Angus Young (shorts) and Brian Johnson headline the Austrailian group.
Image Credit: Steve Bosch/Vancouver Sun Files
April 16, 2014 - 9:24 AM
For those about to retire, we salute you — or not.
A whirlwind of trans-Pacific rumours are reporting that legendary heavy metal heroes AC/DC are ready to hang up their guitars due to a catastrophic illness.
On Monday, an anonymous email was sent to a radio station in Perth, Australia, claiming the classic rock icons were eyeing retirement after a four-decade career.
The writer — who signed off as Thunderstruck — claimed one of the band members may be terminally ill.
“I have extremely good contacts in Europe that are very close to AC/DC,” the email to 6PR said. “I have it on very good authority that one of the band members is quite ill and has returned to Australia with his family.”
On Tuesday, Aussie entertainment commentator Peter Ford made a dire prediction.
“We may not hear them perform or record ever again,” he said, adding that tragedy had struck the group.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that it is guitarist and co-founder Malcolm Young who is unable to continue playing for the band because of an illness. The respected paper says the illness may be terminal.
According to The Herald, the band has a pact stating no member will ever be replaced if he is forced to quit. Instead, AC/DC would call it a career. The band’s second singer — Bon Scott — died tragically following a drunken escapade in 1980.
But sources close to the band have denied the troubling stories — although there has been no official statement.
And The Australian newspaper is reporting that AC/DC has booked six weeks of studio time in Vancouver starting May 1. If Young is indeed terminally ill, it wasn’t apparent in February when singer Brian Johnson confirmed to a Florida radio station that the group would head back into the studio.
Johnson sparked earlier retirement rumours in 2011.
“A journalist asked me once, ‘What do you think about retirement, Brian, seeing as you’re getting older?’ I said something honest and quite naive; I said, ‘Well, I’ll retire when I can’t do it anymore and as soon as I feel I can’t do it anymore, then I’ll retire.’ Next thing I now there’s a headline, ‘Brian Johnson’s gonna retire.’ And it came out all wrong so you got to be careful what you say.”
AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums during their storied career.
News from © Post Media News, 2014