Brian gives an interview
In an interview with SiriusXM, the AC/DC vocalist spoke about the onset of his hearing problems, the conversation he had with the band members before his departure, and how he feels about his career. Check out excerpts from the interview:
“About eight years ago I was at Watkins Glen [a racetrack in New York] and I was getting ready to race (…) And some guys came up saying, 'Brian, hurry up, you're going to be late!' and I ran to the track. I put on my helmet and for the first time I forgot to put on my ear protectors. What happened was, there I was, and after about 35 minutes my ear popped. And I thought, 'What the hell was that?'”
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But everything was fine. What happened was that I suffered from tinnitus for about six or seven months, but it went away and I was fine, we did another tour, everything was fine. But unfortunately, on stage you have no defense. So when we started the tour I was fine, just going with the flow. And I think with age, that industrial noise on stage every night... You know, you're in a rock band. What would you expect?”
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He continues: “We were playing in Winnipeg in a huge stadium, it was raining heavily and it was absolutely freezing. And I got a fever (…) Right after the show we had to catch a plane to Vancouver, and on that two-hour flight the fluids went up to my ear. But we had to keep going. We did a show there, and then in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and then we went home for a two or three-week holiday. My ears hadn’t burst yet. And I was getting worried because my right ear, my good ear, was going deaf. And when I got [to Australia] the doctor realized that the fluids had crystallized and were destroying my ear. So my good ear, I lost… I don’t know what percentage, but enough to make things very difficult. They worked with me, put tubes in my arm, I received fluids and steroids in my system to try to clear it up. But he looked me in the eyes with that horrible look doctors have and you know something bad is coming. And he just said, ‘Yeah, unfortunately you won’t get it back. But we’ll work and try.’” And we tried. And we did all the shows in Australia – and it was great – and we went back to do 10 more shows in America and unfortunately after that I had my second exam and they said 'you're killing your ear'.”
“The other members saw what happened, because I was getting regular checkups and they noticed a serious decline. If I continued, there was a good chance I would never hear again. And Angus and Cliff said, 'Jonno, you have to think about your health.' Everyone said, 'Brian, your health comes first. You've done a year on the road, you've done everything. We want to finish.' And that's what they did.”
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But Brian feels optimistic, looking back on his career:
“What people don’t understand is that things are like this. It’s like when a player in some sport has a physical problem. I feel sorry for them because they’re 24 or 25 years old. They get injured and that’s the end of their careers and that’s a very bad thing. But I’m lucky. I’m 68 – I’ll be 69 this year – and I’ve had good times. I was in one of the biggest bands in the world. [The doctor] didn’t say I have cancer or anything terminal. I had so many good times with the guys and I’ve had such a lucky and good life, I’m just grateful, really, to have come out of it whole.”.