AC/DC have faced criticism in recent months for the rather abrupt way that frontman Brian Johnson was seemingly shuffled out of the band once he was diagnosed with being at risk for permanent hearing loss if he continued on with the outfit. Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose soon stepped in and will be performing with the band at their summer dates in Johnson‘s place, but there’s a considerable portion of the band’s fans who remain unhappy.
In the face of various fans demanding refunds, it seems the group have taken to doing what they should have been doing all along: communicating with their audience. The below video was recently shared, featuring Axl discussing his role in the band and his respect for Brian Johnson. Likewise, Rose and Young recently spoke to the BBC about the whole situation, with Rose commenting:
“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.”
Guitarist Angus Young added:
“In his heart he wanted to finish [the tour] but because of that hearing factor he had to make the decision. 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.”
Rose also revealed that he reached out to the band first, offering:
“I called the day I read about it in the news, that there was a situation going on with Brian‘s hearing. 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. 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.”
Rose has thus far been booked to perform with the band at the following shows, with rescheduled stops for the group’s previously postponed U.S. dates still pending.
05/07 Lisbon, POR – Passeio Maritimo De Alges
05/10 Seville, SPA – Estadio De La Cartuja
05/13 Marseille, FRA – Stade Velodrome
05/16 Werchter, BEL – Werchter Site
05/19 Vienna, AUT – Erns-Happel Stadium
05/22 Prague, CZE – Letnany Airport
05/26 Hamburg, GER – Volksparkstadion
05/29 Berne, SWI – Stade De Suisse
06/1 Leipzig, GER – Red Bull Arena
06/4 London, UK – The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
06/9 Manchester, UK – Etihad Stadium
06/12 Aarhus, DEN – Ceres Park
