Axl Rose Lets It All Hang Out With Real Madrid Defender Sergio Ramos At AC/DC Gig
Axl Rose may have got his mojo back after exceeding all expectations, shooting from the hip, and taking no prisoners as the guest vocalist of Aussie rockers AC/DC, but the flame-haired rock lord still has time to make the dreams of world-famous footballers, such as Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, come true.
The Real Madrid star was gushing like a teenager in love after getting to meet Mr. Rose backstage at AC/DC’s powerhouse performance in Seville.
When AC/DC’s veteran frontman Brian Johnson was forced off the band’s worldwide tour with hearing problems at the last minute, Axl Rose stepped straight out of a much-anticipated Guns N’ Roses reunion gig and into the hard to fill boots of the high-pitched screamer in the trademark flat cap.
Many doubted that Axl, who has been out of the game for a long time, had the kudos, the chops, the grunt, the groan, and, above all, the tonsils to do justice to the AC/DC sound, which is, as they say, notoriously hard to beat.
Many fans regarded the advent of Axl in AC/DC as a betrayal of Johnson and were angry that their beloved singer of 34 plus years had been causally “kicked to the kerb” by his old bandmates like an old soda can that’s lost its sparkle and fizz.
Fellow rock god Roger Daltrey was so incensed with rage by the treatment of his old friend that he decided to wade into the debate like an immaculately attired cockney sparrow and called Ax’s appointment as nothing more than “karaoke.”
“It must be heartbreaking for him (Johnson) after all the service he’s given that band over the years. I thought their farewell statement to the Press and to Brian was fairly curt to say the least. That must have hurt.
“I mean, go and see karaoke with Axl Rose? Give me a break.”
Yet when Axl/DC crash-landed in Lisbon, Portugal, for their first gig, they silenced doubters in the best possible way – with a lot of volume and verve.
Bouncing around from his throne, Axl not only nailed the vocals, the 54-year-old looked more animated than he had done in many a moon, which admittedly is pretty difficult when you’re confined to the role of a couch potato whose only option is to chair dance like their life depended on it.
TeamRock.com were so in awe of Axl’s performance they penned a lengthy apology for all the times they doubted him and accused the Guns N’ Roses shrieker of doing it just for the big fat pay check.
“As we waited with bated breath to see how your virgin bow with AC/DC might turn out, we felt a little like vultures circling above carrion. We were expecting a car crash, a train wreck, an omnishambolic clusterf**k… and yet another opportunity to put the boot in with the rest of the professionally-indignant, personally-offended, puce-faced culture vigilantes.
“What we weren’t expecting was for you to turn up on time (well… pretty much), all smiles and sweet talk, and absolutely nail it, like a f**king boss.”
Sentiments with which Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos no doubt concurs after he and his girlfriend, Pilar Rubio, were shaken all night long by Axl and the boys during AC/DC’s gig in Seville.
Posting pictures on Instagram after the concert, Ramos wrote, “A dream come true for Pilar Rubio and I got to meet a legend… Thank you, Axl Rose!”
It’s only two dates in, but the phenomena of Axl/DC has been so well received that TeamRock.com has already started calling such a mash-up the future of rock n’ roll.
“The solution here is obvious. Imagine the havoc we could unleash by tampering with rock’s DNA, re-booting legendary acts that are stuck in a rut. Stick Slash in Aerosmith for a summer. Get David Coverdale, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler together for BlackSnake. Let MegaDave back into Metallica for a festival run.
“Nab Lzzy Hale to front Def Leppard. Stick Jimmy Page in Queens of the Stone Age. Robert Plant won’t tour with Zeppelin? No problem, get Beyonce in for Bey Zeppelin! Let Gaga run/ruin Queen and Miley Cyrus front the Pistols. Our heroes are getting too old? F**k ’em! Conscript the young!”
Given such twisted scenarios, the meeting of Axl Rose and Sergio Ramos could prove quite timely as rock groups go the way of football clubs.
In that, players come and players go, but it doesn’t matter one iota to the hordes of fans, because the brand remains the same. And the brand, as they say, is everything.
[Image via Instagram/Pilarrubio]
