Brian Johnson touches on many moments in his wild career in his new book The Lives of Brian. One facet, in particular, was the making of Back in Black, the first album he made with AC/DC. For years, there have been rumors late AC/DC singer Bon Scott had written some of the lyrics that are featured in the LP’s title track. However, Johnson made sure to address them in his memoir.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Johnson was asked why he felt like he had to take on those rumors. He said, “It wasn’t something that stuck in me craw a lot, but every now and again, a fan would come up and say, ‘This guy’s saying this.’ And factually, it wasn’t true.” Johnson added, “There wasn’t an internet then; it didn’t really get further than Australia. But I thought it was awful I had to explain meself and that’s why in the book, I went, once and for all, I want to put this baby to bed.”
Johnson detailed the whole situation further saying, “There was one particular journalist — a writer in Australia — who just wouldn’t let go of this thing. And of course, Malcolm and Angus were like, ‘What a f—ing load of bulls—.’ And I said, ‘I wish you would tell him.’ And their attitude was always, ‘Just leave it. Just let them talk himself into a f—in’ early grave.’ And of course, it became more and more obvious by the day that Bon hadn’t, because the riffs weren’t written then. The boys were still doing it. So we didn’t say anything because otherwise it would have given him more fame.”
The Lives of Brian is out now and available for purchase here.
