AC/DC production boss: Axl Rose is just a regular guy

Axl Rose
Axl Rose (Image credit: Getty)

AC/DC production boss Dale ‘Opie’ Skjerseth says that Axl Rose is just “a regular guy.”

The manager, who’s worked with the Guns N’ Roses singer many times before, reports he’s a “fantastic” fill-in for Brian Johnson, who was forced to pull out of the band’s current Rock Or Bust tour earlier this year after he risked total hearing loss.”

Skjerseth tells Metal Heads: “He’s not the diva – he never has been. I’ve worked with him many times before.

“He’s like any artist – he loves his show. He is a regular guy – we’re all different, we all can be weird, but that’s okay in life. That’s what makes him who he is.”

He adds: “He’s enjoying himself, the band is enjoying him. They play old songs. The show is longer now too. It used to be two hours, it’s now two hours and 20 minutes. Who knows what they’ll come up with.

“The production is the same. They’re not taking anything away. They’re playing and Axl is walking – he is doing this with honour.

“They’re sounding fantastic and it’s a great show. At the end of the day, it’s AC/DC the way they always intended it to be.”

AC/DC will continue their Rock Or Bust tour dates across the US in August.

AC/DC Rock Or Bust tour US dates 2016

Aug 27: Greensboro Coliseum, NC
Aug 30: Ft Lauderdale BB&T Center, FL
Sep 01: Atlanta Phillips Arena, GA
Sep 04: Columbus Nationwide Arena, OH
Sep 06: Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, OH
Sep 09: Detroit The Palace, MI
Sep 11: Buffalo First Niagara Center, NY
Sep 14: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Sep 17: Washington Verizon Center, DC
Sep 20: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA

Dear Axl Rose, don’t try to control how we see you. You’ll lose.

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.