In 2016, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson was forced to step away from the band due to hearing issues. The band went on to complete their European and North American tours with Guns N’ Roses frontman, Axl Rose. GNR guitarist Slash shared his feelings on Axl fronting the legendary band in a new interview with Classic Rock magazine. “I came out to a gig in London, and it was phenomenal,” Slash said. “I was blown away, especially when he sang the Bon Scott stuff. That was a very proud moment, actually.”
Slash also replied to whether it felt weird seeing Rose front another band. “Not at all,” he said. “It was AC/DC, man. The fact that he got asked to do that was very cool. And he worked his ass off doing it, too. He really adhered to the whole AC/DC regimen and pulled it off. In the moment, when it first came up, it was a little jarring, I have to say. I was super-proud that he was doing it, but how that was gonna happen and go right into the Guns thing, I really didn’t know. But anyway, it worked out. So it wasn’t like a big deal. In all these years that we’ve been apart, he’s become super-f*cking professional. And he’s never missed a beat during this whole time. So it’s been great. There has been a sort of synergy that’s been happening this last six years that we never had in our first incarnation.”
AC/DC with Axl received some criticism from fans, but in general, Axl got good reviews. Bassist Duff McKagan previously told comedian Joey Diaz on the “The Church of What’s Happening Now” podcast: “The way he did that was amazing,” he said of Axl fronting AC/DC. “He was, like, ‘If you guys don’t mind, I’m gonna go try out. They need a hand here.’ Bon Scott’s his all-time (hero.) We said, ‘Dude, you know you don’t really have to try out for AC/DC.’ But he was really nervous. ‘I’m gonna go try out. It fits in with our touring perfect.’ And Slash and I were, like, ‘You’ve got the gig.’ But he went to Atlanta and tried out, quote-unquote, and got the gig. I saw him twice on that tour. I flew to London to see him, and I flew to Cleveland to see that. It was great.”
McKagan added: “I think what it did for Axl … We got to know Angus through that. Angus has now come out and played with us a bunch of times. That was that thing when he was 14 or 15, ‘Man, one day, if I ever got to be in AC/DC …’ He was singing with a broom, and he finally got to do it. Amazing.” AC/DC’s “Power Up” was released on Nov. 13, 2020. It reached No. 1 in 21 countries.
ICYMI, Web Is Jericho writer B.J. Lisko released an exclusive interview with the man responsible for helping Brian Johnson return to AC/DC.
