AC/DC's Future Still In Doubt

In an interview with UK Daily Mirror, AC/DC's lead singer Brian Johnson makes it clear that the band's future is still in doubt, and that even a new album is not a locked-in possibility:

“I don’t know what happens next. We are just going to take it one day at a time.

"I think we are going to into the studio again anyway just to get together again after four years.

"It’ll feel nice to sit in the same room and knock a few tunes out. We’ll see where we go from there.”

 A curious comment from Johnson on the leaking of Malcolm Young's illness to Australian media. 

“I didn’t know they were going to do that because Malcolm is a very proud man. It is a debilitating disease, it’s fucking horrible and I hate it!"

 The band didn't end up holding a media conference on their future, but friends and some family members were talking about Malcolm's condition, and what might or might not happen next with the band, within hours of the news being leaked to a Perth radio station via an anonymous email. It was like a dam of emotions bursting, people who love him dearly had been living with the secret for many months, unable to discuss Malcolm or how they were feeling. Once the news got out, some wanted to talk, needed to talk.

And so they did.

On the likelihood of a new AC/DC album, if sessions do go ahead, if AC/DC members do reunite in the studio next month, and that's if, they will go in without new songs already written by Malcolm and Angus Young to work on. Malcolm is, some say, not in any condition to join the rest of AC/DC in the studio, or to even write songs anymore.

A new world for AC/DC.


AC/DC: 1973 - 2014

Okay, Now That's Old - Australia's Most Ancient Trees

Australia has some of the oldest living trees still left on Planet Earth.

Artist Rachel Sussman spent almost a decade journeying across the world and photographing 'The Oldest Living Things In The World' and has now published the results in a remarkable book.

Here's two of the world's oldest living trees, both in Australia.

The first is an eucalypt, it's location is secret, but it's somewhere in New South Wales. The tree system is believed to be an extraordinary 13,000 years old.

This is a 6000 year old Antarctic Beech, in Lamington National Park, Queensland:

'The Oldest Living Things In The World' book is here

AC/DC Confirms Malcolm Young Taking A Break Due To Ill Health, But Rest Of The Band Will Make New Music

Malcolm Young, Photo By Bob King

By Darryl Mason

AC/DC's lead singer Brian Johnson has said members of the band will still reunite in Canada next month to try and write songs for a new album, while founder and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young is recovering in Sydney, but plans for a 40th anniversary tour "are still up in the air at the moment."

"We are definitely getting together in May in Vancouver," he said.

"We're going to pick up some guitars, have a plonk, and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas. If anything happens, we'll record it." 

In the interview, Johnson denied Malcolm Young's ill health will be the end of the road for the band, but with the caveat:

"I wouldn't like to say anything either way about the future. I'm not ruling anything out. '

The idea of 40 concerts in 40 different venues, to celebrate 40 years of AC/DC, before the end of the year would be, "a wonderful way to say bye bye."

"We've stuck to our guns through the Eighties and Nineties when people were saying we should change our clothes and our style. But we didn't and people got it that we are the real deal."

That might be all we'll hear from anyone in AC/DC on the proposed new album and tour, or Malcolm Young's illness, for now.

UPDATE: Okay, cancel that. AC/DC have released an official statement on Malcolm Young and the future of AC/DC:

"After forty years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. Malcolm would like to thank the group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support.

"In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family’s privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music."

So it sounds like AC/DC will work on new music, towards a new album, and presumably do the 40th anniversary tour, possibly with Stevie King (who filled in for Malcolm on the 1988 Blow Up Your Video tour), or another guitarist playing Malcolm's parts live.

Just to clarify, information about Malcolm Young's illness reported here in earlier posts did come from a family member, and friends of the band. At the time it was published, there was a belief that AC/DC would not continue without Malcolm Young, that they couldn't continue. Obviously, the remaining members of AC/DC have decided to try and go forward, at least for now.

Here's a brilliantly simple explanation from Malcolm Young on why AC/DC have remained so successful, for so long:

“If you look at The Beatles, they started out as a rock & roll band, playing in Hamburg. They became really successful. And then they started doing things like Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour...

“But eventually they came back to playing straightforward rock & roll like ‘Get Back’. The Stones did much the same. We’ve learned from bands like that that it’s best just to stay where you’re at; you’re going to come back there anyway, so why leave in the first place? Why not simply work better and harder at what you’ve got?”

More To Come

The Angels - "No Way, Get Fucked, Fuck Off!"

By Darryl Mason



A story I wrote for The Guardian's 'Australian Anthems' section on The Angels and one of the most famous, legendary songs in all Australian rock - "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?" The story includes a bit of an explainer on the origins of the NWGFFO crowd chant.

Excerpts from The Guardian:

It’s a song about grief, mourning, loss and the afterlife. It’s played at funerals, 21st birthdays, retirement parties – even weddings. It’s popped up in a spectrum of Australian TV shows and movies over the decades, and with the 1980s addition of an expletive-laden audience chant, this failed debut single from the Angels is now one of the most famous in Australian rock history.

Back in the 80s, Neeson told me the song began its life as a slow, acoustic ballad. The inspiration for the lyrics, he said, came from hearing a friend describe his grief following the death of a girlfriend in a motorcycle accident.

Not all Angels fans were happy with “No way, get fucked, fuck off!” becoming attached to See Your Face Again. The ones moved because the lyrics were about the death of a girlfriend to this day insist on fan forums that the chant cheapens the song and robs it of its powerful, nostalgic strength.

Leave a comment at The Guardian on what this songs means to you after you read the full story there. All comments appreciated.

The Full Story Is Here

More Rock Writing From Darryl Mason Here - Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Buckley, Silverchair, Kyuss