnson • Born — 5 October 1947 • Birthplace — Dunston, County Durham, England • Genre — * Hard rock • rock and roll • blues rock • glam rock • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • Years Active — * 1962–present • Current Member Of — AC/DC • Past Member Of — Geordie • Website — brianjohnsonracing.com

Johnson was born on 5 October 1947 in Dunston, Gateshead. He is the oldest of four siblings. His English father, Alan, was a coal miner and sergeant major in the British Army's Durham Light Infantry who died in 1996. His Italian mother, Esther (née De Luca), was from Frascati. When he was young, Johnson performed in various shows with the Scouts, appeared in a play which aired on television, and joined a local church choir. He served in the Territorial Army with the 17th Parachute Battalion in Germany for two years.

Johnson's first band was the Gobi Desert Canoe Club. He was also in a band called Fresh. From 1970, Johnson played with cabaret/club band the Jasper Hart Band, performing songs from the musical Hair as well as soft-rock/pop songs of the time. He and other members of the band formed Geordie. Johnson released his first and only solo single, "I Can't Forget You Now", as a member of Geordie in January 1976 on the Red Bus label. In 1982, a compilation including ten of Geordie's 1973–1976 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.

• Illustration — Johnson performing with AC/DC at the Manchester Apollo in 1982 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 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." The band agreed immediately that Johnson's performing style fit AC/DC's music. 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 music video for "You Shook Me All Night Long", and the video received significant airplay on MTV. • Illustration — Johnson hangs on to a bell while performing the song "Hells Bells" 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. 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." On 19 April 2010, AC/DC's Iron Man 2 (soundtrack) compilation was released, featuring songs sung by both Johnson and Bon Scott, similar to the 1986 soundtrack compilation Who Made Who, for Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. • Illustration — Johnson performing with AC/DC in Tacoma, Washington (2 February 2016) 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 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 ten shows in North America and twelve shows in Europe. Johnson's last show with AC/DC was on 28 February 2016, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He stated in an interview that he "had a pretty good run" in AC/DC and implied that he might not be returning. 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 August 2018, rumours began circulating that Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd had rejoined AC/DC. According to members of the band Terrorizer, in January 2019 Johnson confirmed to them that he was back in AC/DC after getting "sick of denying it" and that he was working on a new album. On 30 September 2020, AC/DC posted a photo on social media listing the band's new line-up, including Johnson on vocals, as well as a photo featuring, him, Angus, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd and Stevie Young reunited. In November 2020, AC/DC released a new album, Power Up, with Johnson on vocals. On 7 October 2023, Johnson made a return to the stage with AC/DC at the Power Trip festival, the band's first show since 2016, when they concluded the Rock or Bust World Tour with Axl Rose as their singer. Johnson subsequently toured with the band on their Power Up Tour.

Since April 2003, Johnson, who says "I love musical theatre, especially the classic stuff, like Rodgers and Hammerstein", has been working on a musical version of Helen of Troy with Sarasota Ballet choreographer, Robert de Warren. The musical is a Les Misérables-style musical with rousing anthems, tender ballads and minimal dialogue. He conceived the project with writers Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement, and Brendan Healy after seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats and being underwhelmed at what he saw. Malcolm McDowell, who made his recording debut singing one of the songs for the soundtrack in Brian's studio, agreed to play Zeus. The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan and Bruce Vilanch were also set to participate. In 2004, Johnson travelled to Greece to film an episode of the television series Goddess Odyssey in which he researched the Helen of Troy myth. It was released on DVD in July 2005 and contains music from the theatre production. Phil Carson, former chief executive of Atlantic Records, supported the project but it was never staged.

Johnson married his first wife, Carol, in 1968, and they have two daughters. They first separated in the late 1970s and ultimately divorced during the writing of The Razors Edge album. He later married Brenda Winkel on 14 April 1990, and lives in Sarasota, Florida. He is an avid supporter of Newcastle United F.C. and was asked to invest in the club in the early 1980s after being invited to meet the board by club legend Jackie Milburn. In September 2009, Johnson was diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus, causing AC/DC to cancel several shows on their 2010 tour in support of Black Ice. However, doctors were able to prevent the disease from developing into cancer. According to the Sunday Times Rich List of British millionaires in music, Johnson was worth £65 million in 2016. On 9 July 2014, Johnson was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music by Northumbria University in recognition of his significant contribution to the music industry. In October 2014, he became a supporter of the Yorkshire Dementia Charity based in the village of Topcliffe.

• Year — Team — Co-drivers — Car — Class — Laps — Overall Position • 2012 — 50+ Predator — Byron DeFoor Elliott Forbes-Robinson Jim Pace Carlos de Quesada — Riley Mk. XI — DP — 672 — 32nd — 12th

Brian Johnson is recorded as singer, television presenter, songwriter, singer-songwriter and composer.