AC/DC’s frontman, Brian Johnson, spoke with BBC's Matt Everitt about the pivotal musical moments that took him from the streets of County Durham to fronting one of the biggest rock bands of all time.
From stories of hearing Little Richard through a neighbours window as a young boy, finding his talent for singing in a Scout show, to joining AC/DC in 1980 and flying off to the Bahamas to record what would become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, he also talks candidly about the difficulties he faced when he lost his hearing and the revelatory new technology that’s brought it back.
Picking tracks from the likes of Little Richard and Dan McCafferty along the way, Brian shares the music and memories with the down to earth North East humour that’s never left him. Tune in here.
Western Australia McGowan Government will launch a new stand-alone home-grown AC/DC-inspired event in Perth next year. High Voltage is a free event which will take over the streets of Fremantle on Sunday, May 7th, 2023, with a massive outdoor, family-focused musical procession across multiple music and fan zones throughout the heart of the port city.
It comes after the huge success of 2020's 'Highway to Hell', which was dubbed the world's longest stage after Canning Highway was transformed into a 10 kilometre music route. Highway to Hell attracted nearly 145,000 people with a $6.1 million direct impact on the economy, and brought more than 1,000 out-of-state visitors to WA, who spent nearly $1.7 million in the State.
Rather than a single straight route, High Voltage will be a new street circuit-style event with businesses across Fremantle activated to give the event a giant festival feel. The musical procession through the streets will pass by multiple celebration zones across the city which people can enjoy throughout the day.
Each site will offer a unique experience including:
Fremantle Oval for all music fans;
South Beach for DJ and electronic music fans;
Esplanade Park for families and kids.
This new home-grown event delivers on the McGowan Government's commitment in the Tourism Action Plan announced before the pandemic.
It's expected thousands of visitors and locals will attend the free community event which will pay tribute to the Fremantle-raised former lead singer of AC/DC, Bon Scott.
High Voltage is a State-owned event delivered by Tourism WA and produced by Perth Festival's new out-of-season Special Projects arm. The celebration is intended to become an annual event. Full program detail on the celebration of music, art and entertainment will be revealed in March 2023.
Comments attributed to Premier Mark McGowan: "We asked for a proudly Western Australian event and through Tourism WA we have partnered with Perth Festival who are the experts in curating bespoke big bang events. High Voltage is a one-day, all-new rock and roll event featuring musicians, artists and performers on decked out roving stages touring the heart of Fremantle on a circle route, as well as headlining across numerous music zones in Fremantle and South Fremantle. Highway to Hell was a dynamite event in 2020 and was successful in attracting people from overseas, interstate and of course thousands of Western Australians. We know large-scale tourism events are a massive attraction for visitors and locals who together are big contributors to local businesses, giving an injection into the local economy and supporting jobs."
For more information, visit Highvoltagewa.com.au.
