"I see them as the greatest ever rock'n'roll band. How can it be a bad thing to be compared to the best there is?" Airbourne on AC/DC, non-annoying Christmas songs, and why their new album had to be exactly right

Airbourne onstage — (Image credit: Airbourne)

As Airbourne, the rock ’n’ roll machine from Warrnambool, Victoria, prepare to undertake six UK dates, frontman and guitarist Joel O’Keeffe sets the scene for an upcoming, as yet untitled, sixth studio album –the follow-up to 2019’s Boneshaker – that he considers “maximum Airbourne”.

AC/DC’s first tour of Australia in a decade is days away. Would we be correct in thinking you’ll be going to see them?

I’m seeing three of the shows. I’m so excited.

Angus and company are taking Aussie support acts out with them. Are you disappointed that Airbourne are not on the bill?

There’s two ways of looking at it. At least we get to stand out front and have a few beers. Australia has waited so long to see them, it’s gonna be hard to avoid being ten pints deep by the time they come on.

Does it piss you off when critics so repetitively compare Airbourne to AC/DC? Don’t you think you deserve a break from it?

Not at all. To me it’s a great thing, and that won’t ever change. I see AC/DC as the greatest ever rock’n’roll band. How can it be a bad thing to be compared to the best there is?

We’ve already heard new song Gutsy, unveiled before the band’s spot at Download 2025. How was that experience? How was Download for you?

Oh, mate, we hadn’t been at Donington for a long time. Because of that we didn’t know how the gig was gonna go, and there was a lot of anticipation, but when we went on stage there were people as far as we could see. It just felt rockin’. It felt right.

GUTSY - YouTube

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What can you tell us about the new album? Is it also going to be titled Gutsy?

It’s been recorded for a while, but when the album has been mastered, that’s when we sit down and work out the title. Content-wise there might be a few surprises. I will tell you that it is the most Airbourne album so far – for the first time, we’ve been able to put all the things we do into one set of songs.

Will you be previewing any of the album’s songs on these UK dates?

Yeah, absolutely we will. By the time the tour is rolling there may even be two singles out, and of course we will include those.

It’s been a long time since the last Airbourne album, 2019’s Boneshaker. You must have had lots of songs to choose from for the new record?

There would have been fifty or sixty. We went over and over them again to ensure that the album is maximum Airbourne. We felt it was important that with rock’n’roll under siege from AI and venues closing down – so many different threats – that we had to get it completely right.

There’s also an expletive-charged, mildly suggestive festive song called Christmas Bonus.

That’s one way of putting it. Well it does include the word ‘motherfucker’. That phrase ‘Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker’ comes from one of our all-time favourite films, Die Hard, which is a Christmas movie. That’s why it’s there. It’s an example of the extreme hyper-focusing that went on with this record.

Airbourne - Christmas Bonus - YouTube

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Amusingly, Christmas Bonus begins with a monster riff, followed by the words: ‘Ho ho ho… let’s go!’

It’s a fun song! At Christmas time my brother Ryan [Airbourne drummer] and I would listen to AC/DC’s Mistress For Christmas. We thought carols were annoying and soft. We decided that Christmas needed more rock’n’roll Christmas songs. This is ours. We liked the double-entendre of the title, and musically it’s supercharged.

Airbourne's European tour begins at Nottingham Rock City on January 30. For full dates and tickets, visit the Airbourne website.

Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.

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