Rockers and Rollers: An Automotive Autobiography

by Brian Johnson

By night, Brian Johnson sings in the biggest rock 'n' roll band on the planet.But by day, AC/DC's charismatic, flat-capped frontman gets to indulge his passion for all things automotive.Cars and rock 'n'roll, they were made for each other.Car racer, car collector and all-round car enthusiast, Johnson is an incurable, certifiable petrolhead who can't remember a time when four wheels didn't feature as large in his life as music.Starting, as a young boy growing up in Tyneside, with an old steering wheel and his imagination, a lifelong passion took root early.And through cramped teenage fumbles in an old mini and clapped-out, hygienically challenged tour vans, to chauffeur-driven, leather-trimmed limos and a sideline as a successful racing driver, it's been there ever since.By turns, surprising, joyful, poignant and usually laugh-out-loud funny, Rockers and Rollers is the story of man with an insatiable appetite for life and a glimpse into the extraordinary world of AC/DC, set soon to overtake the Beatles as the biggest selling-band in history.Packed with hair-raising anecdotes and revealing a God-given talent for comic writing on every page, Brian Johnson has written the most unique, entertaining autobiography of the year.And essential reading for car nuts and rock fans.Well that'll be most of us then ...

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this if you're expecting lots of stories about his life in AC/DC - there are some tales, but few and far between. Instead, do read this if you're keen on cars and/or racing them. This guy comes over as a real petrolhead, with a great passion and enthusiasm for all types of cars. On the whole a good read

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sharp and surprisingly funny!
Broken down into very short chapters, some only a paragraph or so, it's a super easy read with plenty of humourous moments.
Focuses on Brian's relationship with cars more than bands although there are a few musical anecdotes thrown in as well.
Definitely recommend watching some footage of Brian before reading to capture his inimitable style and accent so you can read this book and hear his voice bursting off the page!

[Nick Ainger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to give this 1 star, but I gifted it an extra star since I chose this book to learn about AC/DC and not doing my research to know that this is a book about the cars that Brian Johnson gets off to.

Jokes aside, I just couldn’t hold any interest in the writing of this recounting. Maybe I’m being critical but this sounded like a friend rambling on about old memories while I have to feign interest. Will read his AC/DC book in the future, wish me luck

[Robb Sutherland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Millionaire tells you the pot holes in the uk are crap and the roadworks last forever. He also tells you about tax avoidance and his Rolls Royce.

[Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brian Johnson is best known as the frontman of AC/DC – but he's also known for being a total petrol head.
So a book about both of these things seemed like quite a natural departure for the man.
Only, he forgot about the music. Remembered the sex and drugs though, so I guess if you like one barely-recalled tale of group sex in the back of a bus, then there's one tiny chapter that will be right up your Route 66.
For the rest of us, looking for fun times behind the wheel or stories of how actually joining AC/DC came about then Rockers And Rollers is only really running on three cylinders.
It's not that Johnson can't write – the book is so immersed in his vernacular that absolutely nobody else could have written it.
No, it's the fact that he can't string chapters together.
Instead, what we get is a random collection of stores and tales, thrown together like a man warming his feet by the pub fire, paying no attention as to whether anyone is actually listening.
Which starts off being fun, then it slides into endearing, then it becomes quite tedious.
The one common thread through the whole thing is sex.
No, I know this is the man who gave the world Give The Dog A Bone, Sink The Pink and Thunderstruck to the world, but when every single car is referred to as being some form of female genitalia, things get boarish very, very quickly.
And you can play the 'different generation' card til the cows come home, but when he spends most of his story about the time he flew Concord banging on about how beautiful the women giving him the peanuts were, you realise that's just the man he is. And his editor should have wielded the scalpel with a much firmer hand.
Fans of cars will probably love the endless parade of motors that have passed through Johnson's life, but would probably like a few more details about the straight six or the old double-clutching days.
Fans of AC/DC will like the few glimpses into things the band had to do (although if you want to read all of these in one sitting while listening to their music, pick a really, really short song), but will wonder if one of the world's biggest bands means as much to their frontman as they do to the millions of people who have bought their records.
But while both key audiences are left wanting more details, the one thing that comes shining through is that Johnno had as much fun writing this book as he's had in his life as a whole. Sure, there's preciuous little attention to detail or quality control, but then have you listened to Fly On the Wall?

[Todd Charlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, this book has precious little to do with AC/DC. It is Brian Johnson's Automotive Autobiography. Cars cars and more cars. It isn't the greatest book ever written. So I was going to rate the book 3 stars. But; like Clark Kent Brian Johnson has bags of humility, and loads of integrity!
He writes a wicked anecdote and is hilarious! It's great to spend some time with the man! He's to this day a rabble rouser and an all round great guy! If you have any pretence or agenda at all, avoid the man; he'll tell you to piss off! I love Brian Johnson!!

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's virtually nothing in here about AC/DC, but instead focuses on Brian's life by way of the cars he'd driven. Much like Top Gear, you don't actually need to know anything about, or have a particular love for cars to enjoy it, though it does add more if you do.

3.5 stars, rounded up because it's funny.

(word of warning to anyone not familiar with Geordies... this book is chock full of inventive, colourful swearing, toilet humour and references to human reproductive organs. If such things offend you, this book is not for you.)

[Lnsimon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Johnson's humor is the justification for this higher rating. The book is full of humorous anecdotes and told in a genuine fashion. The detractor is that this would hard to follow. His timeline is all over the place. If you love cars and are familiar with Brian Johnson, this is the read for you. If you think this is going to be an in-depth read covering Georgie (his first major band) or AC/DC, you will be disappointed.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, but if you looking for a book about Brian Johnson and his life in AC-DC this isn't for you. You like reading about cars and want to know about the ones Brian Johnson owns or loves and hear short stories about them then read this book.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of AC/DC and this memoir and more by singer Johnson does not disappoint. His knowledge about cars is impressive and his storytelling ability is fantastic. Good for hard rock and metal fans as well as car nuts.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much to the book, really, but it's a mostly fun and amusing collection of stories revolving around Johnson and cars.

[Eric Côté · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much cars!

[Miss Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it years ago and it was a very interesting, funny read.

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

A laugh out loud motoring memoir.

This book made me laugh out loud like very few ever have before.

Brian Johnson shares his motoring passions with care, humour, and genuine passion.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great bits about uncle Brian's early life. I managed to send the bits about Brendan Healey to his kids. Some serious funny stories and plain to see his passion for cars. Cheers Brian.

[Daniel Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not much of his life story- more or less musings on race cars and a few musical stories. Very easy, but weak read.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly just humorous stories. Like a conversation put to print. Reminded me of "I Need More" by Iggy Pop as it is a collection of stories more than a biography.

[Mike Prewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright. I wanted more about the life of AC/DC, not Brian Johnson's car collection.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

very easy read, interesting stories

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting stories. You’d think this would be his biography with AC/DC. It’s not. It’s about his second love cars and auto racing.

[Charlotte (Buried in Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're hoping for an in depth autobiography of the AC/DC front man, then keep walking, because this book is exactly what the title indicates.

This is an autobiography of automobiles, ones that Johnson has owned, driven, raced, loved, or known in some way (with a couple of airplanes and a flight simulator thrown in). These thread together a series of anecdotes. Will you learn anything life altering? No. Will you enjoy it - if you're a petrol head then hell yes.

Now, I like cars, I'm not a petrolhead, but I liked this book. Johnson's infectious enthusiasm was great. His sense of humour may not be to everyones taste, as it is rather rude in places, but he loves what he does and he has a real love of cars which comes through in his writing. Any book that has a chapter entitled "Car Porn", just pictures of cars, well you get the point.

What did I learn?

English tour buses are not safe places to be - when your band member rolls out of the top bunk landing on an air conditioning grating (not waking up) and your response is to be so concerned you fall asleep (said band member then asks you next morning if you punched him because of his bruises), I start wondering what the hell were you taking??

Or the story of the "Anal Intruder" - I now want to know how thick welders gloves are and how long it took to remove the second lobster claw.

It's never a good idea to pee on Sputnik - no matter how many Russians have come to your show.

Never smoke in a brand new porsche.

This book did bring out some unexpected emotions though. In a couple of places stories were told of people who just enjoyed being in a car so much, of taking a certain journey that they wanted to re-live that experience before dying - I had a tear in my eye a couple of times.

I love AC/DC and I have to say I liked this book (even though he bounced around a lot), it was a really quick read (finished it in under half a day) and it was extremely cheap on my kindle. All in all I'd say - nice job Mr Johnson, nice job.

[Brian Waddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a narrative but rather a series of vignettes featuring Brian and cars throughout his life. Very entertaining - laugh out loud funny in some spots. Definitely for an adult audience but very honest and refreshing. Enjoyed it.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a motorhead, but Johnson loves his cars, and tells his stories with such glee and color that this is a joy to listen to. Not just cards, there are escapades in planes and on motorbikes, too. Of course, this touches here and there with his career with Geordie and AC/DC, sometimes in salty tour tales. Read by the author with some crack-ups and background laughter left in, this is a rockin' and rollickin' series of vignettes and stories, brisk in the reading (listening).

This rollicking remembrance had an unexpected effect on me: it changed my opinion of film adaptations of works by Stephen King. See, I had developed over the years a rather sweeping generalization in my mind that films made from King novels were generally trash. Perhaps some are, as even King may agree in cases such as 1992's The Lawnmower Man: an adaptation in title only. (King eventually sued New Line Cinema in order to have his name removed from the film's title.) This book covered the fun Johnson had on 1986's Maximum Overdrive, based on the short story "Trucks" from 1973; to date the only King adaptation directed by himself, and his only directorial credit. I am actually a fan of enjoying -- laughing with -- such things as Eisenhower-era monster flicks, old Godzilla, movies, etc. I re-watched Maximum Overdrive from this point of view; expecting entertainment not terror. I enjoyed all the AC/DC music and allusions, King's cameo, etc. The I watched 1992's Sleepwalkers from King's original screenplay, and enjoyed it too! Thanks, Brian Johnson!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Jeremy Clarkson wasn’t a public school educated media tart he might have written about cars the way Brian Johnson does. Johnson’s ship came in a hundred times over when he landed the job as lead singer of AC/DC when Bon Scott died, allowing him to indulge in a passion for cars that is evident in just about every paragraph of this book. He can enthuse over a Ford Anglia with the kind of praise usually left for something like a Ferrari and it’s the funny stories from his poorer days in the North East that entertain most in this book. There are some tales about the band and life on the road with them, but it’s the cars on the road that interest Johnson. He writes about them with a rough style, passion and enthusiasm - and with a lot more verve and joy than he does with his songs, which are the lyrical equivalent of a milk float. The chapters are short, snappy and opinionated, much as you’d expect from a die hard Geordie, and if you share his love of cars and/or AC/DC you’ll find this book pretty enjoyable.

[Stuart McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I was about to read Brian Johnson's autobiography, but this isn't it. This is a book about his love of cars and stories about each one he's owned. I'm not a "petrol head" and a lot of references meant nothing to me. However, I loved this book. Brian is rude at times and uses coarse language, but he is a funny guy and made this book a great read. I listened to the audiobook, which was essential, because Brian reads it and it needs his gravelly, Geordie voice to tell the story and deliver his outlandish similes and quirky metaphors. I laughed out loud at some and sheepishly giggled at others that may not be as woke as the modern society would like. I am now reading his autobiography.

[Philip Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cool to hear Brian Johnson talk about a bunch of random stories and the cars they took place with. But very little of the book had anything to do with AC/DC stories. The stories were good, but after reading Nikki Sixx and Duff McKagen's book I was a little more ready for crazy party stories than stories about him and his buddy's car breaking down.

That being said, there were a couple of doosies that keep me turning the pages, I don't want to spoil anything but the one about his daughter sleeping in the back of the car as a kid made me actually gasp.

[Regina Moyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a fun, easy read. Reading this book was like sitting in a pub, listening to Brian tell stories about the cars of his life and his love or hate of anything motorized. There are a few bits and pieces thrown in about his life on the road with AC/DC but it's more about his first love, cars. I don't see this appealing to many women unless they're AC/DC fans or car fanatics, which I'm a little of both.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give the book five stars for two reasons, being a fan of this legendary band and the great story that was told within. If you love old cars or cars in general this is the type of book you would enjoy. Many stories and phrases used had me laughing like crazy. If you like AC/DC and cars I reccomend picking it up.

[Ian Peddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly for fans of Brian Johnson. It's a compilation of memoirs from his days on the Black Ice tour. If you like his Geordie wit and approach to telling stories, along with his love of foul adjectives, verbs, nouns, and pronouns, this is for you. Otherwise, it will most likely be hit or miss.

[Łukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książka jest zbiorem krótkich historyjek, których pamięć przywołują różne marki samochodów. Trochę o czasach młodości, trochę o wyścigach, trochę o groupies, trochę o innym muzykach z zespołów Briana. Lekkie i generalnie przyjemne.