Jet frontman Nic Cester revealed in a recent interview that he auditioned to be the singer of AC/DC in 2016. The job eventually went to Axl Rose, but Cester has quite a story to tell his grandkids one day.
Twenty years ago, Jet were the hottest rock export out of Australia, with hits like “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” and “Cold Hard Bitch” featuring a sound that melded the power of fellow Aussies AC/DC with the garage-rock stylings of The White Stripes.
As Cester told Australian radio station Triple J, he got the call to audition for the vacant AC/DC singer slot when Brian Johnson had to step away from the band due to hearing issues.
“I was staying with my in-laws and I got up in the morning and read the paper and it said that Brian Johnson was not in the band anymore,” began Cester. “I remember saying to my father-in-law, ‘Holy shit, you would not want to step into those shoes,’ and literally 20 minutes later my phone rang and they’re saying, ‘Would you be interested in going to Atlanta, Georgia to audition and potentially fill in for this next round of dates that we’ve got?’”
He continued, “I was like, ‘I think I’ll say yes just for the life experience.’ I wasn’t really expecting to get the gig to be honest but I thought, ‘How could I turn this opportunity down?’”
Cester, who had performed “Back in Black” with Muse at a few shows in 2010, added, “I called [Muse frontman] Matt Bellamy and said, ‘Hey, thanks for that!’”