7,000 Belgian Fans Didn’t Want to See AC/DC Fronted by Axl Rose

In an effort to do right by their fans, AC/DC and LiveNation have offered refunds to any ticketholders for their upcoming European dates who wouldn’t have bought tickets had they known the band would be fronted by Axl Rose. And as many of us expected, some fans did want a refund. But we gotta wonder if even AC/DC understood how many people would take them up on their offer.

Because according to De Standaard, over 7,000 fans who bought tickets to see AC/DC in Werchter, Belgium, asked for their money back. Seven fucking thousand people!

LiveNation made the following statement:

“About 7,000 tickets were registered for reimbursement. The released tickets were first offered to the existing waiting list. The remaining tickets will still be good from now on sale.”

That’s translated from Dutch, mind you, so pardon the clunky English.

But damn, son–that’s far more people than I expected, especially given how many rock stars have come out supporting Axl’s addition. Perhaps AC/DC overestimated Rose’s draw. The logic is understandable–People love us, and they love G’N’R! His vocals sort of sound like Brian’s! It’ll be double-awesome!–but that underestimates the loyalty of tradition held by both bands’ rabid fanbases. It lumps all fans of classic cock rock together, which is a foolish mistake. AC/DC fans don’t want to see an approximation of the band they love, they want to see AC/DC, Brian Johnson and all.

All that said, you have to give the guys in AC/DC and LiveNation props for even offering refunds. Plenty of bands would have just said, “He’s our new singer now, deal with it.” Instead, they thought about what their fans would like, and responded accordingly. Good on them.

Anyway, if you missed Monday’s deadline for refunds, I’m sorry to say you’re stuck seeing Axl Rose front AC/DC. If it’s any consolation, we’d love to hear your review of Rose’s performance, so feel free to send us thoughts on the experience.