Hours before Guns N Roses were to take the stage for their big Coachella reunion show, AC/DC almost stole the spotlight by officially confirming that which we've been speculating about for months… Axl Rose is their new lead singer.
The band wrote on their official website:
AC/DC will resume their Rock Or Bust World Tour with Axl Rose joining on vocals. The European stadium tour dates begin on May 7 in Lisbon, Portugal and run through June 12 in Aarhus, Denmark as previously announced (see below for full itinerary). Following this European run of dates with AC/DC, Axl Rose will head out on his Guns N Roses, Not In This Lifetime Summer Stadium Tour. The 10 postponed U.S shows will be rescheduled and announced imminently, also with Axl Rose.
The band's now former lead singer, Brian Johnson, (it feels so weird to write that) was told he could no longer tour or suffer complete hearing loss. AC/DC made sure to include a note about Johnson, making it seem like it was his decision to leave the band:
AC/DC band members would like to thank Brian Johnson for his contributions and dedication to the band throughout the years. 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.
It's unclear if AC/DC will continue to tour with Axl or if this is a one (or two) time thing. US dates are still being rescheduled, but here are the dates with Axl in Europe:
- May 7 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
Angus Young actually got up on stage with Guns N Roses during Coachella last night. Watch the video of Angus and GNR play AC/DC tunes right here.
