1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:10,039 Speaker 1: Podcast play an. I'm Buzznight, the host of the Taking 2 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: a Walk podcast music history on foot. If you want 3 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: to keep up with Taking a Walk episodes, or if 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: you want to suggest a guest or be a guest, 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: go to takin Awalk dot com, subscribe to our newsletter, 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: or leave us a comment. We also appreciate if you 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: like this podcast, please follow us on Apple podcast or 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: Spotify or wherever you get your podcast, leave us a review, 9 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: or share this with a friend. Today we have a treat. 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: We're Virtual because this is how we're going to get 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: this member of Rock Royalty, and we're so excited we 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: couldn't miss this opportunity to speak with Brian Johnson, the 13 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: lead singer of ac DC. Brian is the legendary front 14 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: man and he's the author of the new book The 15 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: Lives of Brian and I'm honored to have him on 16 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,759 Speaker 1: Taking a Walk. Hello everybody, Hello Bryan, Yes, sir, I'm 17 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: so happy to have Rock Royalty here. Oh any boy, 18 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: Oh Brian, thanks for being on the Taking a Walk podcast. 19 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: It's a tremendous honor. Oh honestly, it's my pleasure me 20 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: showing anything. So congratulations on the lives of Brian, I 21 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,199 Speaker 1: want to talk about that, but I wanted to ask 22 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: you take me inside that moment when you're you're on stage, 23 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: the lights go down in the stadium, the music begins, 24 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: the band starts breaking into rock or bust or thunderstruck 25 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: or whatever the opener is. What does that moment feel 26 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: like from your perspective when it's happening? Okay, well, first 27 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: of all, it's yea boring. It's never you never get 28 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: used to it because it's your every nerve is ready 29 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: to go. You look along your side there and there's 30 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: Angus just walking away on his guitar and moving and me, 31 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: you know, I'm blimbering up getting ready. I mean, we 32 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: go on just like you know, just when you see 33 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: football players before they go on the pitch, you know 34 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: they're jumping around and moving because you know the minute 35 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: you're going to get on there, you're not going to 36 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: get a brick for two and a half hours. Isn't 37 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: any ballads, so you know, and then you hear the 38 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: crowd and then when you do get on. I've got 39 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: to say this, the day audience is really lift you. 40 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: I mean I actually lift you and just give your 41 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: strength that you just didn't think was there. You know, 42 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: and after you go and that's that's the end of that. 43 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: You know, there's no turning back. And I think what 44 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: you've got to do is send it to a few 45 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: of the things. When I asked what I do, I said, 46 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: I said, before you go on stage to sing, you 47 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: fix it. It's as simple as that. You fix them 48 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: being a tr vice and just charge otherwise, you know, 49 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: there's nothing, it's just regular average. So yeah, it's a 50 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: fascinating time. Buzz oh, I love it. One of the 51 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: listeners to our podcast a guy named Dennis from Tennessee 52 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: outside of Nashville. He asked me to ask you this question. 53 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: He said, how do you feel when you see young 54 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: and old generations jam in their ass off to a 55 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: c DC. It's fantastic. I mean, there's not many bonds 56 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: I can have it, and every day I'll get somebody's 57 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: in here. There's a photograph of my grandson two, and 58 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: he's got a near seed this sleep song and he's 59 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: dancing away to some tune or other, and it's just 60 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: it makes me feel so good because you know, so 61 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: many tunes are forty odd years old and to not 62 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: sound dead to actually sound like that, just you know, 63 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: news the world those years ago. It's a pretty good 64 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: feeling inside, you know. Oh it's the soundtrack of our lives. Man, 65 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: my god. So in the book you talk about the 66 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: influence a Little Richard, talk about it. The first time 67 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: you heard a Little Richard too, Well, it was on 68 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: you know, I was off school. I hadn't got the 69 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: dender stuff something. And anyway, the television in England then 70 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: was just awful. You know. There was there was one 71 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,799 Speaker 1: channel and it was on. It came on at noon 72 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: and it went off again at twelve thirty, and then 73 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: it came on again at about three and it was 74 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: called Watched with Mother. And then they said, now we're 75 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: going to have any interlude, because they were very posh, 76 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: the people on the road. And in this interlude there's 77 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:19,679 Speaker 1: a young chap from America with a new pop song 78 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: and he's called Little Richard and the change thing. And 79 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: here was this handsome young black man had pushed back 80 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: the immaculate jacket on, a little mustache, you know, the tie, 81 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: it just look like nothing had seen before. And he 82 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: just burst in the wamper blue and my jaw everything dropped, 83 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:53,239 Speaker 1: you know, me jaw went south and everything else went north. 84 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: I couldn't believe how brilliant this was. I mean, it 85 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: really was a revelation. And I said, I want to 86 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: sing like that. It was right up there. It was exciting. 87 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: It was just and he was exciting too, you know. 88 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 1: And of course I hadn't heard music like that before 89 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: in my life. I did not existed, just the boring 90 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: stuff you would hear on the BBC, you know. And 91 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: you know, it was just a defining moment for me 92 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: in my life, you know. And I couldn't go out 93 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: and buy the record here. I couldn't afford it. People 94 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: didn't have a record, you know. So it was not 95 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: until I heard it playing from a woman's house and 96 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: I banged on the window and I said, could you 97 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: play it again? Please? She said, she said, your chicky 98 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: little bugger. Okay, then come on. So she opened the 99 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 1: window and put it on again, and she came outside 100 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: and started doing the hand give and taught me how 101 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: to do the hands. And I'll never forget what a look? Really? 102 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: Oh I got it again. That's awesome. What a great story, 103 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: my god? Yeah right, how special was it to? You know? 104 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: Have to leave the band due to the hearing loss 105 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: and then to return triumphantly in twenty twenty. How special 106 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: was that for you, my friend? Oh, it was more 107 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: than special, you know, it was you know, I was 108 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: sixty nine. I'm like when I had to give up, 109 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: you know, and I thought, hey, listen, he shulden complain. 110 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: Who else goes this long? And but I think it 111 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: was the suddenness. I mean, it wasn't gradual. I mean 112 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: it just hit me after a gig and the whole 113 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: operations all in the book, the whole the horrible thing 114 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: that I had to go through with operations and everything. 115 00:07:53,880 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: But to get it right again through you know, the 116 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: Ambrose who designed these new ear pieces and I worked 117 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:09,559 Speaker 1: with them for three years, Steven. And to get back 118 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: with the boys in the studio and do an album, 119 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: I kind of tell you. And it was such a 120 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: good album too, you know, Power Up. I was so 121 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: proud of it. And then to rehearse again with the 122 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: boys in Holland and we're all ready to rock, you know, 123 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: to go out. Were rehearsed for about three weeks and 124 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: then the pandemic hit and talk about bomb look it was, 125 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: it was horrible and there we were ready to rock. 126 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: You know, that's just the way things go. Well, and 127 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: when you really come down to it, you really are 128 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: a choir boy at heart. Right, I was here. You know, 129 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: my mother was Catholic, but my father was CV Protestant 130 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: or whatever, and so we were confused to sile and 131 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: I was the choir boy in the Catholic choir because 132 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 1: you know, they paid your money. You got one shillings 133 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: and thickens to sing on Sunday morning. And I first 134 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 1: went to the Catholic Mass and I thought, poor boy, 135 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: these guys. You know, there was all kinds of shiny 136 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: gloves on and then this guy walked around and he 137 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,679 Speaker 1: was throwing water on people. And then I had a 138 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: smoke machine, you know with the chin, and it was 139 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: I thought it was very unentertainment, you know, I didn't 140 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: know what was going to happen. And then at the 141 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,319 Speaker 1: end of the Mass, the priest came up and he 142 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: got some crackers and wine out and shared it with everybody. 143 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: This was good stuff. In closing by, I was I 144 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: was only an eleven year old and I'm thinking and 145 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: at the but the only thing that disappointed me was 146 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: the fact nobody give him a round of applause, and 147 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: I thought he'd done very well. Nothing nothing that just 148 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: walked out Brian and closing, How important is having a 149 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: sense of humor being in the business that you're in, Oh, 150 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: I think it's I think you have to happen. If 151 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: you don't, I've seen people who don't have a sense 152 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: of humor at all and very sad and blodly. And 153 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: I don't mean nothing about that. You just you know, 154 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: you've got to laugh at yourself. You've got to laugh 155 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: at this business. You have to because it's it's pretending 156 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: the whole thing. You know, you're singing and having you know, 157 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: having enough talent to be a good you know, guitaristuff 158 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 1: singing and drummer and everything. You've got to laugh. Attention 159 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: is always good. You know, we've lost Taylor Hawkins. What 160 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: a lovely, lovely man he was. That's why everybody looked 161 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: at me. He had a wonderful sense of humor and 162 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 1: friendly and always willing to laugh. And you know, so, yes, 163 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: I would say a sense of humor is very important, 164 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: you know, especially on long tours, you know, and things 165 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: like that, because there's a lot of boring traveling goes on, 166 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, you have to just have a sense 167 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: of humor about it or who well, thank you for 168 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: the sense of humor, thank you for the joy of 169 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: the music. Brian. Congratulations on the lives of Brian, and 170 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: I'm so grateful that you are on my podcast. Well, 171 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: thank you very much, there was you, Take care and 172 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: fat the season. Greetings to everybody taking a walk with 173 00:11:55,160 --> 00:12:00,839 Speaker 1: Buzznight is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 174 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: get your podcasts.