WATCH: Muse play 'Back in Black' with AC/DC's Brian Johnson at Reading Festival
Two titans of British Rock combined for a spectacular singalong!
Reading Festival headliners Muse invited former AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson on stage for an epic performance of 'Back In Black'!
An hour into a set filled with material from across the Devon rockers' career, an excited Matt Bellamy paced the stage, before announcing to the crowd "The best rock singer to ever come from this country... He's back! It's Brian Johnson!"
In only his second stage appearance since he was forced to leave AC/DC or lose his hearing, the 69 year old rock legend emerged laughing and asked the crowd "Are you gonna help me with this?"
Only a month ago, Brian flipped his classic race car in hollywood style at Silverstone, but seemingly needed no help whatsoever belting out the rock anthem.
Prowling the stage and walkway in his own inimitable style, an invigorated Brian was clearly having a lot of fun performing for the Sunday revellers, at one point yelling, "Hey Reading! F**k ‘em all!"
Watch the thunderous performance below:
As the band brought the anthem to a close, a grinning Brian told the crowd "That means a lot to me thank you so much! Thank you boys!" before the always-energetic Bellamy jumped into his arms to embrace him.
After Brian had left the stage, a beaming Matt announced to the cheering masses "Ah man that was great. I can’t even tell you what that felt like!"
The band later tweeted "Such an honor sic to have the legendary Brian Johnson join us onstage at Reading Festival last night. Thanks so much Brian! #BackInBlack"
Muse, who first played Reading Festival 18 years ago, and have since headlined it 3 times, also thanked fans on Twitter and Instagram for being 'absolutely amazing'.
Johnson's appearance with Muse was only his second time on stage since he was forced to leave AC/DC's tour in March 2016 or face a total loss of hearing. The band enlisted Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose to finish their tour and Johnson released an open letter about his condition.
In a lengthy statement Johnson called the day he was told to stop touring “the darkest of my professional life” and assured fans he is “personally crushed… more than anyone could ever imagine.”
Read Brian's statement in full:
“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. 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. I was having difficulty hearing the guitars on stage and because I was not able to hear the other musicians clearly, I feared the quality of my performance could be compromised. In all honesty this was something I could not in good conscience allow. 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.
“Since that day, I have had several consultations with my doctors and it appears that, for the near future, I will be unable to perform on stage at arena and stadium size venues where the sound levels are beyond my current tolerance, without the risk of substantial hearing loss and possibly total deafness. Until that time, I tried as best as I could to continue despite the pain and hearing loss but it all became too much to bear and too much to risk.
“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. Being part of AC/DC, making records and performing for the millions of devoted fans this past 36 years has been my life’s work. I cannot imagine going forward without being part of that, but for now I have no choice. The one thing for certain is that I will always be with AC/DC at every show in spirit, if not in person.
“Most importantly, I feel terrible having to disappoint the fans who bought tickets for the cancelled shows and who have steadfastly supported me and AC/DC these many years. Words cannot express my deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks not just for the recent outpouring to me personally of kind words and good wishes, but also for the years of loyal support of AC/DC. My thanks also go to Angus and Cliff for their support.
“Finally, I wish to assure our fans that I am not retiring. My doctors have told me that I can continue to record in studios and I intend to do that. For the moment, my entire focus is to continue medical treatment to improve my hearing. I am hoping that in time my hearing will improve and allow me to return to live concert performances. While the outcome is uncertain, my attitude is optimistic. Only time will tell.
“Once again, my sincere best wishes and thanks to everyone for their support and understanding.
“Love, Brian"