Same era. Same genre. Opposite philosophies about getting old. Brian Johnson, 78, recently said in a USA Today interview that performing is “more fun” now than it’s ever been. Mick Jagger, 82, told the New York Times there is “nothing good” about ageing. Both men are currently touring stadiums with the Rolling Stones and AC/DC. Neither is bluffing.
More Fun, More Free
For Johnson, letting go of rock’s serious façade turned out to be the most liberating move of his career.
When Johnson was young, he never used to smile on stage. “That’s what you thought you were supposed to do” in a big rock band — stay serious, stay dangerous. Now he doesn’t care anymore, and that shift reads less like surrender and more like liberation. Consider the context: this is a man who faced serious hearing loss, confronted the real possibility of never fronting AC/DC again, and then came back. The Power Up Tour — which began in May 2024 — launched its North American leg on July 11 with a 21-song set, running through a final Philadelphia date on September 29. Johnson, who joined AC/DC in 1980 after Bon Scott’s death and debuted on Back in Black, one of rock’s best-selling albums, has earned every word of that enthusiasm. Even Angus Young, 71, keeps things honest, joking that his main stage concern now is whether he’s “going to trip over” — funny until you picture the man still doing the duck walk at stadium volume.
The Chemistry You Can’t Fake
Stage instinct at this level isn’t manufactured — it’s what decades of muscle memory finally sets free.
AC/DC now watches each other on stage, interacts, and does “things now that we didn’t think of doing before,” according to Johnson. Think of it like a veteran chef who stops following the recipe and starts cooking the room — the technique is locked in, so the attention shifts to the people. That freedom is the whole story. When asked about legacy, Johnson kept it clean: “They were great at what they did. And they did it consistently.”
Then there’s Jagger. Still fronting the Rolling Stones at 82, still promoting their 25th studio album, still moving across stages that most 40-year-olds would find intimidating. His version of honesty is just less comfortable: “There’s nothing good about it… No wisdom. No, nothing. You don’t get wisdom. You forget everything,” he told the New York Times, as reported by AARP. Two classic rock legends, two truths.
The Mick Jagger Reality Check
Candor about ageing isn’t self-pity — sometimes it’s simply the most accurate thing anyone can say.
Jagger elaborated that ageing forces him to move more carefully and do things more slowly. “Not pleasant” were his exact words, according to reporting by DNYUZ. The man who built an identity around invincibility has become its most honest critic. That’s not weakness. It’s the refusal to sell you a comfortable lie about what it costs to keep going at this level.
Both men are still out there. Johnson wants to thank the fans “one by one.” Jagger won’t pretend it’s easy. Maybe the most rock-and-roll thing either of them has done recently is tell the truth about the price of the ticket — and then walk out on stage anyway for one final show after another.
