UPDATE, April 16: AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson shot down rumors that the band would retire in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. "We're going to pick up some guitars, have a plonk, and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas," he said on Wednesday, April 16. Rumors had been circulating that one member of the band -- originally thought to be Malcolm Young -- was too ill to continue playing. "If anything happens, we'll record it," Johnson continued. "I wouldn't like to say anything either way about the future. I'm not ruling anything out. One of the boys has a debilitating illness, but I don't want to say too much about it. He is very proud and private, a wonderful chap. We've been pals for 35 years and I look up to him very much."
The band also posted the following message on its Facebook page, confirming that Malcolm was in poor health.
EARLIER: AC/DC may call it quits, according to new rumors that surfaced after an Australian radio station reported the band would go into retirement. A person identifying themselves as "Thuderstruck" wrote an anonymous email to Perth radio station 6PR and stated that one of the band's members was "quite ill" and that "AC/DC members have previously made a pact that no band members will be replaced should someone need to leave the band."
This isn't the first time news of an ill AC/DC member has made the rounds. Singer Brian Johnson confirmed that someone in the band was sick back in February. He told a Florida radio station that they hadn't set any plans in stone. "One of our boys was pretty ill, so we didn't like to say anything, and we're very private about things like this, so we didn't want to say anything."
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, among other reports, guitarist and songwriter Malcolm Young is the sick band member. "He is believed to be unable to continue playing, although there has not been any explanation why," the Morning Herald report noted. Aussie entertainment commentator Peter Ford, meanwhile, fueled the fire when he said that "we may not hear them perform or record ever again” on radio station 3AW.
Despite all these rumors, AC/DC is still booked for six weeks in a Vancouver recording studio starting on May 1.
AC/DC has yet to make an official statement confirming or denying the claims. HuffPost Entertainment contacted the band's representatives to comment on this story. Our post will be updated if and when they respond.
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