1. Brian Johnson: Lots of Bands Rock … But Not Many Roll Too (The Sun Article) : Jun 2nd, 2013

      Brian Johnson: Lots of bands rock … but not many roll too
      Interview by: LOUISE MENSCH (The Sun)

      BrianLouise

      BRIAN JOHNSON is at Brands Hatch in the pouring rain, stuck inside his temporary caravan.

      His wife Brenda is cooking up a gourmet dinner for his racing crew, but it’s far from the luxurious surroundings you’d expect to find a rock icon.

      Brian has three great romances in his life — his wife, his music, as the legendary frontman of rock behemoths AC/DC, and cars.

      Joining an already famous band at the age of 32 after the death of Bon Scott — their first frontman — Brian’s deep, rich voice and perfectly pitched lyrics made Back In Black the second biggest-selling album of all time.

      Fame, adoration and wealth followed. AC/DC’s last tour alone grossed £290million. So has it changed him? Has it hell.

      He says: “We don’t care about image. It’s pure. They all sneered at the time. The New Romantics — that was serious, all white suits and powdered hair. We ignored that. It was T-shirts and jeans.

      “Before that it was punk. We were still in T-shirts and jeans.”

      Critics ignored Back In Black. AC/DC weren’t fashionable. So how did they sell so many copies?

      Brian says: “We trusted the fans. We just worked. It was stardom maybe, but an honest stardom. Newcastle, Glasgow, we played them all.”

      ACDCsun

      Rock is very masculine, I suggest, very sexual. And it’s rebellious — black leather and studs and two fingers to the Establishment, especially the critics and the record companies.

      He says: “It’s true. We never gave a second thought to what anyone else wanted.”

      My first metal gig was on my 18th birthday, and I was in the front row. The guitarist bent down and kissed me full on the mouth — one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever had.

      I got into metal late, Def Leppard first, then Metallica. Man’s music, uncompromising, heavy, with black-clad, long-haired rebels — a million miles from my comfortable Surrey school. I fell in love. I didn’t want to be a lawyer, I wanted to be in rock music, go to gigs, fight to the front row, go on tour.

      I toured with Guns N’ Roses for my record company job, the only woman in a tour bus full of roadies — when you can handle that you can handle anything.

      AC/DC were one of the last bands I saw as a pure fan, paying for my ticket and watching from the front. They inspired me to make my rock dreams come true.

      They stayed true to their sound, outlasting punk, Duran Duran, Rick Astley, Mötley Crüe and Oasis. As the hair-metal bands of the Eighties peeled away, AC/DC were still behemoths. Why?

      Brian acknowledges the sexiness of his vocals, the bump and grind of AC/DC’s down-and-dirty songs, and the beats drummer Phil Rudd leaves OUT.

      He says: “A lot of bands know how to rock. Not many know how to roll.”

      As a young rock fan I watched AC/DC headline Donington. I loved them so much I queued to bump and grind in their Thunderstruck video, shot in Brixton, south-west London.

      I freaked out so much that the director stopped the filming, pointed at me and said: “All of you lot need to bang it like HER.”

      More than 20 years later I’m talking to Brian and that sexiness and power is still there.

      Does it please him that all the anti-metal critics and bands have come and gone and he’s still outselling the youngsters?

      He admits: “More a quiet satisfaction. That you can stay true to what you love. That was our philosophy, we believed we got it right in the first place.”

      Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4950681/louise-mensch-meets-acdc-brian-johnson.html#ixzz2V53H5y9n