Quick stats: Brian Johnson AC/DC lead singer
Daily driver: 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom (Brian's rating: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Other cars: 1957 Vespa 400 (Rating: minus 3 for reliability, 10 for fun), 2008 Audi Q7 (Rating: 10), 2008 Fiat 500 (Rating: 9), 2003 Plymouth Prowler (Rating: 6), 1973 Citroen DS 23 Pallas (Rating: 8)
Favorite road trip: England to Italy
Car he learned to drive in: 1959 Ford Popular
First car bought: 1957 Hillman MinxIHi
It shouldn't surprise you that a proud "petrolhead" delivers one of the most recognizable opening lines in rock 'n' roll, "She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean," using a car metaphor to help chronicle a mind-blowing night with an unforgettable woman.
"Absolutely, my darling, you see -- you've spotted it!" says AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, who then belts out the line in his distinctive voice. AC/DC is one of the greatest rock bands ever -- their hard-edged sound make them the original badasses, garnering superstar status with 200 million albums sold worldwide.
These titans of rock are poised to sell more units than any other act, with their first album in eight years "Black Ice" (without the help of iTunes, for which they are the rebel holdouts) out October 20, in one of the most anticipated CD releases this year.
Johnson took time out of his busy schedule before their first world tour since 2001 for a one-hour chat with Motor Trend Online to give a rare glimpse into his automotive alter-ego and participation in Historic Sportscar Racing.
While brothers Angus and Malcolm Young formed the band in Australia, Johnson, who helps write lyrics, hails from northern England. Belying the rock-star image, he comes across with no pretense, but instead is quite the comical, jovial, British chap, still with a very strong Geordie accent, even though he lives in Florida. But he does lead the life of a rock star when it comes to his taste in fine cars and literal life in the fast lane.
He talks much as he sings -- with gusto, speaking with exclamation points (if one could, he does), underscoring words with his enthusiasm (his emails are even typed in ALL CAPS). Verbally, he punctuates most sentences with a polite "my darling" to this writer, although his "my" sounds like "me."
They don't do a ton of press, so I first thanked him for this exclusive. "Oh, it's my pleasure, I'm a motorcar nut, I've read your magazine many times on many airplanes," Johnson replies. "I'm a petrolhead, man, I'm nuts for it! I'm in a rock 'n' roll band, but all I live for basically is to go racing and be around fellow petrolheads. That's why I go racing with HSR; it's just the best racing organization out there for fun."
Daily driver
These days, Johnson is rockin' a 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom he bought a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, with his success since joining the band in 1980 with their megahit album "Back in Black," this is his first Rolls, which he rates an "absolute 10." Turning 61 this month made him reflect: "I came from a mining village and nobody had any money. I promised myself one day I would buy one. It's the best car I've ever had."
On a scale of one to 10, he wanted to give it a million rating. "I'm still trying to find out where the bloody boot [trunk] switch is!" he laughs. "The instruction book is about as heavy as the Ten Commandments. You could use it as a jack!"
He traded in his Bentley Continental, which he adored. "I still do love it because I fell in love with the Audi engine, you know the W12 twin-turbo. I loved it that much, I've ordered myself an Audi R8." The R8 should arrive in November. "I'll be on tour, which is bloody just about typical, isn't it?" he laughs.
Johnson wasn't in the market for a Rolls, but his friend, a car dealer, nudged him, "He said, 'Brian you've got to try it.' I said, 'It's too big. I love this Bentley.' He said, 'I'll send it down in a trailer for you and just have a drive.' Well, of course, he knew what he was doing, the sneaky bugger. As soon as I got in it, I fell in love with it."
"The first thing that took my breath away was when I put my foot down and I got to 60 in 5, I couldn't believe it!" he continues. "It's just so swift and comfy. Which is absolutely unlike my SWC3 race car that will just knock the living snot out of you when you're going down in Sebring."
He can't stop singing its praises. "It's just the dream. Where I lived, it was a cold mining place, a village called Dunston. The only time you saw a Rolls-Royce was when somebody died," he says.
"There was one car on our street, a 1937 Woolsey. To see one of these giant things with big P 100 headlamps when you're seven, you look up at the grille -- it was enormous, like the Empire State Building. I said to my dad, 'Why do they have such big doors?' these wonderful, huge doors. 'It's obvious isn't it, son? So they can get in without taking their top hats off,'" Johnson laughs.
The Rolls is what kings, queens, and prime ministers drove. "I was always scared in case people thought I was a snob. AC/DC -- we've always kept ourselves way below the radar, and I love my sports cars. I've had my share of them."
...
>>next page