Brian Johnson admits he’s ‘personally crushed’ after pulling out of AC/DC tour

Crushed: Singer Brian Johnson of AC/DC (L) opens up about quitting the tour
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Jennifer Ruby20 April 2016
The Weekender

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Brian Johnson has said that he is ‘personally crushed’ after being forced to stop touring with band AC/DC.

Following the announcement that Axl Rose will be replacing him, Johnson released a statement to ‘explain’ his reasons.

After being told by doctors that he would face ‘total hearing loss’ if he were to keep performing, Johnson admitted that he was left ‘horrified at the reality’ of his situation.

He said: “As many AC/DC fans know, the remaining shows for the 2016 AC/DC Rock or Bust World Tour, including 10 postponed U.S. shows, are being rescheduled with a guest singer.

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“I want personally to explain the reason because I don’t believe the earlier press releases sufficiently set out what I wanted to say to our fans or the way in which I thought it should be presented.

“On March 7th, after a series of examinations by leading physicians in the field of hearing loss, I was advised that if I continue to perform at large venues, I risked total deafness.

“While I was horrified at the reality of the news that day, I had for a time become aware that my partial hearing loss was beginning to interfere with my performance on stage.”

The rocker continued: “Our fans deserve my performance to be at the highest level, and if for any reason I can’t deliver that level of performance I will not disappoint our fans or embarrass the other members of AC/DC.

“I am not a quitter and I like to finish what I start, nevertheless, the doctors made it clear to me and my bandmates that I had no choice but to stop performing on stage for the remaining shows and possibly beyond. That was the darkest day of my professional life.

“I am personally crushed by this development more than anyone could ever imagine. The emotional experience I feel now is worse than anything I have ever in my life felt before.”

Earlier this week, the band announced that Gun ‘N’ Roses frontman Rose would be joining them for the remainder of their world tour.

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