Brian Johnson is an Aussie rock legend but he originally hails from the northeast of England.
That’s why the AC/DC singer was the ideal guest when Sam Fender played to a packed St. James’ Park in Newcastle over the weekend.
During the second of two nights at Newcastle United’s famous stadium, the indie singer-songwriter brought out Johnson to perform two classic AC/DC songs: “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long”.
After first inviting his former guitar teacher, Phil Martin, onto the stage, Fender told the crowd they were about to belt out a couple of AC/DC hits.
“We cannot really do AC/DC songs without the one, the only Geordie legend, the singer of AC/DC, Brian Johnson!”, he then added as Johnson walked onto the stage.
You can watch fan footage of the sensational moment below. It was Johnson’s first live performance since he appeared at last year’s emotional Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Johnson has never hid his Geordie roots. “It’s very important,” he told Rolling Stone last year. “And it’s one of those things that stays with you forever. The accent; listen to me. I’ve been (in the US) 30-odd years. And the only thing that’s changed is I say “gas” instead of “petrol.”
Johnson also told the publication that he laughed off Fender once asking him “how do you handle it with all the people that don’t understand you when you’re talking to them?”
“Just stay natural,” was Johnson’s simple advice.
For those not lucky enough to be in Newcastle on Saturday night, Johnson will be performing as part of AC/DC at the Power Trip Festival in California later this year. Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Tool are also on the impressive lineup, and tickets to the festival are still available here.
