Before being nicknamed the “air-raid siren” and becoming one of the most influential vocalists of all time as the frontman of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson was inspired by many incredible singers. Heavy Rock has always inspired him, and over the decades, he has spoken about many bands he loves, including AC/DC. He has also shared his opinion on several members of the band, including their vocalist Brian Johnson, who replaced Bon Scott in 1980.
Bruce Dickinson’s opinion on AC/DC’s Brian Johnson
Although Bruce Dickinson’s statements about AC/DC over the years indicate he is a bigger fan of Bon Scott on vocals, he also loves Brian Johnson. He appreciates not only the classic albums but the more recent ones as well. When picking some of his favorite albums of all time, Bruce mentioned “Powerage” (1978) but also praised Johnson’s work with the band.
“Oh God, wow (“Powerage”). It’s AC/DC, what can I say? With Bon Scott! I got to say, I like what AC/DC are doing right now with Brian Johnson with the latest albums. I like that more than ‘Hell’s Bells’ and definitely more than ‘For Those About to Rock’.”
“They’ve kind of taken back control of their sound and changed it slightly to suit Brian’s voice. But their first years with Bon, up until the end of ‘Highway To Hell’, wow. That live album ‘If You Want Blood You’ve Got It’, God! That’s just incredible. So yeah, that line-up… and Bon was just a tragedy, when that happened, it shouldn’t have happened.”
“‘Sin City’ is ok, some of them are hard to sing, because Bon had a kind of interesting voice. But it was a very, very flexible voice. It was a strange mixture of styles in his voice. But there was some Blues in there, he could really do good Blues.”
He continued:
“One of my favorite AC/DC songs is called ‘Ride On’ and it’s got this heartbreaking guitar solo. It sounds like it’s channeling Paul Kossoff from Free in the guitar playing. I mean, it’s great, I love that song,” Bruce Dickinson told Qobuz in 2024 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
The most recent AC/DC albums with Johnson are not only appreciated by Bruce, but “Black Ice” (2008), “Rock or Bust” (2014) and “Power Up” (2020) are also loved by most of the band’s fans.
Bon Scott was AC/DC’s vocalist from 1974 until his death in 1980 and since then Brian Johnson has remained their official singer. He was temporarily replaced by Guns N’ Roses vocalist Axl Rose in 2016 so the band could complete their tour after Johnson had to step down due to hearing problems.
At the time, Bruce praised Johnson and took a jab at Axl Rose. He said he hoped nobody showed up late to the show, since he was known for not always getting on stage on time. “It’s an odd situation. I hope Brian can get some respite for whatever his medical issue is. He’s a lovely guy. There’s just Angus [Young, guitar] in AC/DC now as far as original members. I hope Angus ends up holding up the amazing reputation and the name of AC/DC. It’d be horrible to see it end with people not turning up on stage or being very late. I hope it works out okay for everyone,” he told Adelaide Now in 2016.
Bruce Dickinson listed “Back in Black” as one of his favorite albums of all time
“Back in Black” was the first album AC/DC recorded with Brian Johnson and ended up being their most successful release. It is one of the best-selling records of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide. It is also among Bruce’s favorites, and he listed it on the website of his former BBC radio show “Masters Of Rock” as an essential album.
Interestingly, a parallel can be drawn between Johnson and Dickinson. Both are singers who replaced a highly praised frontman in a successful band. Like Brian, Bruce’s first album with Iron Maiden, “The Number of the Beast” (1982), ended up being the band’s best-selling one.
Although he likes Johnson’s era in the band, it was “Sin City”, from “Powerage” (1978) that he decided to cover on his 1990 solo album “Tattooed Millionare”. Like most AC/DC fans, the singer understands the essence of the band, which is to maintain the style they love and that fans have come to expect.
“You know, I wanted to do a comic book/story/movie for ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ from the beginning to end. The whole thing. Maiden, in some respects, is conservative with a small ‘c.’ That’s not a bad thing. It’s like if you go listen to an AC/DC record. You wouldn’t expect to suddenly hear an orchestra and strings and stuff like that. Because it’s an AC DC record.”
He continued:
“It’s the same thing with Maiden, except that we’ve got our style. Sometimes, you would expect keyboards, and we’ve gone a lot more proggy over the years. But to put our whole concept together around an entire album with Maiden would require a degree of control that I don’t think Steve (Harris) would be willing to relinquish! (Laughs),” Bruce Dickinson said in an interview with Rue Morgue in 2024.