Axl Rose Makes Debut As AC/DC Frontman In Lisbon
By Scott Bernstein May 7, 2016 • 3:14 pm PDT
On June 29, 1980 Australian rockers AC/DC began a new era following the death of Bon Scott, when English vocalist Brian Johnson fronted the band for the first time in public at a small show held in Namur, Belgium. Tonight, AC/DC played their first show without Johnson since that fateful night in Belgium as Axl Rose fronted the group at Passeio Maritimo de Algés in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Guns N’ Roses frontman has stepped in for Johnson who parted ways with AC/DC after doctors told Brian he risked permanent hearing loss if he continued to perform at large scale shows. This evening’s show was the first of 12 AC/DC Rock Or Bust World Tour performances in Europe that will be followed by a series of rescheduled dates in North America and perhaps more. Rose is still recovering from an injury to his foot that left him tethered to a seat in Lisbon.
AC/DC started the Rock Or Bust World Tour a little more than one year ago on May 5, 2015 in The Netherlands. Over the course of the tour’s 60+ shows since there had been little variation in the setlist. Axl Rose’s AC/DC debut stuck to a similar script with two major exceptions. At first, the group rolled through the first six songs they have at every other Rock Or Bust performance: “Rock Or Bust,” “Shoot To Thrill,” “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be,” “Back In Black,” “Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder” and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Then came the night’s initial bust out as Axl led AC/DC through “Rock N’ Roll Damnation,” a song the Aussie rockers hadn’t played since October 21, 2003.
Axl/DC continued to move through a bevy of career-spanning hits through the end of the 19-song main set including “Thunderstruck,” “Hell’s Bells,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “T.N.T.” and “Whole Lotta Rosie.” The group then returned to kick off their encore with “Highway To Hell.” Up next was AC/DC’s first performance of “Riff Raff” since July 5, 1996, a span of nearly 20 years. However, the return of “Riff Raff” wasn’t a huge surprise as Angus Young recently performed the song with Guns N’ Roses during his guest spot at Coachella. In typical Rock Or Bust Tour fashion, AC/DC ended the show with “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You).” The tour now moves on to Seville, Spain for a Tuesday night performance.
Videos
Setlist
- Unknown Song
- 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
- Givin 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)
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