AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson still hasn't officially confirmed that he's back in the band, though there are plenty of people who are sure he'll be part of whatever the iconic Aussie rockers do next.
Johnson told Joe Walsh's Old Fashioned Rock N' Roll Radio Show this past weekend that he's never missed live music more now that it's been taken away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also dropped a subtle hint that AC/DC is indeed poised for a comeback.
"I think it's made us realize how much we took for granted," he told Walsh. "When you've gone to a gig or something and you hear somebody hit that guitar, like your good self, and just knock the snot out of it and you just get that shiver down your back. Now when you hear a band start up, hearing the live music — I think that's a big miss for everybody."
When Johnson was asked whether he'd had any contact with the members of AC/DC, he confirmed that he's been keeping up with his old band mates — Angus Young, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams.
"Actually, it's the craziest thing. Angus's wife, Ella, she loves to cook. And that's what we were talking about — how to make scones. It had nothing to do with music," Johnson continued. "And Angus is safe and well. And so is Phil. Cliff is up in the mountains of North Carolina... Cliff's huntin' and shootin' and fishin', man. And I don't know where Stevie [Young] is. He's somewhere."
Johnson bowed out of AC/DC's 'Rock or Bust' tour in 2016 due to complications from severe hearing loss. He was replaced by Axl Rose for the remainder of the tour.
Since the tour wrapped, plenty of evidence has suggested that Johnson is part of whatever AC/DC has cooking. He was among the members of the band spotted two summers ago at a Vancouver recording studio and he has reportedly told people privately that he's back in AC/DC and will be ready to tour again when the time comes.
Johnson's mention of Rudd is key because Rudd was not in AC/DC the last time the frontman toured with the band. Chris Slade held down drum duties on the 'Rock or Bust' tour, but Rudd was among the delegation spotted in Vancouver in 2018.
Slade admitted recently that he's had hardly any contact with AC/DC since the 'Rock or Bust' tour wrapped up, but he says he was never told that he was out of the band.
Johnson's mention of Rudd suggests that Rudd, not Slade, was the last AC/DC drummer Johnson played with. That could have been at a session that took place in Vancouver for the forthcoming AC/DC album.
While Williams announced his retirement at the end of 'Rock or Bust,' he too was seen in Vancouver with Johnson and the rest of the gang.
AC/DC was rumored to have a new album on the way this year, but the pandemic may have prompted the band to delay the release.
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