Brian Johnson has one of the most iconic rock n roll looks with his paddy cap and sleeveless attires. However, revealing in an interview with Planet Rock, Johnson said he began wearing hats while performing in English group, Geordie, before joining AC/DC.
Johnson explains, “I used to play the working men’s clubs in and around the northeast of England, and we would really rock. It was a grand little rock band called Geordie, and I used to sweat because they didn’t have any air conditioning.
“And in the winter especially, the clubs were full, and they’d have the heating full up, ’cause it was freezing outside. And I always used to sweat, and my hair, all the sweat used to go in the eyes and sting.
“My brother Maurice was there one night. He was there and he’s sitting. And he had just got himself a sports car, and he bought — God bless him — he bought one of them sports-car caps. You know, they’re little caps.
“We were halfway through the set, and I was sitting having a beer with him, and he said, ‘Your eyes are red!’ I said, ‘I know, it’s all the sweat.’ He said, ‘Yeah, put this on.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I’ll try.’
“And I put it on, because in the north of England, everybody wore caps — you know, after the war and all that, it was a kind of uniform for the Geordies and Yorkshiremen and people like that. And I wore it for the second half [of the set] and I went, ‘That’s marvelous! It’s brilliant!’”
Johnson: ‘The singer that wears the cap. Him.’
Johnson kept the hat, mainly because his brother did not want the sweaty garment back, continuing to wear it at future shows. This turned out to be the band’s lucky charm, as they began to get more gigs.
“And then people started remembering, ‘Oh, it’s a good band. The singer that wears the cap. Him.’ And then straight away, we got instant recognition with things like that.
“Then we got gigs, we got shows. ‘We want that group. What are they called? You know, the singer wears the cap!’ ‘Oh, right. Geordie!’ And it stuck. And I guess it’s just part of us now.”
Brian’s cap is so iconic, he later admits in the interview that if he wants to go unnoticed in public, he just won’t wear his hat. You can catch the full interview with Planet Rock on YouTube.
AC/DC released their highly anticipated new album, Power/Up recently and climbed straight to the top of the chart.
