1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,200 Speaker 1: I'm buzz night and welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Now I'm releasing this classic replay to celebrate the birthday 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: of Brian Johnson, the singer songwriter who is the lead 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: singer for ac DC. Brian at the time was somewhere 5 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: remote and he was promoting his book. It was back 6 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: in January of twenty twenty three. I loved his wit, 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: his enthusiasm, Wishing happy birthday to Brian Johnson of ac 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: DC from Taking a Walk. 9 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 2: Hello everybody, Hello Brian, Buddy, Yes, sir, I'm so happy 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 2: to have rock Royalty here. 11 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 3: Oh Eddy boy. 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 2: Oh Brian, thanks for being on the Taking a Walk Podcast. 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 4: That's a tremendous honor. 14 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 3: Oh honestly, it's my pleasure me anyday. 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 2: So congratulations on the lives of Brian. I want to 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 2: talk about that, but I wanted to ask you take 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 2: me in side that moment when you're you're on stage, 18 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 2: the lights go down in the stadium, the music begins, 19 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 2: the band starts breaking into rock. 20 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 4: Or bust or thunderstruck or whatever. 21 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 2: The opener is, what does that moment feel like from 22 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 2: your perspective when it's happening. 23 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 3: Okay, Well, first of all, it's never boring. It's never 24 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 3: you never get used to it because it's your every 25 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 3: nerve is ready to go. You look along your side 26 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 3: there and there's Angus just walking away and he's guitar 27 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 3: and moving and me, you know, I'm limbering up getting ready. 28 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 3: I mean when you go on, just just when you 29 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 3: see football players before they go on the pitch, you 30 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 3: know they're jumping around and moving because you know the 31 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 3: minute you're going to get on there, you're not going 32 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 3: to get a brick for two and a half hours. 33 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 3: Isn't any ballad, so you know, and then you hear 34 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 3: the crowd and then when you do get on. I've 35 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 3: got to say this, they say audiences really lift you. 36 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 3: I mean I actually lift you and just give your 37 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 3: strength like you just didn't think was there, you know, 38 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 3: and after you go and that's it. That's the end 39 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 3: of that. You know, there's no turning back. And I 40 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 3: think what you've got to do is send it to 41 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 3: a for few of the thingers. When I ask what 42 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 3: I do, I said what I said. Before you go 43 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 3: on stage to sing, you fix it. It's as simple 44 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 3: as that. You fix them being at tr voice and 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 3: just charge otherwise you know, there's not just it's just 46 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 3: regular average. So yeah, it's it's a fascinating time. 47 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 4: Buzz oh, I love it. 48 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 2: One of the listeners to our podcast, the guy named 49 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 2: Dennis from Tennessee outside of Nashville, He asked me to 50 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 2: ask you this question. He said, how do you feel 51 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 2: when you see young and old generations Jim and their 52 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 2: ass off to a CDC. 53 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 3: Oh, it's fantastic. I mean, there's not many bonds I 54 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 3: can have it, and every day I'll get somebody's in here. 55 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 3: There's a photograph of my grandson and he's too and 56 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 3: he's got a near seed seed song and he's dancing 57 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,119 Speaker 3: away to some tune or other, and it's just it 58 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 3: makes you feel so good because you know, some of 59 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 3: these turns are forty odd years old, and to not 60 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 3: sound dead, to actually sound like I just you know, 61 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 3: news the world all those years ago. It's a pretty 62 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 3: good feeling inside, you know. 63 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 4: Oh, it's the soundtrack of our lives. Man, My god. 64 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 2: So in the book you talk about the influence of 65 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 2: Little Richard, talk about it. 66 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 4: The first time you heard a Little Richard. 67 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 3: Too, Well, it was on you know, I was off school. 68 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 3: I had to go the dender stuff something. And anyway, 69 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 3: the television in England then was just awful. You know. 70 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 3: There was there was one channel and it was on. 71 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 3: It came on at noon and it went off again 72 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 3: at twelve thirty, and then it came on again at 73 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 3: about three and it was called Watch with Mother. Awful 74 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 3: and then they said, now we're going to have an interlude, 75 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 3: because they were very posh the people on the road. 76 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 3: And in this interlude there's a young chap from America 77 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 3: with a new pop song and he's called Little Richard 78 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 3: and the change thing. And here was this handsome young 79 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 3: black man, head pushed back. There's a macular jacket on, 80 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 3: a little mustache, you know, the tie. It just like 81 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 3: nothing had seen before. And he just burst into wamp 82 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 3: blue and my jaw everything dropped, you know. Me jaw 83 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 3: went south and everything else went north. I couldn't believe 84 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 3: how brilliant this was. I mean, it really was a revelation. 85 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 3: And I said, I want to sing like that. It 86 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 3: was right up there. It was exciting. It was just 87 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 3: and he was exciting too, you know. And of course 88 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 3: I hadn't heard music like that before in my life. 89 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 3: I did not existed just the boring stuff you would 90 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 3: hear on the BBC, you know. And you know, it 91 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 3: was just a defining moment for me in my life, 92 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 3: you know. And I couldn't go out and buy the 93 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 3: record here. We couldn't afford it, be we didn't have 94 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 3: a record, you know. So it was not until I 95 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 3: heard it playing from a woman's house and on the window, 96 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 3: and I said, could you play it again? Please? She said, 97 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 3: your chicky little bugger. Okay, then come on. So she 98 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 3: opened the window and put it on again, and she 99 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 3: came outside and started doing the hand give and taught 100 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 3: me how to do the hand dad. And I'll never 101 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 3: forget what a looking really was. Oh I got it again. 102 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 4: That's awesome. What a great story, my god. 103 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 3: Yeah right. 104 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 2: How special was it to, you know, have to leave 105 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 2: the band due to the hearing loss and then to 106 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 2: return triumphantly in twenty twenty. 107 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 4: How special was that for you, my friend? 108 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 3: Oh? It was more than special, you know, it was. 109 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 3: You know, I was sixty nine. I said, like, man, 110 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 3: I had to give up, you know, And I thought, hey, listen, 111 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 3: you shouldn't complain. Who else goes this long? And I said, 112 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 3: I think it was the suddenness I mean it wasn't gradual. 113 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,119 Speaker 3: I mean it just hit me, uh after a gig 114 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 3: and the whole operates all in the book, the whole 115 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 3: horrible thing that I had to go through with operations 116 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 3: and everything. And but two to get it right again 117 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 3: through you know, mister Ambrose who designed these new ear 118 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 3: pieces and I worked with them for three years, Steven, 119 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 3: and to get back with the boys in the studio 120 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 3: and do an album, I kind of tell you. And 121 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 3: it was such a good album too, you know, power Up. 122 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 3: I was so proud of it. And then to rehearse 123 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 3: again with the boys in Holland and we're all ready 124 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 3: to rock, you know, to go out. It were rehearsed 125 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 3: for about three weeks and then the pandemic hit and 126 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 3: talk about bomb. Look it was. It was horrible and 127 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 3: we were ready to rock. You know, that's just the 128 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 3: way things go. 129 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 2: Well, And when you really come down to it, you 130 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 2: really are a choir boy at heart, right. 131 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 3: I was here. You know, my mother was Catholic, but 132 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 3: my father was c you Protestant or whatever, and so 133 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 3: we were confused to see the leader. And I was 134 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 3: the choir boy in the Catholic choir because you know, 135 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 3: they paid your money. You got one shillings and sickens 136 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 3: to sing on Sunday morning. And because I first went 137 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 3: to the Catholic Mass and I thought, poor boy, these guys. 138 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 3: You know, there was all kinds of shiny cloves on 139 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 3: and then this guy walked around and he was throwing 140 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 3: water on people. And then I had a smoke machine, 141 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 3: you know, with the chin, and it was I thought 142 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 3: it was very ended, and you know, I didn't know 143 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 3: what was going to happen. And then at the end 144 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 3: of the mask, the priest came up and he got 145 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 3: some crackers and wind out and shared it with everybody. 146 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 3: This was good stuff. 147 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 4: In closing by. 148 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 3: I was I was only an eleven year old and 149 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 3: I'm thinking and at the end, but the only thing 150 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 3: that disappointed me was the fact nobody give him a 151 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 3: round of applause. I thought he'd done very well, nothing nothing, 152 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 3: but just walked out. 153 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 4: Oh, Brian. 154 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 2: In closing, how important is having a sense of humor 155 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 2: being in the business that you're in. 156 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 3: Oh, I think it's I think it happened if you don't. 157 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 3: I've seen people who don't have a sense of humor 158 00:09:54,960 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 3: at all, and very sad and bornly and I don't 159 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 3: mean nothing about that. You just you know, you've got 160 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 3: to laugh at yourself. You've got to laugh at this business. 161 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 3: You have to because it's it's pretending the whole thing. 162 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,439 Speaker 3: You know, you're singing and having, you know, having that 163 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 3: talent to be a good you know, guitarist off singing 164 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 3: and drummer and everything. But you've got to laugh. Attention 165 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 3: is always good. You know. We've lost Taylor Hawk and 166 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 3: what a lovely, lovely man he was. That's why everybody 167 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 3: looked at me. He had a wonderful sense of humor 168 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 3: and friendly and always willing to laugh. And you know, so, yes, 169 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 3: I would say at a sense of humor is very important, 170 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 3: you know, especially on long tours, you know, and things 171 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 3: like that, because there's a lot of boring traveling goes on. 172 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 3: You know. Yeah, yeah, just have a sense of humor 173 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 3: about it. 174 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 2: Or oh well, thank you for a sense of thank 175 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 2: you for the joy of the music, Brian. Congratulations on 176 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 2: the lives of Brian, and I'm so grateful that you 177 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:08,599 Speaker 2: are on my podcast. 178 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 3: Well, thank you very much. The bus you didn't care 179 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 3: them season, greetings to. 180 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: Everybody, thanks for checking out this classic replay. Birthday edition 181 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: with Brian Johnson from ac DC. The Taking a Walk 182 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: podcast