“He was centre-half and you didn’t go near the man. He was dangerous!” How AC/DC’s Brian Johnson ended up playing on the same football team as Chuck Norris
A newly resurfaced anecdote recounts how AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson found himself playing football for the United States against Italy in a 1983 charity match in Florence, alongside Hollywood martial arts star Chuck Norris. Johnson had joined AC/DC only a few years earlier and had already sung on Back In Black and For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) by the time the unlikely fixture took place during a break in the band's touring schedule. The story highlights the strange, often surreal detours that came with life as a touring rock star in the 1980s.
The match was played at Florence's Stadio Comunale in front of around 25,000 spectators. Johnson recalled Norris playing centre-half and being sent off for being "too dangerous," with Johnson joking that teammates avoided challenging him during the game. The anecdote comes as Johnson looks back on his early AC/DC years, shortly before the band headed to Compass Point Studios in Nassau.
- Brian Johnson played 1983 charity football match against Italy in Florence
- Chuck Norris was his teammate and got sent off as centre-half
- Anecdote dates from Johnson's early years fronting AC/DC
New here? Start with this
Rock stars from the 1980s often found themselves swept up in ventures far removed from music, from celebrity sports events to charity fixtures, as touring schedules brought them into contact with other famous names of the era. Brian Johnson had joined AC/DC as lead singer in 1980, replacing Bon Scott, and by 1983 had already fronted the band on two major albums. Chuck Norris, meanwhile, was an established martial arts performer building his profile in American action films.
Charity and exhibition football matches involving celebrities were a fairly common occurrence in the 1980s, sometimes bringing together public figures from entirely different fields who would otherwise have no reason to meet. One such match, pitting a United States side against Italy, took place in Florence in 1983 and drew a sizeable crowd to the city's football stadium.
The anecdote sits within a broader picture of Johnson reflecting on his early years with AC/DC, a period that included recording some of the band's best-known material before further studio work in the Bahamas. It offers a small window into the unpredictable, off-stage side of rock stardom during that era.