Brian Johnson Discusses Writer’s Block on His First AC/DC Album
AC/DC singer Brian Johnson discussed his battle with writer’s block while working on Back in Black, his first album with the band.
He recalled the moment when he was finally inspired to write “Hell’s Bells,” while in the Bahamas, with Dan Rather in an upcoming episode of AXS TV’s The Big Interview, to be aired on Oct. 1.
“I remember about five songs in, and I was going, ‘Gosh darn it, I think I’ve just ran out of lyrics,'" he said. "And Mutt Lange, the producer, came down, and he could see I wasn’t my chirpy self at breakfast. … He said, ‘Is everything all right, Brian?’ I said, ‘I’m just struggling a little bit here.’"
He recalled "it was a real bad day, the likes of which I’d never seen before. … It’s called a tropical storm. The sky went all black, and that thunder! [Lange] went, ‘Oh, it’s rolling thunder,’ and I went, ‘Rolling thunder, pouring rain, coming on like a hurricane.’ I mean, I was literally giving a weather report! When great things are happening so quickly, you never realize, do you? It's so fabulous. It just looks so easy. … When you try to do it again, it never works!”
You can watch the clip below.
The second half of The Big Interview’s seventh season continues until Dec. 17, with guests including Cheap Trick, Bret Michaels, Alice Cooper, David Byrne and Jon Anderson. You can see the full schedule on the show’s website.
“It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with these entertainment icons each week,” Rather said. “It is a rare treat to be able to delve into a side of these artists that the public doesn’t often get to see, as they tell their stories and share their thoughts in their own words.”