AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Autobiography reveals how Roger Daltrey changed his life

The Lives of Brian' billed as "one of the most cheering and entertaining stories in rock‘n'roll history" Before he began tearing the roof off arenas as lead singer of hard rock icons AC/DC, Brian Johnson was fixing roofs.

It’s a Cinderella story. Only Johnson, was a Cinderella at least three times, never giving up on his dream of singing in a rock‘n’roll band.

They say that good things come to those who wait. And now, the wait to read AC/DC‘s frontman, Brian Johnson’s tell-all account of his rock ‘n’ roll life is nearly over. Johnson’s autobiography, titled The Lives of Brian.

He attended one of Jimi Hendrix’s first shows in Britain, saw Sting perform when the future singer of The Police was 15 and made friends with members of Slade and Thin Lizzy. He would meet Chuck Berry but it didn’t go well. “Never meet your heroes,” he writes.

Still, part of Johnson was unfulfilled. It was a meeting with singer Roger Daltrey that proved pivotal. The Who’s frontman invited Johnson — then living with his band in an apartment with just four mattresses on the floor — over for a meal at his manor house.

On the day, Johnson recalls Daltrey riding toward him bare-chested and barefoot with no saddle, holding on to the mane of his galloping white horse (“If this isn’t a rock star, I thought to myself, I don’t know what is,” he writes.)

“He said, ‘I’m going to give you one piece of advice, Brian. Never give up. Do you understand me? Never, ever give up’. And I really took that to heart,” Johnson recalls. “He’s probably forgotten that he said that, but I didn’t.”

The singer returned to the long-running band as lead vocalist for their November album ‘Power Up’, which was their first LP since 2014’s ‘Rock Or Bust’.

The legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famers reign on the strength of their new LP Power Up, which debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 117,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

AC/DC earns their third No. 1 album, following 1981's For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) and 2008's Black Ice.

The rock ‘n’ roll legends have been teasing their comeback all week, previously confirming a reunion of their surviving classic members, and strongly suggesting that the album will be titled PWR/UP.

“Shot in the Dark” is unmistakably an AC/DC song, as it reunites guitarist Angus Young with returning classic members Brian Johnson (vocals), Phil Rudd (drums), and Cliff Williams (bass). Stevie Young (rhythm guitar), who replaced the late Malcolm Young, rounds out the lineup.

“I’ve had some long nights and some great nights, bad days and a lot of good ones,” Johnson said in a statement. ​“I’ve gone from choirboy to rock’n’roll singer, and now I’ve gone and written a bloody book about it.”

Billed as “one of the most cheering and entertaining stories in rock‘n’roll history”, The Lives of Brian will cover Johnson’s childhood growing up in Dunston where he went from “choirboy and cub scout to singer” after watching Little Richard perform on TV.

One thing to remember is that while Angus Young’s signal path has been long renowned for its simplicity, it’s one that works because of the sheer quality of its combined ingredients.

As the crowd roared, Williams humbly retreated to his usual position. So Young turned his attention to singer Axl Rose, who took over as frontman for the tour after Brian Johnson was forced to (at least temporarily) retire because of hearing damage.

Although he’s been occasionally spotted holding a Les Paul, ES335 and even a Fender Mustang on one occasion - there really is only one guitar associated with AC/DC’s duck-walking lead maestro. And it would be fair to say his loyalty to the Gibson SG has never waned…

“I liked the SGs because they were light,” Angus told Guitar World in 1984. “I tried Fenders but they were too heavy and they just didn't have the balls. And I didn’t want to put on them DiMarzios because then everyone sounds the same. It's like you're listening to the guy down the street. And I liked the hard sound of the Gibson."

Gibson Custom Shop 1961 Les Paul SG Standard Reissue Stop-Bar VOS - $4,199
If you’re going to go big, you might as well go all the way. This 1961 reissue from the Gibson Custom Shop is the most expensive SG in production. It comes in a classic Cherry Red and features a 1-piece Solid Mahogany body, two Custombucker Alnico III pickups, an ABR-1 Tune-o-matic Bridge. It will have the perfect grit and hairiness for those biting Young tones and holds its value well.