AC/DC guitarist Angus Young discussed Axl Rose and Dave Grohl in a new Rolling Stone interview.
Axl is used to running his own ship. Did you have to talk to him about how you do things – like being on time?
He’s been really good. He prepares himself, ready to go. We sit and chew the fat before we get on, work out what songs we want to do. It’s gotta be fun for him, and for us. In the beginning, he was confined [with a foot injury] to that chair he borrowed from Dave Grohl. But as soon as he could, he was out and moving.
How did you get Axl to step in for Brian?
Axl contacted a production guy who had done stuff for us. He said, “I know these guys. They have a work ethic. They want to finish these dates.” He volunteered. He came to a rehearsal place we set up in Atlanta, and he’d done his homework. He had a few songs like “Touch Too Much” [on 1979’s Highway to Hell] – “Can you play this one?” “No, we never learned it.” We had never attempted to play it live.
Does Axl sound more like Brian or the late Bon Scott?
He’s more in the Bon style – the rock & roll character. And he’s got his own folksy humor. He’s pretty quick with a quip. Axl has different vocal ranges. You can hear him one way in a Bon song. Then he can flip and do Brian, the higher register.
