Would KROKUS's MARC STORACE Join AC/DC As Replacement For BRIAN JOHNSON? 'I'd Certainly Give It A Try'

During an appearance on the November 20 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", KROKUS singer Marc Storace once again said that he has no regrets about turning down a chance to audition for AC/DC more than four decades ago.

The 73-year-old Maltese-born vocalist — whose band had opened for AC/DC in the past — passed on the opportunity to try out to replace the late Bon Scott in 1980.

In February of that year, Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking at a club in London, just days after attending a session with Malcolm and Angus Young where they began working on music for what became the "Back In Black" album.

"Back In Black" was the first album AC/DC released after singer Brian Johnson replaced Scott, and it went on to become the third-biggest-selling LP of all time.

Asked by "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk to clarify if he ever actually auditioned for the singer position in AC/DC, Storace responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I get asked every time, but it's really a simple thing, a simple answer. I never auditioned for AC/DC. AC/DC never asked me personally to audition for them way back in the early '80s, right after Bon Scott, unfortunately, left us. I was only pulled to the side by the CEO of this production company in Birmingham who had just delivered the new KROKUS light show before our 'Hardware' tour in Europe. And I got pulled to the side because these guys also did the production for AC/DC and BLACK SABBATH and God knows who. And I said, 'Steve, do you really think at this stage I wanna leave KROKUS? Look, KROKUS is blooming.' My debut album, 'Metal Rendez-Vous' with KROKUS, went straight into the charts, went gold in Switzerland, and it got all the phones ringing. And our management, Free & Virgin Agency, at that time couldn't keep up with the traffic. And then we played for the first time in the USA, we played the Chicago Fest, and our manager-to-be, Butch Stone, turned up with John Kalodner, a big name in the show business. And we had these talks. After that, we played Reading Festival. And we went down like, pooh, really great. And then we did the 'Hardware' album and we were preparing to go out on the road. And I was full of excitement. And my heart was fully in KROKUS. So, having an offer to go and audition for a band that's lost their singer — I mean, okay, it's a band that I respected. But still, I thought, 'I'm gonna sit tight on the horse I'm riding. And I don't wanna step into nobody's shoes.' That's what I thought for myself. And I said, 'Sorry, Steve. I'm staying put.'"

Storace added: "So that was one story. And the other one, now, recently, when Brian Johnson had difficulties with his hearing [in 2016] and they almost nearly had to cancel these huge arena gigs, [there were] suggestions from fans, which I could see on the Internet, saying, 'Hey, now you've gotta take Storace.' 'Hey, Angus [Young, AC/DC guitarist],' all this. Of course it made me happy to see my name appear. Of course I felt like, 'Thank you very much for the respect from all the fans,' but at the same time, I understood fully that they were not gonna go for the singer of KROKUS because I sound too much like Bon Scott. And that was initially, I think, their decision why they took Brian Johnson. So, yeah, I mean, if they asked me the second time around, I would have given it a try, a good try, that's for sure, because in the meantime, all that time went by and my respect for AC/DC grew ginormous. And they are huge and they deserve it. And anyway, that's how it was. And now Brian's back on the saddle and I'm really happy about that. I'm really happy for Brian. He's great. He does a great job. And the two together, together with the band — okay, I miss Malcolm [Young, late AC/DC guitarist] on that stage and Phil Rudd [longtime AC/DC drummer], but, yeah, we move on. And at least they're keeping the ship afloat. And we need to have AC/DC. And I'm so happy that they're coming back and they're going to tour again. As long as we live, we need to have bands like that carrying the flag of rock and roll and hard rock."

Asked if he would sing for AC/DC if the band called him tomorrow and offered him the gig for a tour as the replacement for Johnson, Marc said: "Well, I'd certainly give it a try. I mean, let's be honest, I'd love to sing those songs and look at that audience out there. I mean, come on. Would I say no?"

Elaborating on why he turned down an opportunity to audition for AC/DC 44 years ago, Storace said: "If I was on a sinking ship, I would be the first rat to jump off, but I didn't wanna rat on my friends. My loyalty to KROKUS at the time was like wildfire. And for me, at that point, AC/DC the sinking ship. They just lost a great singer, a great songwriter, Bon Scott. I mean, come on. And so was I gonna take a risk? I didn't even think that far. It all happened like in the flash in my brain, all these different points and counterpoints. And it was, like, 'Hey, no, no. Steve, no, no. Thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna sit tight and KROKUS is gonna go places.'"

Eight years ago, Storace said that he would "certainly" accept an invitation to step in for Johnson after the AC/DC frontman was advised by doctors to stop touring or risk total hearing loss.

Marc admitted in a previous interview that he initially had some understandable reservations about being repeatedly compared to Scott, feeling he was being "branded as a copy of somebody who, at the time, I didn't even know that well." But he eventually started seeing things differently. "Today, I look at it as a big compliment. I think he probably had many of the same idols I had, and we were both gifted with the same vocal tonalities."

Back in 2000, Storace released an album with a project called DC WORLD in which he sang Bon Scott-era AC/DC songs. Audio samples from that effort can be heard in a YouTube clip below.