Brian Johnson, the lead singer of AC/DC, visited Namur on Friday to visit the statue in his likeness, which was unveiled in mid-April.
The statue commemorates the first concert of the “Back in Black” tour, which took place at the Namur Expo on 29 June 1980.
It was also Brian Johnson’s first with the Australian band. At the time, 2,000 people attended this concert, which was intended to be confidential.
The work was produced by Marbrerie Cognaux, based in Libramont. It was the brainchild of four Belgian fans, and was financed by some 450 aficionados of the band through a crowdfunding campaign that raised some €29,000 euros.
In addition to the statue, the entire esplanade opposite Namur Expo has been renamed the “Esplanade AC/DC”. There are also chairs bearing the names of the 16 members who have spent at least two weeks with AC/DC since its inception.
The 75-year-old singer, accompanied by his wife, discreetly came to discover all this on Friday. Arriving at around 12.30, he shared the moment with the mayor of Namur, Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), as well as the instigators of the project and a few lucky people.
Brian Johnson first contemplated his statue for a long time, not without humour and emotion. He was then invited to go back inside Namur Expo, where he first sang with AC/DC. He then left at around 2pm to share a meal with his hosts for the day, before returning to the airport at the end of the day.
