A little over a year ago, AC/DC tapped Axl Rose to join them for their Rock or Bust tour in the stead of Brian Johnson. While Johnson had originally been slated to perform with the group, AC/DC’s longtime lead singer was advised not to carry out the remaining dates of the tour under the threat of total hearing loss. After a fourteen month performing hiatus, last night in Oxford, England, Johnson returned to the stage and sang on a rendition of “Money (That’s What I Want)” with Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Paul Rodgers during a Bad Company concert.
The three classic rockers exchanged verses on the song, joining together toward the end of the song to harmonize. All three singers were in high spirits during the collaboration, though Johnson seemed beyond enthused to be back and performing in front of fans—after his hearing ailment diagnosis last year, he told Rolling Stone that he was “personally crushed” that he’d be unable to perform in the future and that his diagnosis was the “darkest day of [his] professional life.”
After Johnson made the announcement during March of last year that he’d be going on a performing hiatus indefinitely rather than risk going totally deaf, in June of last year, the AC/DC frontman had positive news for fans, citing a meeting with an in-ear specialist who helped him regain his hearing. With last night’s performance, it seems as though his treatment for his hearing loss is moving forward smoothly, though there is no confirmation as to whether Johnson will return to touring with AC/DC nor whether Johnson’s performance was enabled by the in-ear specialist’s technology.
You can watch to Brian Johnson’s first performance onstage for the first time in over a year below along with Robert Plant, Paul Rodgers, and the rest of Bad Company.
[Video courtesy of Sean Bateman]
[H/T Rolling Stone]