Rock News Today

A Classic Rock & Blues Blog

Rare video of AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson singing Toto's classic Hold The Line is going viral

Rare video of AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson singing Toto’s classic Hold The Line is going viral

Brian Johnson singing Toto? On paper, it sounds like one of those AI-driven mashups, where a familiar song is manipulated to feature vocals from an unexpected, often unlikely source. But it’s real.

In September 2001, two months after AC/DC‘s Stiff Upper Lip tour wrapped up, the frontman played a short tour with Geordie II, named in tribute to Geordie, the band he was in before hooking up with Angus & Co in 1980 in the wake of Bon Scott’s death.

They booked six shows in the North East of England, playing in Newcastle (twice), Hebburn, Stanley, South Shields and Middlesbrough, with the opening night of the tour coming at Newcastle’s 1200-capacity Opera House, where 800 lucky punters watched Geordie II perform a mix of covers and originals.

Johnson was joined onstage by guitarist Derek Rootham, bassist Dave Robson and drummer Dave Whittaker, none of whom played in the original Geordie lineup. But they did play some songs associated with the old band, including the traditional folk song Wor Geordie’s Lost His Liggie, which appeared on their debut album, 1973’s Hope You Like It, and Can You Do It, released as a single the same year.

Otherwise, it’s covers all the way. The setlist mixes songs Johnson grew up with (The Animals’ We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, Nina Simone’s Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood) with the kind of hard rock classics you might expect given his daybob (Led Zeppelin‘s Rock And Roll and Black Dog, Rainbow‘s Since You’ve Been Gone, AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie). But one song stands out as an unlikely choice for the famously gravel-throated frontman: Hold The Line by Toto.

Rather than attempting to replicate Bobby Kimball’s original vocal, Johnson – bedecked in a Newcastle United football shirt – opens up the throttle on Hold The Line, giving it the full Back In Black treatment, and it’s surprisingly effective. And, in 2025, it’s resurfaced, being shared widely on TikTok and reappearing on YouTube.

Brian Johnson of AC/DC sings “Hold The Line” by TOTO – YouTube

Johnson and Geordie also entered the studio during their short time together and recorded two songs. The first was a new version of Wor Geordie’s Lost His Liggy, and the second was Byker Hill, another traditional folk tune, this one dating back to the early years of the nineteenth century. The former is a folksy terrace singalong – it would work brilliantly as an AC/DC intro tape – while the latter returns the sound to the hard rock of Geordie, albeit with an ending that veers into sea shanty territory (both are embedded below).

The songs – both credited to Johnson alone – appeared on a pair of compilation CDs released in late 2001, The Northumbria Anthology – From Tees To Tyne and The Northumbria Anthology – From Tyne To Tweed, alongside contributions from Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry, Eurythmics man Dave Stewart and David Clelland, then-member of parliament for local constituency Tyne Bridge.

The real reason behind Jimmy Page’s issue with The Kinks: “He was very jealous”

One night, there was a girl who went out to a gig in Piccadilly. What she was wearing or how she actually looked remains a mystery, but her impact on music is definitive, as this is the woman who inspired The Kinks’ classic ‘You Really Got Me’. Ray Davies spotted her across the room and was immediately attracted to her. The two never spoke, but she became his muse for the track that would eventually change the shape of music. 

“I was playing a gig at a club in Piccadilly, and there was a young girl in the audience who I really liked,” recalled Davies, “She had beautiful lips. Thin, but not skinny. A bit similar to Françoise Hardy. Not long hair, but down to about there [points to shoulders]. Long enough to put your hands through… Long enough to hold. I wrote ‘You Really Got Me’ for her, even though I never met her.”

The song is a classic, as it’s both catchy, animalistic and a lot of fun to listen to. It has also played a significant role in changing the shape of music as we know it, as the power contained within that singular A chord showed musicians the power in simplicity, played with energy. Arguably, the current structure of a lot of rock music, which revolves around a few chords but played with attitude, manifested around the same time this song saw success.

The troubling situation that The Kinks found themselves in likely contributed to the excellent sound of the song. Their first few singles hadn’t performed, and their label was at risk of dropping them. Many in the band saw this as their final opportunity and so decided to push it to the limit when recording ‘You Really Got Me’. The result was the highly impactful track that we know and love today.

“This was a radical-sounding record,” said Steve Van Zandt, E Street Band guitarist who was largely influenced by the track, “When this came on the Top 30 radio, it was completely new to us. It went very high, as did ‘All Day And All Of The Night’. It was radical, and you have to give [producer] Shel Talmy credit for that.”

There was a rumour that circulated for some time that Jimmy Page was responsible for the iconic guitar playing on this song. It was true that Page was responsible for a lot of studio work around the time The Kinks recorded this hit, and Page didn’t do anything to dispel the rumour; however, Ray Davies confirmed that it wasn’t true. He also said that he believes Page let the rumour gain so much traction because the Led Zeppelin guitarist was jealous of the band.

“I must say something about Jimmy Page; I like him. He’s a nice guy. But all this controversy about him playing on ‘You Really Got Me’ is utter nonsense,” said Davies, “The truth is, he was very jealous of the Kinks. When the Kinks had that hit, even the Yardbirds were jealous of us. We had taken the blues format and made a pop hit out of it. When you look at their first hit, ‘For Your Love’ had nothing to do with the blues.”

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Inductees Announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will make fans of some long-neglected acts very happy when the class of 2025 is inducted later this year.

Among this year’s inductees — announced Sunday night during ABC’s American Idol — are first-time nominees Bad CompanyJoe Cocker and Chubby Checker, along with Soundgarden on its third go-round and the White Stripes and Cyndi Lauper, each on their second. The hip-hop duo Outkast fills out the Performers category, also on its first nomination.

 

Longtime slight Warren Zevon — who passed away during 2003 and was nominated just once, in 2023 — will receive one of two Musical Influence Awards, with Salt-N-Pepa receiving the other. Musical Excellence Awards will be presented to Carol Kaye, bassist for Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew and the late pianist Nicky Hopkins, who both worked with numerous Rock Hall inductees themselves, and to celebrated Philadelphia soul songwriter and producer Thom Bell.

Lenny Waronker, the veteran Warner Bros. and DreamWorks label executive and producer whose signings included Randy Newman, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Rickie Lee Jones and a great many others.

Acts are eligible for the Rock Hall 25 years after their first commercial recordings. Checker has been street legal since 1984, Cocker and Zevon since 1994, Bad Company since 1999 and Soundgarden since 2012.

The Performers list includes five of the seven top finishers on the Rock Hall’s Fan Ballot. Bad Company was second with 279,012 votes and Lauper ranked fourth with 235,438, followed by Cocker (232,063) Soundgarden (231,611) and Checker (201,835). Phish had the most fan votes with 327,304, while Billy Idol was third with 258,718 but neither made the final list. This year’s other nominees included the Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis and Mana.

The Performers category is selected by a voting body of music industry professionals, while the fan ballot comprises a single vote for each of the top seven acts. The other categories are selected by committees within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

The induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and stream live on Disney+. It will be available on Hulu the next day and will be edited for an ABC special to air at a later date.

In a statement, Rock Hall Chairman John Sykes said that, “Each of these inductees created their own sound and attitude that had a profound impact on culture and helped to change the course of Rock & Roll forever. Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”

The 2025 inductees cover a lot of bases, from Checker’s first singles in 1959 — and, of course, his 1961 classic “The Twist” — to Soundgarden’s work until frontman Chris Cornell’s suicide in 2017. Salt-N-Pepa remains active, while Lauper is in the midst of a farewell tour. Jack White has been pursuing a solo career since the White Stripes disbanded during 2011 — and is currently on tour in North America — while Andre 3000 and Big Boi have been working on their own outside of Outkast since 2007 (and a short 2014 20th anniversary reunion).

Hopkins, whose resume reads like a who’s-who of classic rock luminaries, passed away during 1994, while Cocker died 20 years later. Bad Company — whose bassist Boz Burrell passed in 2006, has been inactive since 2019, though frontman Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke are still working; a tribute album is due out later this year, and Rodgers is writing a memoir.

The American Idol featured finalists performing songs by Rock Hall members along with a guest mentor appearance by 2000 inductee James Taylor.

Updates, including public ticket sales for the ceremony, will be available via rockhall.com.

Rock Hall’s Worst Band Member Snubs
When the group gets inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame without you.