In September 2020, AC/DC confirmed that Johnson, along with bandmates Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams, had rejoined the group in August 2018 to record the album Power Up.

His English father, Alan, was a coal miner and sergeant major in the British Army's Durham Light Infantry[5] who died in 1996.

[6] When he was young, Johnson performed in various shows with the Scouts, appeared in a play which aired on television, and joined a local church choir.

[citation needed] Johnson released his first and only solo single, "I Can't Forget You Now", as a member of Geordie in January 1976 on the Red Bus label.

In 1982, a compilation including ten of Geordie's 1973–1976 songs, was issued as Brian Johnson's solo album Strange Man on the MCA label.

Various candidates were considered for his successor, including ex-Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser and Slade's Noddy Holder, who declined, before selecting Johnson.

[13] AC/DC guitarist and co-founder Angus Young later recalled, "I remember the first time I had ever heard Brian's (Johnson) name was from Bon".

A week after that he was sent a plane ticket to the Bahamas, their management's idea, partly for tax purposes and partly because there were no vacant studios in the UK,[15] where he joined the Youngs, bassist Cliff Williams, drummer Phil Rudd and Highway to Hell producer Mutt Lange in Compass Point Studios.

[citation needed] A symbol of the working class in the north of England, Johnson customarily wears a newsboy cap on stage and frequently off.

His brother suggested that the singer wear the cap onstage to prevent sweat rolling off his thick, curly hair into his eyes while singing.

"[19] In April 2016, during the Rock or Bust World Tour, AC/DC announced the departure of Johnson, citing hearing issues.

Johnson made a cameo appearance with rock band Muse on 31 August 2017, performing a rendition of "Back in Black" with the group.

[24] According to members of the band Terrorizer, in January 2019 Johnson confirmed to them that he was back in AC/DC after getting "sick of denying it" and that he was working on a new album.

He conceived the project with writers Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement, and Brendan Healy[30] after seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats and being underwhelmed at what he saw.

[citation needed] Malcolm McDowell, who made his recording debut singing one of the songs for the soundtrack in Brian's studio, agreed to play Zeus.

[31] In 2004, Johnson travelled to Greece to film an episode of the television series Goddess Odyssey in which he researched the Helen of Troy myth.

In 1997, Johnson recorded with the band Jackyl on their song "Locked and Loaded", and in 2002, wrote lyrics on the track "Kill the Sunshine" from their album Relentless.

[citation needed] On 26 July 2009, Johnson appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on the BBC's Top Gear.

In 2013, Johnson appeared as a guest singer on two songs on Sting's album The Last Ship which features artists with roots in the northeast of England.

[citation needed] In April 2017, Sky Arts broadcast the first episode of Brian Johnson: A Life on the Road.

Featured were Roger Daltrey (The Who), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Sting (The Police), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), and Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin).

[43] Series 2 was released in 2019 featuring Dolly Parton, Billy Joel, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac), Joe Walsh (James Gang, The Eagles), and Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company).

On 3 September 2022, Johnson took to the stage at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert and performed "Back in Black" and "Let There Be Rock" with Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich and the Foo Fighters.

[48] In September 2009, Johnson was diagnosed with Barrett syndrome,[49] causing AC/DC to cancel several shows on their 2010 tour in support of Black Ice.

[49] According to the Sunday Times Rich List of British millionaires in music, Johnson was worth £65 million in 2016.