AC/DC'S EURO TIX MOVING AT "THUNDER"-OUS PACE

To the surprise of few, tickets for AC/DC's summer European Power Up Tour are moving quicker than you can ring hell's bells. The legendary rock band's first outing with vocalist Brian Johnson since 2015, it will play to around 1.7m thunderstruck fans at 24 stadiums shows with capacities ranging from 46k to 100k.

Double plays are set in multiple markets, including London's 70k-cap Wembley Stadium and Munich's similarly sized Olympic Stadium. At the moment, all but four of the shows are sold out. Overseen by CAA's Chris Dalston (below) and longtime AC/DC business manager Alvin Handwerker, the trek opens 5/17 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

It's remarkable for a band of this vintage to disappear for years at a time and then return with what inevitably becomes one of the hottest tours going, but that has been the AC/DC playbook since its 2003 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, when it began playing live less frequently. The group last hit the road in 2016, with Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose filling in for Johnson while he dealt with severe hearing issues.

Johnson recovered sufficiently to contribute to AC/DC's 2020 album, Power Up, and in October 2023 take the stage with his bandmates as part of Goldenvoice's Power Trip festival in Indio, California.

For the Power Up Tour, Johnson and guitarists Angus and Stevie Young will be joined by former Jane's Addiction member Chris Chaney on bass and Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs' Matt Laug on drums, subbing for the longtime rhythm section of bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd.

By the time the road show begins, Johnson will be 76 and Angus Young 69, prompting speculation that this could be AC/DC's last big go-round. However, no ex-Europe shows have been announced, and it would be hard to imagine the band not visiting other parts of the world if this is indeed the last time it'll be shaking us all night long.