Last year, the hard rockin’ Australian band AC/DC turned 50 and in April 2025, they will return to Detroit on what will likely be their final tour. AC/DC has had their ups and downs but they have always persevered. Their lowest point was in February, 1980 when, on the verge of superstardom in the US, their lead singer Bon Scott tragically passed away at the age of 33. The band’s survival was uncertain and building on the success of their chart topping Highway to Hell album seemed unimaginable unless they could again find lightning in a bottle with a new singer.
Enter Brian Johnson, a blue collar working man from northern England with a talent for fixing cars – and a set of lungs made for rock & roll. Fortunately, his modest local success with the band Georgie caught the attention of several members of AC/DC – and he was called in for an audition. The rest is history and his first album with the band, Back in Black, became one of the bestselling rock albums of all time. The “Lives of Brian” tells Johnson’s story, from his very modest beginnings in a working class town to his first forays into singing for local rock bands to his life-changing moment when one of the most successful and enduring rock bands of all time gave him the opportunity of a lifetime. The autobiography is bookended with the singer’s personal struggles with hearing loss. Johnson is an up-beat guy, very humble, and a natural storyteller.
This book is appropriate for adults.
