AC/DC's Brian Johnson has never been shy about voicing his anti-political stance. In a new interview, the singer has detailed why he has always refrained from voting during elections, and how he believes his view could kickstart a revolution.
In promotion of his new memoire, The Lives Of Brian, the AC/DC frontman discussed a number of topics with The Telegraph, including his love for cars, which evolved into a conversation about his dislike for politicians and their use of electric-powered vehicles. When asked if he owns anything electric himself, Johnson answers: "Steady, son. You go too far, I sink, monsieur!".
When the interviewer notions to the singer that "electric vehicles are the future", Johnson argued: "It's not the future. They're dirty. They're going to be dirty to get rid of, too. Electric's where it is because politicians want to look green in front of people. It's all nonsense. Fuck 'em."
Discussing his distaste for politics, Johnson then goes on to explain why he has never voted in his life. "People go, 'Oh, well. It's your fault then," he says. "I go, 'No, no. It's your fucking fault for voting these cretins in.
"What would happen if both the candidates got zero votes? Revolution, that's what would fucking happen. And we'd get the right people in."
Johnson, who relocated to America in 1995, previously declared his apoliticism during an interview with The Independent in 2020, days before the US election. "Bollocks to politicians," he said at the time. "Fuck them, I want nothing to do with them."
Last month, Johnson shut down the rumour that former AC/DC frontman Bon Scott wrote lyrics for the band's 1980 album Back In Black, which serves as a tribute to Scott's passing.
Within Johnson's recently-released memoire, the singer addresses the rumour and says: "It was me at the end of the pen, writing every night and every morning, with only the title to work with. That's what happened. That's the truth and I really hope that settles it."
Explaining why he chose to tackle the rumour in the book, Johnson told Rolling Stone: "There was one particular journalist — a writer in Australia — who just wouldn’t let go of this thing.
"And of course, Malcolm and Angus [Young] were like, 'What a fucking load of bullshit.' And I said, I wish you would tell him. And their attitude was always, 'Just leave it. Just let them talk himself into a fuckin’ early grave.' And of course, it became more and more obvious by the day that Bon hadn’t, because the riffs weren’t written then. The boys were still doing it. So we didn’t say anything because otherwise it would have given him more fame.
"It wasn’t something that stuck in me craw a lot," Johnson adds, "but every now and again, a fan would come up and say, 'This guy’s saying this.' And factually, it wasn’t true. There wasn’t an internet then; it didn’t really get further than Australia. But I thought it was awful I had to explain meself and that’s why in the book, I went, once and for all, I want to put this baby to bed."
