Brian Johnson has finally addressed the conspiracy theories around iconic AC/DC track ‘Back In Black’ in his memoir.
Brian Johnson has finally addressed the conspiracy theories around AC/DC’s iconic track ‘Back In Black.’ For years, fans have thought that former frontman Bon Scott ‘scribbled most of the words to the album in one of his notebooks before he died’ at the age of 33. However, in an interview about his new memoir The Lives of Brian, Johnson has finally clarified who wrote the song.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Johnson admitted that while the idea had come from Scott and the recollections of his fights with his landlord about the volume at which he played his music, the band opted not to use his lyrics at the risk of looking like they were capitalising his memory and death.
It was Johnson, in fact, who wrote the lyrics of what became one of the biggest hits of their career.
“I know there’s an individual who was a conspiracy theorist and that just kept saying, well, Bon wrote these lyrics,” Johnson said to the paper. “What band would let somebody else claim somebody else’s lyrics? I mean, it’s just absolute nonsense. And that’s why I put it in the book, to say for once and for all, those lyrics came from the end of my hand with a pen in it.”
Johnson also spoke about why it took him so long – almost 42 years after the song’s release – to clear the air. While he hated the thought of being that guy, he admittedly couldn’t put up with the incorrect assumptions any longer.
Addressing why he put this tidbit in his book, he said: “There’s people out there, they just won’t believe what’s true. And I felt awful after putting it down (in the book) but it had just got on my nerves for so long. I still love listening to Bon’s fantastic lyrics, his double entendres, his funny little quips … I couldn’t do that.”
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.
![YouTube Video](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pAgnJDJN4VA/hqdefault.jpg)
![](https://images-r2.thebrag.com/rs/mag/18/cover_202408.jpg)