AC/DC postpone tour, Johnson facing “total hearing loss”

AC/DC have been forced to postpone ten US shows from tonight after doctors warned singer Brian Johnson, 68, he may lose his hearing completely if he keeps touring.

The band released a statement, “AC/DC are forced to reschedule the 10 upcoming dates on the U.S. leg of their Rock Or Bust world tour. AC/DC’s lead singer, Brian Johnson, has been advised by doctors to stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss.”

They plan to bring in a “guest vocalist” when they do go back on the road. This would be their fourth singer, after original frontman Dave Evans, and then Bon Scott. Johnson joined in 1980 after Scott’s “death by misadventure”. His first album with them, Back In Black, proved a further breakthrough for the band, going on to become the best selling album of all time worldwide (40 million by mid-2015) after Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and the sixth biggest seller in the US.

This has been the latest blow for AC/DC on the Rock Or Bust world tour. Guitarist Malcolm Young left after being diagnosed with dementia and replaced by Stephen Young, while Phil Rudd was also switched with Chris Slade after his legal woes.

The first US show to be postponed to later in the year was on March 8 in Atlanta. The other shows included Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Greensboro, North Carolina; Washington DC, Detroit; Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland; Buffalo; Philadelphia; and finally New York’s Madison Square Gardens on April 4.

After the ten dates, the band were to return to Europe and the UK through May and June. These are not expected to be affected.

The Rock or Bust tour sold 2.3 million tickets last year, the year’s second most lucrative tour behind Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour, with a gross of US$180 million. They toured Australia in November and December.