AC/DC played their first gig with new frontman Axl Rose last night in Lisbon, Portugal (May 7).
The band have recruited Rose, who normally fronts Guns N’ Roses, after their singer Brian Johnson was advised against performing live on medical grounds. A tour originally booked with Johnson as their singer was rearranged and began at Lisbon’s Passeio Maritimo de Algés on Saturday night.
Kicking off with ‘Rock Or Bust’, the new-look AC/DC played a career-spanning live set which included classic hits Back In Black and ‘Thunderstruck’. Rose remained seated in his throne, a hangover from a recent leg injury which also affected Guns N’ Roses reunion shows.
The 22-song setlist also included the first live performance of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation’ for thirteen years and ‘Riff Raff’, which hasnt been played since 1996.
AC/DC played:
Rock Or Bust
Shoot To Thrill
Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be
Back In Black
Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
Thunderstruck
High Voltage
Rock ‘N’ Roll Train
Hells Bells
Given The Dog A Bone
Sin City
You Shook Me All Night Long
Shot Down In Flames
Have A Drink On Me
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway To Hell
Riff Raff
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
Ahead of the show, Rose and his new AC/DC bandmates spoke to NME in an exclusive interview.
Asked about whether Rose had enlisted advise from Johnson, the singer said: “I have not spoken with Brian, only because we haven’t spoken much about Brian. There hasn’t been any negative talk with the guys or anything, it’s just the time schedule of having to get things together for the shows, while also I had Guns N’ Roses commitments and then breaking the foot. The day I found out it was broken I left the hospital to rehearse. My only day off was the surgery day and the next day was back to rehearsals.”
AC/DC currently have 12 European live dates booked in for May and June, including two UK shows: London’s Olympic Stadium on June 4 and Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on June 9.
Rose will then rejoin Guns N’ Roses for their ‘Not In This Lifetime’ North American tour, which runs from June 23 to August 22. The band – now missing just one member of its classic lineup, Izzy Stradlin – played their first gigs back with two Coachella headline sets last month.
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