W L INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN JOHNSON & CLIFF WILLIAMS
It might have looked like the curtain had come down on one of the most legendary bands of all time , but AC / DC are back .
Since we last saw them in 2016 , the iconic five-piece have had a tumultuous time , taking in vocalist Brian Johnson ’ s withdrawal due to hearing issues , bassist Cliff Williams ’ retirement and of course , the tragic loss of founding member and guiding light Malcolm Young .
Now though , against the odds and to the delight of countless fans across the globe , the boys are back and have brought with them their 17th studio album , the incredible Power Up . It ’ s a collection that sees AC / DC at the very top of their game and reunites mainstay Angus Young with Johnson , Williams and drummer Phil Rudd , as well as cousin Stevie Young , alongside long-term producer Brendan O ’ Brien .
AC / DC today are as close to a classic line-up as we ’ ll get now , but even with his absence being keenly felt , Malcolm Young is all over the album , from co-writing the songs with Angus to his presence still being felt in the studio . Power Up is that rare animal , a truly great record being made by a band decades down the line . What better way to pay tribute to Malcolm than that ?
Cliff said : “ We finished off the last tour and took a break for a little while . Sony got back in touch with Angus and asked him if he wanted to do something , so he contacted Brian , Phil and myself to see if we would like to do another album , with very much Malcolm in mind . We all leapt at the chance to do it , as it ’ s as close to the old band as we could get , so we were all very enthusiastic about it from the off .”
Brian couldn ’ t agree more with his pal , saying : “ We hadn ’ t been together for a while , so when we got into the studio in Vancouver , there was a real electricity in that room . I can ’ t quite describe it and we aren ’ t spiritual people , but Malcolm was there . He was everywhere , just all over the place . Malcolm was such a very strong character when he was alive , I don ’ t think him passing away would change anything . We started powering up in the studio , with the lads putting the amps up and we knew , it was still there .
There was an energy there , all the boys felt it . It ’ s a tribute to Malcolm , as Back In Black was a tribute to Bon Scott .
We all met after his funeral , talking as if nothing had happened . It just felt like ‘ the boys are back ’, you know ? So the album just has a certain energy in there that I can ’ t put my finger on .”
Power Up is 12 tracks of classic AC / DC , but it ’ s far from predictable and contains absolutely zero filler .
Asked to pick his favourite tracks that he would add to the setlist , even Brian struggles to narrow it down .
He said : “ Through The Mists Of Time is a real favourite of mine and one that I play over and over again . Every time I do , I still get goosebumps . When I recorded it , I kept having to ask Brendan to do it one more time , even though he said it was finished . All I could see was the good times and the happy times that the song was written about , back in the mists of time in the 1980s . Things were simpler than they are now and we had a ball just playing rock n ’ roll , with the beers all over the stage riser and , as the song describes them , the ‘ painted ladies ’, which is obviously talking about all the lovely lasses . They were just happy days for us . I can see Malcolm in it too , so I really love it .
There ’ s another one that Cliff basically stars in called Systems Down . It sounds like he ' s picking a banjo , but it ’ s a bass guitar . That song has so much drive in it , you just can ' t help but think ‘ What the hell is that ?’ It ’ s like a non-stop train , you can ’ t hold it back , this thing . That ’ s what you need to make it different and fresh .
After we listened to the songs two or three times , before we knew it we were playing them like we ’ d been playing them all our lives . We just went straight into it , we surprised ourselves how quickly they became natural to us . It ’ s always fun when that happens . We did some live rehearsals in Holland and we did about six songs off the album , which is unheard of , as we have so many others to play in a set that , if we didn ’ t , would disappoint people . So we have to be very careful and pick two or three off the new album , but this time I ’ d like to do every single one of them . That would mean doing a four-hour set though ! Maybe we could have an intermission like civilised people do !”
With any new album , both the band and the fans always have a tour to look forward to , but with the current COVID-19 pandemic , it ’ s going to be a while yet before we can see AC / DC do what they do
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