Six years since the band’s last studio album, frontman Brian Johnson suggests they will go back into the studio this spring

Australian rock giants AC/DC may be on the brink of a busy year. Speaking to a Florida rock radio station on 14 February, frontman Brian Johnson shared the band’s plans for a new album - their first since 2008′s Black Ice - and a possible tour.

“One of our boys was pretty ill, so we didn’t like to say anything and we’re very private about things like this… But I think we’ll be going into the studio in May in Vancouver,” Johnson told radio show host Andy Preston. “Which means, we should be getting ready.” The band member and the illness were not disclosed

Johnson went on to say that it’s been 40 years since the band’s inception, so there was the potential for a tour to mark the occasion. “I think we’re gonna try to do 40 gigs, 40 shows, to thank the fans for their undying loyalty,” he added, noting the band had not been on tour for four years.



Earlier this month on his Australian tour, Bruce Springsteen opened a gig in Perth and another in Melbourne with a cover of AC/DC’s seminal single Highway to Hell. In Perth, guitarists Tom Morello, Nils Lofgren and Steven Van Zandt (a key member of Springsteen’s E Street Band) joined Springsteen on stage for the AC/DC tribute, on Friday 7 February.



Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder took on duet duties with the Boss for the AC/DC homage in Melbourne a week later, on Saturday 15 February. Bon Scott, AC/DC’s previous lead singer who died in 1980, grew up in Fremantle, near Perth.