AC/DC's Brian Johnson is making music with Jimmy Nail
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AC/DC's Brian Johnson is making music with Jimmy Nail

Oct 27, 2023

"I’m quite proud of them," Johnson insists

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has revealed he's writing songs with actor and early 90s hitmaker Jimmy Nail.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Brian Johnson confirmed he's joined musical forces with his fellow North East native Jimmy Nail, and he's "proud" of the material they’re penning together.

However, 75-year-old Johnson stressed that the material may not see the light of day until he and Nail have kicked the bucket.

Asked what he's been up to lately, Johnson said: "I’ve been writing some songs with a guy called Jimmy Nail, who's had a few big hits of his own. And we don't do anything with them.

"We just write these great songs, which, one day when we’re all dead, somebody will probably push out. But I’m quite proud of them. There's one song keep your eye out for, called ‘What If.’ It's so f---ing funny."

Jimmy Nail shot to fame when he landed the role as Leonard Jeffrey "Oz" Osborne in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet in 1983, and he went on to create and star in police drama Spender in 1991.

He hit Number 1 smash in the UK with ‘Ain't No Doubt’ in 1992 and scored another Top 5 hit with ‘Crocodile Shoes’ two years later. The track was the theme tune to his TV series of the same name.

Brian Johnson is currently doing the promotional rounds to promote his autobiography The Lives of Brian.

In the same Rolling Stone interview, Johnson shot down speculation that Bon Scott wrote many of the lyrics for the band's seminal ‘Black in Black’ album in 1980.

AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson was immortalised in statue form in the Belgian city of Namur on 16th April 2023. The life-size statue made from Belgian Blue Stone commemorates Brian Johnson's first ever AC/DC concert, which took place at the city's Palais Des Expositions on 29th June 1980 four months after the death of Bon Scott. The fan-funded statue was the brainchild of AC/DC aficionados Michel Remy, Mike Davister and Georges Boussingault with support from the local radio station RTBF Classic 21. On the day of its unveiling, Brian Johnson said: "I'd like to say a very special thank you to all the donors and fans in Namur. It's a very special place for me. It was the first might I sang with AC/DC, and I was a very nervous boy. So that memory will stay with me forever, and now that you've built this statue, honestly, I'm not worthy of it. I thank you and I'll take it in good grace. I'll never forget what you've done for me."

The iconic Freddie Mercury statue overlooking Lake Geneva in Montreux. Standing three metres high, the Irena Sedlecka sculpture was unveiled five years after Freddie's death by Montserrat Caballé and Freddie's mother Jer.

A close up of the incredible Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux.

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Chris Cornell's life-sized bronze sculpture at a ceremony at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture. Commissioned by Chris' wife Vicky, the six-foot statue was created by sculptor Nick Marra and depicts the singer throwing a 'rock god pose' while clutching a perfectly detailed Gibson guitar. It was unveiled in October 2018 and sadly vandalised in 2020.

The statue of the late Led Zeppelin drummer is located in Mercian Square in Bonham's birthplace of Redditch. Created by sculptor Mark Richards and unveiled on what would have been Bonham's 70th birthday on 31st May 2018, the vast bronze sculpture weighs around 2.5 tonnes and depicts Bonzo in live action behind the drum kit.

The bronze statues of all four members of The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison – were unveiled on Liverpool's Waterfront in December 2015. Donated by The Cavern Club, the statues were created to mark the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four's last gig in Liverpool at The Liverpool Empire. Slightly larger than life, the statues way a combined 1.2 tonnes! John Lennon is also honoured with a statue on Mathew Street and at John Lennon Airport.

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