Axl Rose On Replacing Brian Johnson In AC/DC: 'It's An Unfortunate Situation'
"I'm not here in any way out of any disrespect to Brian."
In his first interview since being announced as the temporary frontman for rock legends AC/DC, Axl Rose has said that he means no disrespect to Brian Johnson, who was forced to pull out of some upcoming live shows or risk permanent hearing loss, as the Guns N' Roses vocalist gears up for his debut show with the band this weekend in Portugal.
Speaking to BBC, Rose said, "I'm happy and excited in one sense, but I think it would be inappropriate to be celebrating, in a certain way, at someone else's expense.
"That's not what I'm here to do. It's an unfortunate situation."
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Rose revealed that he contacted the group about potentially stepping in after he read about Johnson's exit from AC/DC's world tour in the news.
"I called a guy who's their production manager right now...because I knew there was going to be a problem with having dates on sale and dates sold and stuff like that," Rose said.
"So if I could help, and if I was able to do it, and they were interested, I'd love to help. And that's how it started.
"I wasn't looking at it like, 'I'm singing for AC/DC.' I was looking at it like, 'y'know, if I can, and if they think I'm able to do it."
Opinion has been divided about Rose's appointment to the group, with some European fans even seeking refunds from upcoming shows and the 54-year-old admitted the task will be no easy feat.
"A lot of the Back In Black stuff is really challenging. I'm not here in any way out of any disrespect to Brian. I can't take anything away from his singing at all," he said.
"He's a great singer and it's really challenging to sing it. I'm just trying to do it justice for the fans."
Meanwhile, guitarist Angus Young has refuted claims Johnson's departure was treated poorly by the band.
"In his heart [Johnson] wanted to finish [the tour] but because of that hearing factor he had to make the decision," Young said.
"It's a hard thing to do, and he'd had the problem since we kicked off touring. It was his call. It was a shock to us too.
"The last thing you want to do is walk away from something, but you don't want someone in a tragic situation; being deaf, or any other affliction.
"You want [band members] to be leaving in full body shape, not in a tragic way."
Check out the below video of Rose, Young and bassist Cliff Williams delivering a message to their Lisbon fans ahead of the show tomorrow.
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