Axl Rose has a very busy year ahead of him.
Mere hours before Guns N’ Roses were set to hit the stage at Coachella Music & Arts Festival in California, news broke that Rose has been named AC/DC’s new lead singer. At least temporarily.
According to initial reports, and now confirmed by representatives from both camps, Rose will fill in for Brian Johnson on AC/DC’s May and June “Rock Or Bust” tour of Europe. After the jaunt concludes, Rose will take Guns N’ Roses, with Slash and Duff McKagan in tow, out on their own “Not In This Lifetime” tour, which hits Gillette Stadium July 19. It’s assumed when the North American leg concludes, he’ll head back to AC/DC to make up the 10 U.S. dates postponed when the initial news broke at the beginning of March that Johnson would no longer be able to continue with the group due to the possibility of losing his hearing permanently.
“AC/DC band members would like to thank Brian Johnson for his contributions and dedication to the band throughout the years,” reads a statement released by AC/DC. “We wish him all the best with his hearing issues and future ventures. As much as we want this tour to end as it started, we understand, respect and support Brian’s decision to stop touring and save his hearing. We are dedicated to fulfilling the remainder of our touring commitments to everyone that has supported us over the years, and are fortunate that Axl Rose has kindly offered his support to help us fulfill this commitment.”
Rose wasn’t on many people’s radar – and certainly not that of Vanyaland – as a replacement. But it makes sense as there couldn’t just be a nobody taking over at the mic an still expect fans to fill the stadiums and arenas left on the tour. It’s not been announced yet if Rose will be rocking the throne while with AC/DC due to that pesky broken foot, but either way, we know his pipes can more than handle the job:
Read the full statement below, as well as AC/DC’s dates with Rose.
AC/DC ‘Rock or Bust’ European tour dates
May 07 Lisbon, Portugal Passeio Maritimo De Alges
May 10 Seville, Spain Estadio De La Cartuja
May 13 Marseille, France Stade Velodrome
May 16 Werchter, Belgium Werchter Site
May 19 Vienna, Austria Erns-Happel Stadium
May 22 Prague, Czech Republic Letnany Airport
May 26 Hamburg, Germany Volksparkstadion
May 29 Berne, Switzerland Stade De Suisse
June 1 Leipzig, Germany Red Bull Arena
June 4 London, England The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
June 9 Manchester, England Etihad Stadium
June 12 Aarhus, Denmark Ceres Park
