AC/DC's BRIAN JOHNSON Says He Initially Wasn't Interested In Writing Memoir

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, who has just published his long-awaited autobiography, "The Lives Of Brian", has told ABC News in a new interview that it was his manager who first suggested a memoir. Although Johnson was initially resistant to the idea — "Every week there's a book out by some old actor or musician," he said. "And I've always gone, 'No, not another one.'" — he eventually put pen to paper and wrote the book, which goes chronologically through his ups and downs growing up near Newcastle, ending with him joining AC/DC and recording the band's seminal "Back In Black" album.

Johnson has dedicated "The Lives Of Brian" to his great-great-great- grandchildren, explaining to ABC News that he thought it was "a shame" and "a pity" that his father couldn't tell him what his grandfather was like on their way to his funeral.

"Nobody knows anybody just a couple of generations later," Brian said. "So that's why I wrote it for my grandchildren. I hope the words in this book help to get to know me just a little more. And I hope there's a little bit of me in you, and I hope you have a long and lovely life."

"The Lives Of Brian" was published in the U.K. by Penguin Michael Joseph, a division of Penguin Random House, by publishing director Rowland White. It was published simultaneously in the U.S. by Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at HarperCollins.

Johnson joined AC/DC in 1980 after the death of previous lead singer Bon Scott.

His first album with the band, "Back In Black", went on to become the biggest-selling rock album of all time.

After a quarter century of platinum albums and record-breaking tours, he was forced to quit the band in 2016 after being diagnosed with hearing loss, but made a triumphant return in 2020 with the release of "Power Up", which went to No.1 in 21 countries. A successful competitive vintage racing car driver, Johnson has more recently enjoyed acclaim as the charismatic presenter of television shows "Cars That Rock With Brian Johnson" and "Brian Johnson: A Life Of The Road".

Johnson was born to a steelworker and WWII veteran father and an Italian mother, growing up in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, a working-class town. He was musically inclined and sang with the church choir. By the early '70s, he performed with the glam rock band GEORDIE, and they had a couple hits, but it was tough going. So tough that by 1976, they disbanded and Brian turned to a blue-collar life.

Then 1980 changed everything. Scott died at the age of 33. AC/DC auditioned singers, among them Johnson, whom Scott himself had seen perform and raved about. Within days, Johnson was in a studio with the band, working with founding members Angus and Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd, along with producer Mutt Lange.

When the album, "Back In Black", was released in July 1980 — a mere three months after Johnson had joined the band — it exploded, going on to sell 50 million copies worldwide, and triggering a years-long worldwide tour. It has been declared "the biggest-selling hard rock album ever made" and "the best-selling heavy-metal album in history."