AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has told Benji Wilson from Telegraph.co.uk that ailing AC/DC founding guitarist Malcolm Young urged the band to get back “out and make music” leading to the creation of their latest album, Rock Or Bust and supporting tour.

Says Johnson: “It’s just given us that impetus to just do it for him because you know before the dementia really took hold of him he said ‘just get out and make music lads, just for me one more time.’ I don’t want to be sentimental about this because, boy oh boy, I’m not a sentimental kind of guy. But that’s what we’re doing.” 

With Malcolm Young’s plight and his own health scares – in 2009 he had a cancer scare that forced AC/DC to cancel several gigs - it is no longer possible for Johnson to take the traditional hard rocker’s approach to mortality and ignore it entirely.

“At this time of my life, you know, I just keep reading the newspaper and saying ‘Oh My God. When I read about Joe Cocker I went but that’s impossible; he cannot be dead; he’s only 70. I mean I’m aware of the fact that I’m not long for the world but, I guess, I’m just not afraid of death. I don’t believe in anything so therefore I’m not afraid what’s gonna happen afterwards.” 

Read more at Telegraph.co.uk.

AC/DC kicked off their Rock Or Bust 2015 tour on April 10th headlining the 2015 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The fest marked the appearance of the band's new line-up featuring mainstays guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and guitarist Stevie Young and former drummer Chris Slade. AC/DC performed three songs from the new album and filled the set with deep classics like the rarely-heard “Have A Drink On Me”

and “Sin City”.

AC/DC’s Coachella setlist:

“Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be”
“Shot Down In Flames”
“Back In Black”
“Rock Or Bust”
“Shoot To Thrill”
“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
“Thunderstuck”
“Play Ball”
“The Jack”
“Hells Bells”
“Baptism of Fire”
“You Shook Me All Night Long”
“Have A Drink On Me”
“Sin City”
“T.N.T.”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Train”
“Whole Lotta Rosie”
“Let There Be Rock”

Encore:

“Highway To Hell”
“For Those About To Rock”

Fan-filmed video:

AC/DC’s North American run kick off on August 22nd in Foxborough, MA at Gillette Stadium and run through September 28th in Los Angeles, CA at Dodger Stadium. Tickets available via Ticketmaster. Previously announced European dates on the Rock or Bust World Tour begin May 5th in Holland and run through late July. AC/DCalso  announced dates in their homeland of Australia in November.

AC/DC last toured the world from 2008-2010 with the Black Ice World Tour, which had the band playing to over 5 million fans in 108 cities in over 28 countries. The Black Ice World Tour earned AC/DC a Pollstar Award for Major Tour of the Year in 2010.