Brian Johnson On Possibly Never Touring With AC/DC Again: 'I've Had A Good Run'
"What people don't understand is, it is what it is."
Brian Johnson fronting AC/DC @ QSAC last year. Pic by Markus Ravik
Questions over long-term AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson's future involvement in the iconic band have been raised ever since he was forced to pull out of touring earlier this year or face permanent hearing loss and in a new interview the singer has acknowledged he may never tour with the group again.
Speaking with SiriusXM (via Blabbermouth), Johnson said he considered himself fortunate for the career he has had up to this point.
"What people don't understand is, it is what it is," Johnson explained.
"It's like a young sports player getting an injury. I feel sorry for them [when they're] 24 or 25 and they have an injury and it ends their career and it's an awful thing. But I'm lucky. I'm 68 — I'm 69 later this year — and I've had a pretty good run. I've been in one of the best bands in the world.
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"[The doctor] didn't tell me I had cancer or something terminal. And I had so many good times with the boys and I've had such a lucky and great life, and I'm just thankful, really, that I came out of it in one piece."
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Johnson revealed in the interview that his hearing issues became a serious concern during Christmas last year, when he visited a doctor nine times in Sydney.
"[Doctor Chang] had perceived that one night, we were playing Winnipeg at this huge stadium outside and it was raining cats and dogs, and it was absolutely freezing cold. And I caught a fever, and so did… well, [guitarist Angus Young] already had a fever," Johnson recalled.
"We were dripping wet, soaking wet, [and it was] absolutely freezing, and then straight after the show, we had to get on an aircraft and fly straight to Vancouver, which was a two-and-a-half-hour flight, and unfortunately, the fluids went up into my sinuses and then around my ear. But we had to carry on.
"We did a gig there, then we did San Francisco, then we did Los Angeles, and then we came home for a two or three week break, and then off we went to Australia. And my ears still hadn't popped. And I was getting worred because my right ear, my good ear is just about totally deaf. And when I got [to Australia], that's when Doctor Chang found out that the fluids had crystallized and had been eating away at my ear. So my good ear, I lost…I don't know what percentage, but it was enough to make things very difficult.
"So they worked on me. They had tubes in my arm, I was getting liquids and steroids into the system to try to break it down and clear it up. But he did look me in the eye with that horrible look that doctors have when you know something bad's coming and he just said, 'Yup. I'm afraid you're not gonna get that back. But we can work with you, and we'll try it.' So we did. And we did all the gigs in Australia — that was great — and then we came back and I did ten shows in America, but I'm afraid after that, when I went for my second check, that's when they said, 'You're killing your ears.'"
Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose has performed five shows with the rock legends since stepping in for Johnson and though his appointment was met with a wave of criticism, the 54-year-old has seemingly won fans and critics alike over as the concerts have received rave reviews.
It has since led to suggestions that Rose will join the band full-time, however that is purely speculation at this point.
Meanwhile, since being confined to a chair (or the much-cooler named 'rock throne') for over a month now, Rose wowed the crowd in Vienna on Thursday night during his latest performance with AC/DC when he jumped to his feet during the set, moon boot and all.
Rose broke his leg last month and has since performed shows, including a headlining Coachella gig with GNR, in the throne but during the latest AC/DC concert, Rose managed to perform some parts of the set on his feet.
According to Blabbermouth, the 54-year-old did manage to stand up a few times during a Belgium show earlier in the week, but he was able to move more freely for the Vienna performance.
Check out some of the fan-shot footage below.
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