“You Any Good?” Nine Career-Busting Auditions

Rock history is littered with auditions that failed, but led to greater career highs for the loser.

Before joining Guns N’ Roses in 1985, Slash tried out for Poison. As he left the audition, the successful C.C. DeVille was walking in.

The unknown Bryan Ferry and Elton John were considered singers for English art-rockers King Crimson. Elton was signed on to work on an album, but leader Robert Fripp went back to hear Elton’s debut album, Empty Sky and thought it so awful he cancelled the sessions.

Michael Gudinski initially thought Kylie Minogue was a no-contender for Mushroom that he didn’t attend her first meeting with his executives.

When Party Boys chief Paul Christie rang to invite Ian Moss to join, he was out, so the gig went to his housemate who answered the phone, Harvey James.

We’d have heard of Paul Kossoff before Free’s 1970 hit Alright Now if he’d cut the mustard at tests with Jethro Tull and The Rolling Stones.

Hillary Scott twice failed her audition for American Idol, so she formed Lady A, who won five Grammys in 2011 alone.

Tool’s Les Claypool was a contender for Metallica, but they thought him “too good”. 

Here are nine examples of auditions that didn’t end up in tears. They took different shapes.

PEARL JAM

When Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready started Pearl Jam in Seattle in 1990, they had a three-track instrumental demo with which to entice a drummer and a singer.

Their first choice of drummer was Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Jack Irons. He turned it down but suggested a young surfer kid in San Diego, California, who sang with local bands.

Ament’s letter to Eddie Vedder asked him to put words to the tracks. After his job as a hotel security guard finished in the early hours, he decided to go for a surf.

“It was super foggy, and I almost didn’t go out. But I had (their) music in my head and wrote the words out there in the water.”

The words tumbled out from Vedder’s turbulent childhood. He grew up with nine foster siblings and discovered his father was really his stepfather. He left home, quit school, pumped gas and worked in a restaurant.

He wrote the words in the water and recorded them right after on his four-track recorder – “I was still wet when I pressed Record.”

Of the trilogy of songs (known as Momma-Son/Mamasan), Alive was about finding out the truth about his father, which he considered the curse of his childhood. Later on, Jam fans would jump around and celebrate the line “I’m still alive” as a positive. Vedder said, “When they changed the meaning of those words, they lifted the curse."

Once was darker, the boy now a serial killer. In Footsteps, he is on death row, blaming his mother. Vedder’s husky voice made the words more menacing.

When the tape was sent to Ament, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After a cup of coffee, he had a second listen. He rang Gossard, “You better come over and listen to this.”

Vedder was summoned to Seattle, and within the week he was a member of Pearl Jam.

Hear Vedder’s audition tape here:

FOO FIGHTERS

In 1999, Chris Shiflett was playing in the San Francisco Bay Area punk band No Use For A Name, who were preparing to release an album. 

His lawyer rang to say he’d get him an audition with Guns N’ Roses. This was the Gunners with just Axl, so he passed. Shiflett, who first picked up the guitar because he idolised Ace Frehley of KISS, suggested, “How about Foo Fighters, I hear they’re looking for an additional guitarist.”

A week later, Shiflett was undergoing the “nerve-wracking experience” of driving to a rehearsal studio in the Valley. He arrived early and could hear the previous contender. There was silence for 20 minutes and Chris panicked, “They’ve chosen him!” But when the guy walked out, he thought, “No, this guy doesn’t fit into the Foos.”

He recalled, “Once I was in there it was fine. They're all pretty disarming people, especially Dave (Grohl), and they made me feel comfortable and we played through a few songs. But really we spent more time sitting on the floor talking shit than playing.”

A week later they asked him to come down to the Guitar Centre in LA. This was a more extensive workout. Chris wore a Jawbreaker T-shirt because Foos had just toured with them.

Grohl invited him back to their hotel for beers. There, he was given a copy of their new CD There Is Nothing Left To Lose, made as a three-piece. After more beers, he plucked up the courage to ask, “Have you made a decision yet?”

Grohl replied, “We’ll call you tomorrow.” He waited all day. They did call, to say, “You got the gig. Come to rehearsal tomorrow.” 

Grohl wanted Shiflett in because of his history in the underground punk scene, including his band Rat Pack opening for Dave’s early band Scream.

HOODOO GURUS

Bass player Rick Grossman readily admits his time in Divinyls sent him to rehab, after which he was delivering pizza.

A chance meeting with Hunters & Collectors on their way to the ARIA Awards left him wishing he could go as well. It told him he was ready to return to music, and he found himself auditioning for the bass slot in the Hoodoo Gurus.

As Grossman told Spin, “I went in there, and they said, ‘We’ve seen you play in the Divinyls many times. We know how you play, but it’s what we’ve heard about you with your drug use.’

“I was nine months clean. I said, ‘If I keep doing what I’m doing each day, I’ll be, you know, I should be okay’.

“They said, ‘Fair enough. What’s your favourite movie?’I said it’s Dr Strangelove. And they said, ‘You’re in the band.’”

MARCIA HINES

At 16 growing up in Boston, Marcia Hines was attending the famous Woodstock festival and watched Jimi Hendrix’s iconic set.

Grace Jones was a cousin, as was future US Secretary of State Colin Powell. The gospel choir at her godmother’s church fascinated her as a nine-year-old. Despite an asthmatic problem, she played in local bands, briefly using the stage name Shantee Renee.

J. Geils, later of Freeze Frame fame, was a casual boyfriend.

Her best friend Linda Gaines was also a singer but her older sister Donna was considered superior. Donna Gaines changed her name to Donna Summer and went to Germany to become a musical theatre performer, and years later, a disco star.

This inspired Marcia to use her voice to get out of Boston. At the time, Australian director Jim Sharman, already in town overseeing the production of Hair, the anti-Vietnam pro-hippie pro-marijuana musical., was also looking for six African-American singers for its Australian run. 

A Shakespearean actor who tested was told he was “too polished” and they were looking for “a rough diamond, someone untrained.” He chuckled, “I know exactly who you want.”

Marcia and her mum Esme arrived at the trial and fibbed she was 18. Sharman would have canned the audition if he’d known her real age.

Nine days later, she was on her way to Australia (she thought it was Austria) for six months. Hair established Hines. But she was putting on weight and couldn't understand why.

She rang Esme in America, who suspected that she’d fallen pregnant, to her musician boyfriend, US guitarist Phillip Gibson, before she left. As her stomach got bigger, Hair would get her to sing behind stage props to avoid any official outrage.

Dohnyale “Deni” Sharon Hines was born in September 1970. Marcia returned to the stage nine days after giving birth. In 1973, she joined Jesus Christ Superstar as Mary Magdalene.

Hines never returned to America, staying on to a multi-award career in music (album sales of 3 million; the first local female to get a platinum album) and TV, for which she was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2009.

LED ZEPPELIN

In 1968, when Jimmy Page was assembling Led Zeppelin, he wanted a heavyweight for mic duties. Steve Winwood of Traffic was considered but he was forming Blind Faith with Eric Clapton. 

The approach to Steve Marriott of The Small Faces got a response from his manager, the thuggish Don Arden who told Page: “How would you like to play guitar with broken fingers?”

Terry “Superlungs” Reid had just signed a solo deal (he also turned down Ritchie Blackmore to front the new Deep Purple) and suggested a 19-year-old unknown from northern England.

Page and his manager, Peter Grant, drove to Birmingham to see Robert Plant play to 12 people in a college gig. The band, with the wretched name Hobbstweedle, was lacklustre, but his range and presence were impressive.

Page invited Plant down to his houseboat on the Thames in Pangbourne, 40 miles outside London. The two were totally different. Page was urbane, widely-travelled (even to exotic India with his home filled with antiques, paintings and books on the occult and astrology.

Plant had never been outside the Midlands and was an amiable bogan who dressed like an American hippie. He took the train to his date with destiny carrying his favourite records, by bluesmen Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf, and folkies such as The Incredible String Band and Joan Baez.

Plant: “You can smell when people have travelled, had their doors opened a little wider than most, and I could feel that was the deal with Jimmy. His ability to absorb things and the way he carried himself was far more cerebral than anything I’d come across. I was very impressed.

“I realised that this guy had a lifestyle I could only imagine. He had quietness… a maturity. Then we sat down and talked about music.”

Page didn’t think Plant knew too much about the Yardbirds stuff he played him, like Dazed And Confused but he was enthusiastic. Plant’s ability to play harmonica was “A big plus!”

The records they played each led to common ground. In particular, Joan Baez’s 1962 live version of the folk song Babe I’m Gonna Leave You was a favourite of both. Their enthusiastic chat about how it could be given a Zeppelin light/shade treatment gave Plant a place in the band. It would appear on the first Zep album.

Plant would also bring in his best friend John Bonham for drum duties.

AC/DC

After Bon Scott’s passing on February 19, 1980, bandied about as replacements were Stevie Wright, John Swan, Heaven’s Allen Fryer, Slade’s Noddy Holder, Terry Slesser of Back Street Crawler, Buzz Shearman of Canada’s Moxy, and Gary Holton of Heavy Metal Kids.

AC/DC’s producer Mutt Lange and a fan from Cleveland suggested Brian Johnson from UK early ‘70s hit band Geordie. 

Malcolm and Angus remembered the name because Bon’s pre-AC/DC band Fraternity toured the UK, and played a show with Geordie.

Bon spoke glowingly about him as a great performer who was rolling around the stage towards the end of his set. Bon didn’t realise Johnson was, in fact, suffering from appendicitis and rolling around in pain.

When AC/DC tracked down Johnson in 1980 in his hometown Newcastle, he was semi-retired from music, running an auto body shop and living with his parents. “I was a complete loser!” he admitted on The Howard Stern Show.

A woman with a German accent asked him to come to London to an audition for a band, “but I can’t say who they are.” Johnson huffed, “Well give me a clue!” She said, “They have the words AC and DC in their name.” “So it’s AC/DC!” “Sorry, but I’ve already said too much.”

Johnson decided against it. He thought he was too old at 32 (Bon was 33 when he died) and didn’t fancy making the six-hour drive to the English capital for a try-out he knew would fail.

But as destiny had it, 30 minutes later, a friend in an ad agency offered him the chance to do a Hoover vacuum ad for £350 (or £6,919 or AU$13,750 today) in London on the same day.

Johnson finished the ad in the afternoon and had to make a decision: return to Newcastle and open his shop in the morning or head to the audition ten minutes away on Vanilla Studios.

As he entered, Malcolm gave him a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale to calm his nerves. “What would you like to sing?” “Well, I like the Tina Turner song Nutbush City Limits. The Youngs responded: “W-H-A-T!”

Once they got the hard rock groove going, Johnson jumped in. He recalled getting goosebumps while their eyes widened. They followed that with Whole Lotta Rosie.

It was magical. Johnson thanked them and started the 200-mile trek back to Newcastle.

A few days later, about 2 in the afternoon, Malcolm rang to say “Do you want to come to the Bahamas, we’re making a record.” 

Brian said, “Can you call me back in 10 minutes, so I know I’m not dreaming.” Young did just that.

It was March 1980. On April 1, he was announced as AC/DC’s new singer. That month he was at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas with the band making Back In Black.

The budget was tight, and recording had to be wrapped up in seven weeks. 

Back In Black more than paid for itself. It went on to sell 50 million worldwide. Last year it became the third biggest seller in America of all time with 27 million US sales, after The Eagles Their Greatest Hits (1971 – 1975) (38 million+) and Michael Jackson’s Thriller (34 million).

NEIL FINN

Neil Finn was in his 60s when he did his first audition. That was for Fleetwood Mac in 2018, when Mick Fleetwood reportedly called him to say, “We’ve got rid of Lindsey [Buckingham]. Would you play with us?”

Finn had just finished the Lightsleeper album with son Liam. The latter suggested, “Give it a shot.” Neil told Mojo: “So I auditioned. It’s the only audition I’ve ever done. 

“I went to Hawaii and Mick spent an hour telling me it wasn’t an audition, but it was. 

“I was auditioning them too: I wasn’t sure it was the right thing, I was quite conflicted, but I liked the people, and the welcome was universal.”

There was no need for an audition on April 7, 1977, when Finn joined Split Enz. They were in London at the time, with no manager, booking agent or record deal, and on the dole. 

“Fame and fortune awaits”, Tim called on Neil to come over from Auckland to replace two members, one of whom left after a punch-up.

Neil was 17 at the time, a massive Enz fan who had their name on his school pencil case and knew every Enz song. He got his passport in three days and, on arriving in London, went into rehearsals.

Only used to acoustic guitar, he had to get tips on electric guitar from their producer, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music. “I jumped around on stage to compensate, but I was pretty hopeless for the first six months.”

They recorded I See Red at Startling Studios at the Tittenhurst Park property which Ringo Starr bought from John Lennon. Finn recounted to Mojo, “I took acid as I walked around because it was the appropriate thing to do and I slept in John and Yoko’s bed.”

DELTA GOODREM

Delta Goodrem’s debut album Innocent Eyes (2003) made a powerful entry, topping the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive weeks and selling 4 million copies.

At 15 she was very ambitious, securing Glenn Wheatley as her manager. He contacted Sony Music chief Denis Handlin, and a five-song showcase was set up at the Burdekin Hotel near the Sony offices in East Sydney. 

Handlin was there with four of his executives. Goodrem recalled: “He scared the goodness out of me! He literally eyed me down through that whole performance. No expression at all, not even a smile. Nothing! 

“People may think I’m a bit shy, but I was determined I was going to prove myself. In that showcase situation, you’re never nervous. You just go for it. 

“But it was a wonderful, wonderful day for me. Everyone [in the room] was moving and clapping but he just sat there and was watching me. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. I was, after all, only 15 at the time. But I knew I put in a good performance. I’d practised my butt off and there was not one dance step out of line.”

After the showcase, Handlin – who had a reputation for being radio-savvy and signed many of the label’s hit acts from one listen – announced he was signing her. Goodrem screamed and then went running to Bondi Beach to celebrate.

KISS

If there was one dude who did more to irritate AND impress future bandmates at an audition, it was Ace Frehley. KISS (then still Wicked Lester and had just lost their record deal) put in an ad in the Village Voice newspaper, “Lead guitarist wanted with flash and ability. Album out shortly. No time wasters, please.” It listed Paul Stanley’s phone number to contact. They got 50 replies.

On January 3, 1973, at 10 East 23rd Street, above the Live Bait Bar in New York City, Ace got his mother to drive him from the Bronx in her Cadillac because he was taking a 50-watt amp that was too big to take in the subway.

When he arrived they were trying out Bob Kulick (brother of future member Bruce). They noticed he was accidentally wearing an orange sneaker and a red sneaker. Said Paul, “I thought he was a bum off the street except he had a guitar.”

Going to a corner, Frehley started playing the scales for his turn. Gene Simmons and Paul barged over. Simmons shouted, "Who the hell are you? Shut the fuck up! You’re making this guy nervous. Sit down and wait your turn before I knock you out!”

Ace also refused to fill in the job application he was given. He figured,  “If they wanted to know more about me, they could ask.”

Before his 20-minute audition Gene growled, “I’ll kick your ass if you’re a time waster.” They worked out what songs to do, and opted for their own Deuce. “We’ll play it once and then you join us the second time.” For the song’s solo, Ace remembered, I threw in every cool lick I’d ever heard, and that impressed them.”

Gene: “No two ways; there was definitely magic in the air when we played together.”

Ace: “I went back to the Bronx feeling pretty good. I thought they had potential, but I didn’t think they were gonna change the world. They called me back two weeks later, I went over and did some more songs, and that was it.”