VIDEO: AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Talks Writing ‘Hells Bells’ on Dan Rather’s ‘The Big Interview’

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

August 29th, 2019 10:12 AM

Dan Rather‘s AXS TV show The Big Interview will kick off a new series of episodes on October 1 when the legendary journalist sits down with AC/DC’s Brian Johnson.

The hour-long program will cover numerous topics, and in a preview clip below to the episode, Johnson talks about how a struggle with writer’s block and a chat with producer Mutt Lange led to him penning the lyrics to AC/DC’s classic track “Hells Bells.”

Other upcoming episodes of The Big Interview will include Cheap Trick (October 8), Chicago (October 15), Bret Michaels (October 22), Alice Cooper (October 29), Little Big Town (November 5), Bob Costas (November 12), David Byrne (November 19), America (November 26), Bryan Cranston (December 3), Yes’ Jon Anderson (December 10) and Alabama (December 17.)

AC/DC: 4 Questions About Album/Tour Speculation

• 1. Will Brian Johnson be fronting AC/DC on tour?

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  Johnson famously exited the band while on tour in 2016 due to hearing issues, and Axl Rose filled in on vocals for AC/DC's remaining tour dates. This new report says that Johnson will be fronting the band on stage again thanks to special in-ear monitors that prevent further damage to his hearing.

• 2. Who’s going to play bass?

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  Cliff Williams retired from the band in September 2016, however, he was spotted in Vancouver around the same time as everyone else in the band was in town at the Warehouse Studio in August 2018, the same studio where AC/DC has recorded their past three studio albums. Does this mean he's back?

• 3. Who’s going to play drums?

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  Chris Slade replaced Phil Rudd on drums in 2014 after Rudd got into a whole mess of legal trouble, including being charged with attempting to procure a murder. But Rudd was spotted at the Warehouse Studio in August 2018 with his AC/DC bandmates.
• 4. What’s going on with this new album?

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  If there's a tour, there's a good chance it's in support of this new studio album that has been the subject of much speculation. After everyone was spotted in Vancouver, the grindcore band Terrorizer posted to their Facebook page in January 2019 that they ran into Johnson at the airport and asked him about whether he was singing on the new AC/DC album. Johnson replied, "Yes" and that he is "Sick of denying it." In February 2019, rumors started to swirl that the new album would serve as a tribute to late rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young and that there were unused recordings of Young in the archives that were being utilized on the new album. The most recent update came from longtime engineer Mike Fraser in April 2019 who said during an interview, "Well, yeah, I can say that we've been in the studio doing something. What's come of that I can't discuss yet."

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

Category:

• Music
• Q Music News
• Q105

Tags:

AC/DC,Brian Johnson