AC/DC's Brian Johnson comments on upcoming appearance at Taylor Hawkins tribute show: "I'm honoured"

Brian Johnson and Taylor Hawkins — (Image credit: Getty (Johnson: Kevin Winter) (Hawkins: Robert Knight Archive))

AC/DC legend Brian Johnson has commented on his upcoming appearance at the huge Taylor Hawkins tribute show taking place this weekend in London.

Foo Fighters drummer Hawkins, who was a big AC/DC fan and friend of the band, died suddenly earlier this year aged 50.

"Okay here we go," says Johnson in a statement. "Taylor was a lovely man, his smile was legend, his drumming intense and brilliant, and he could sing as well. When we gather to salute this man and his family, we do it as friends, we do it for him, and we do it with his band the Foo Fighters, who I know will do him proud. I'm honored to be part of it."

Johnson is part of an A-list selection of rock icons and celebrities that'll be appearing at Wembley Stadium this coming Saturday, September 3. The list of names set to appear include Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, The Darkness' Justin Hawkins, Blink 182's Travis Barker, The Pretenders' Martin Chambers, The Vandals Josh Freese, Dave Grohl's daughter Violet Grohl, James Gang and pop star Kesha will also join a lineup featuring Nandi Bushell, Chris Chaney, Stewart Copeland, Liam Gallagher, Omar Hakim, Queens Of The Stone Age's Joshua Homme, Chrissie Hynde, Alain Johannes, John Paul Jones, Greg Kurstin, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Krist Novoselic, Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, Supergrass, Roger Taylor, Rufus Taylor, Wolfgang Van Halen, Chevy Metal and special appearances by Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock.

Paramount Plus will stream the concert live in its entirety. Directed by Joel Gallen, it will be available to stream live and on demand across Paramount’s streaming and digital platforms.

A second tribute show, featuring a similarly stacked lineup, will take place on September 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

Ticket and merchandise sales raised from the shows will benefit charities chosen by the Hawkins family: Music Support and MusiCares.

Artists

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.