Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider recently shared fascinating insights about how Brian Johnson joined AC/DC, revealing Bon Scott’s prophetic comments about Johnson before his death. The revelations were shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Snider’s account provides a unique perspective on Johnson’s journey to becoming AC/DC’s frontman and Scott’s role in that transition.
“He [Brian Johnson] had given up on his career in music with his band Geordie. To this day he is humble and grateful to have been saved,” Snider said. “The full story is amazing and he told it to me in a pub…in his mansion in England! The dude has his own pub IN HIS HOUSE!”
The most remarkable part of Snider’s story involves Scott’s apparent foresight about his replacement.
“Bon Scott chose him [Brian Johnson]! Little known story told to me by the head of Atlantic records in Europe who signed the band: He was at a club with AC/DC a drunk Bon rolls up to the group with his arm around Brian and says, ‘If anything ever happens to me, this is my replacement!'” Snider revealed.
This account suggests that Scott himself identified Johnson as his potential successor before his untimely death in 1980.
Snider’s revelations shed new light on one of rock music’s most significant transitions. They provide context to the tragic circumstances that led to Johnson’s recruitment and the band’s subsequent success.
Ultimate Classic Rock reported that Scott served as AC/DC’s lead singer from 1974 until his death. He had just completed the Highway to Hell tour weeks before the fatal incident. The timing of Scott’s alleged endorsement of Johnson becomes even more poignant when considering how close it came to his passing.
The circumstances surrounding Scott’s death were as tragic as they were sudden. Louder Sound detailed that Scott died on February 19, 1980, at age 33 after passing out in friend Alistair Kinnear’s car following a night out in London. The coroner ruled acute alcohol poisoning as the cause, classifying it as death by misadventure.
AC/DC faced an uncertain future following Scott’s death. Johnson’s recruitment proved to be a turning point for the band. Simple English Wikipedia noted that AC/DC hired Johnson in April 1980 and proceeded to record Back in Black as a tribute album to their fallen frontman. The album became one of the best-selling rock albums of all time.
The story Snider tells adds a deeply personal dimension to what many consider one of rock’s most successful lineup changes. If Scott indeed handpicked Johnson as his potential replacement, it suggests a level of foresight and musical intuition that extends beyond the grave. This makes Johnson’s subsequent success with AC/DC feel almost destined rather than coincidental.
