AC/DC's Brian Johnson joins Mick Fleetwood onstage for Route 66, 3/4/18

[Miles Archer]

Former AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has kept a fairly low profile since a worsening hearing problem forced him from the band's lineup in 2016, but he made a rare public performance on March 4, when he joined Mick Fleetwood onstage at Fleetwood's Maui restaurant for a performance of the standard "Route 66."

Johnson's appearance, which you can watch above in fan-shot video, serves as the latest indication that he may be finding a way to work back from the debilitating physical problems that threatened to end his singing career. He's expressed hope that a new type of in-ear monitor might alleviate that issue, but he's also hinted that pride may have played a part in his exit from AC/DC, suggesting in a recent interview that he wanted to walk off on his own terms before he really couldn't perform anymore.

"Onstage it was getting harder and harder to hear the guitars, even hear the keys, and I was basically going on muscle memory," Johnson admitted. "And I’m not the kind of guy who likes to cheat. The way I look at it, I had a great run."

Still, he's managed to make his way back onstage a handful of times, notably joining Muse for a performance of "Back in Black" at the Reading Festival. Whether it leads to anything in terms of a new project or new material from Johnson, his Fleetwood collaboration proved he hasn't changed much — he's been known to belt out "Route 66" at pickup gigs and special occasions more than once over the years.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/brian-johnson-mick-fleetwood-route-66/