Brian Johnson Remembers Auditioning for AC/DC [FLASHBACK]

It’s a big week for Brian Johnson: he celebrated his 76th birthday on October 5th, and this weekend he’ll be returning to the stage with AC/DC for the first time in seven years.

The last time the band performed live was in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center in 2016. Brian was absent from this run due to hearing loss, and Axl Rose was on the mic in his place. It’s been a roller coaster for the group since then: founding guitarist Malcolm Young passed away, Brian returned to the band with restored hearing, the group released their seventeenth studio album Power Up, and then the pandemic kept them from touring in support of it.

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Now, AC/DC will make their live comeback at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California. The mammoth lineup also lists Guns n’ Roses, Metallica, Tool, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest. (Ozzy Osbourne was included before he had to back out due to health issues.)

All eyes will be on AC/DC, though, as they break their no-show streak with what’s expected be a triumphant performance and a career-spanning setlist. While we wait to see what they bring to the desert, we thought we’d flash back to a conversation in the MMaRchives with Brian Johnson from a couple of years ago.

Pierre Robert asked about how Brian scored the gig with the band in the first place, and how he barely had a buck to get to the audition. They break down everything from the recording of Back in Black to the latest LP, and Brian shares his favorite memories of Philly fans in the 1980s. He’s an outstanding storyteller, and we hope that he and AC/DC bring their thunder back to our city soon. Let There Be Rock!

AC/DC: Top 25 Brian Johnson Songs

The AC/DC catalog can be split into two parts: The Bon Scott years and the Brian Johnson years. For the sake of our latest list, we’re going to focus on the Brian Johnson years.

Johnson joined AC/DC 40 years ago this year. Back then, he faced the daunting challenge of following Scott, who had died suddenly in February 1980 just as AC/DC was enjoying international success from their latest album, Highway to Hell.

Not only did Johnson rise to the occasion, but he also helped lead AC/DC with the release of their monster hit Back In Black, which is one of the highest-selling albums of all time moving over 50 million copies worldwide and 25 million copies in the United States alone.

Over the course of the past four decades, Johnson has become one of rock’s most iconic and easily recognizable voices ever. His official return to AC/DC in 2020 after a nearly four-year absence due to hearing loss issues is one of the bright spots in an unprecedentedly dark year.

In his honor, here’s our ranking of the top 25 Brian Johnson AC/DC songs.