Well, most of us figured this was AC/DC’s final tour this year anyway, but yesterday’s news that they have postponed the rest of their U.S. tour as singer Brian Johnson faces “total hearing loss,” was a shock and felt like another rock star death.
Johnson has revealed that he burst his eardrum racing cars without earplugs. “I heard my eardrum burst because I forgot to put my plugs in under my helmet,” he said, “Music had nothing to do with it … I was dizzy, my middle ear had gone, and I took my helmet off and there was blood coming out and I’d burst my eardrum.”
This story was on my local news channel this morning with the headline ‘Brian Johnson will never sing again.’ I don’t know why, but reality really sunk in for me right there that this is the end for the legends from down under.
I saw AC/DC on the current tour last month and I am glad I did, but it’s a bummer that Johnson and the band couldn’t go out on their own terms. Take care of yourself, Brian.
Happy Posthumous Birthday to former IRON MAIDEN Drummer Clive Burr. He would have been 59 today. Previously a member of Samson, Burr joined Maiden in 1979 (coincidentally at about the same time Bruce Dickinson joined Samson). He played on their first three records: Iron Maiden, Killers and The Number of the Beast, and co-wrote the songs “Gangland” and “Total Eclipse.” Burr died in 2013 due to complications related to MS. R.I.P.
Happy Birthday to Adejola Olivera listening to METAL SHOP in São Paulo, Brazil.
For Those About To Rock, We Salute You!