photo courtesy glenn slavens & crystal lambert
By Steve Newton
The latest version of AC/DC plays Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium tomorrow (Tuesday, April 22), so I thought I’d reexamine that fateful day seven years ago when some sleuth reporting on my part set the hard-rock ablaze with rumours of the beloved band’s return to the studio.
On August 7, 2018, I posted a candid photo that had been provided to me by Vancouver residents Crystal Lambert and Glenn Slavens. Lambert, a hardcore AC/DC fan, had an apartment located near Warehouse Studios in the neighbourhood of Gastown, and she and longtime friend Slavens had been keeping an eye on the studio’s outside deck. That’s where various band members seemingly retreated to get some air, use the barbie, and drink coffee (or perhaps Jack Daniels) from white mugs.
The blockbuster snapshot they sent to me, taken by Slavens two days prior, appeared to show longtime AC/DC singer Brian Johnson–in a grey baseball cap, black t-shirt, and torn jeans–walking back into the studio, holding a white mug.
This was potentially huge news, because Johnson had previously been replaced on tour by Guns N’ Roses crooner Axl Rose when hearing problems took him down after the release of 2014’s Rock or Bust album. Nobody was really sure whether Johnson–whose rugged vocals had helped AC/DC find massive success with post-Bon Scott albums like Back in Black and The Razors Edge–would rejoin the band.
But equally mindblowing, for diehard AC/DC fans, was the fact that the guy pictured right next to Johnson, wearing a white t-shirt and holding his own white mug, looked a lot like legendary AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, who’d slammed the skins on most of the Scott-era albums, as well as the monumental Back in Black. Due to ongoing legal problems in New Zealand, Rudd had been unable to join the band for the 2015 Rock or Bust World Tour, but now–judging by the photo–it looked like he might be back in action, recording-wise.
The fact that both aging rockers were captured on camera smiling and apparently having a good time boded well for whatever rowdy rock sounds were being laid down in the adjacent building.
When the paparazzi-style photo was first published it went viral, with every rock ‘n’ roll website worth its salt (and lots of crappy ones) reposting it, some claiming the sighting was “fake news” and calling my journalistic integrity into question.
Screw those people.
As we all know now, Rudd and Johnson–along with lead guitarist Angus Young, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young (who’d replaced his late uncle, Malcolm Young), and longtime bassist Cliff Williams–were indeed recording a new album in Vancouver, which was released in November of 2020 under the title Power Up.
While not one of AC/DC’s best albums–I’ll take Powerage anyday, thanks–Power Up has sold over a million copies worldwide, and has led to the much-ballyhooed world tour that lands in Vancouver tomorrow.
Although 77-year-old Brian Johnson will definitely be singing, Phil Rudd, 70, will not be playing drums, unless… Hey, has anyone spotted him hanging around town lately, clutching a white mug maybe? Send me a snapshot pronto please!
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