"Hells Bells" at the Ennstal-Classic - AC/DC and the Giulia
08/07/2016
After Rowan Atkins, much better known as Mr. Bean, in a Jaguar in 2004 and actor Patrick Dempsey in a Porsche in 2015, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson in an Alfa-Romeo was the big star of the Ennstal-Classic classic car rally in 2016.
Wherever he was present, a huge crowd formed. At times the crowds were so big that he had to leave the rally entourage prematurely and drive around time controls. This is of course a double-edged sword for the organizer, because on the one hand you attract the fans to the event with these stars, on the other hand you make the private event a living hell for the stars. Without advance notice in the media, very few people would get wind of it and travel. This way, the crowd favorites could enjoy the rally, the landscape and the culinary delights in peace and quiet.
In a small village, far away from the hustle and bustle, Johnson was eagerly awaited by around 50 people of all ages. Equipped with thick Edding permanent markers, AC/DC T-shirts and old AC/DC concert tickets, they waited for the signature. But when the broom wagon marked the end of the rally after around three hours, it was clear that the AC/DC singer would not be passing by here again.
Only around 30 km from the small village, the Johnsons (Brian and his wife Brenda) and his friends Richard and George Frankel were enjoying themselves by the River Mur. Away from all the hustle and bustle, they enjoyed the peace and quiet and the cool water.
Purely by chance and just in time, as the group was getting ready to continue their journey, I passed that parking lot.
The shy request to take a picture of them with the car was not refused, but accepted in an extremely friendly manner. Finally, after my confession as a long-time fan of AC/DC and visitor to last year's concert in Zurich with my 13-year-old son, we had a long conversation.
When we got to talking about the Le Mans Classic 2014, where I had already met him once with Jochen Mass, unfortunately without realizing who he really was, we became even closer.
"Oh, this f.... Le Mans, in this f..... Porsche, in the f.... night, with this f.... light, it was so f.... fast, but f.... great."
The broad grin proved his true enjoyment of driving. Then the four of them climbed onto the two edge hoods, whereupon he said: "The best part here was on the f.... Red Bull Ring. This f... Alfa is absolutely fantastic and we drove f.... fast, I think too fast!", again with his broad grin. Then the engines were started and off we went on the "Highway to Hell" through Styria.
