Brian Johnson supports dementia charity

AC/DC’s Brian Johnson has given his support to a dementia charity.

The ‘Back in Black’ hitmaker – whose bandmate Malcolm Young was recently diagnosed with the disease – contacted the Sporting Memories Network in Yorkshire, North England, ”out of the blue” to engage with their work.

The charity uses sporting tales to engage older people, in particular men, who suffer from depression and dementia by involving them in groups that improve their physical and mental wellbeing and Brian shared a number of tales about his upbringing in Gateshead, including a story about being unable to afford to attend Newcastle United soccer matches so walking miles with his father to watch Gateshead instead.

He recalled: ”I never forget me Dad would take us to the place where Hughie Gallacher threw himself in front of a train. ‘He was the greatest footballer that ever lived, son.’

”He was very reverential about that. Hughie played in the Newcastle side that won the title in 1927 and he was God-like to my father. But Gateshead was the place we went to because it was cheap. I got it for a ha’penny.”

The small charity, which focuses on treatment of the disease, was thrilled to get the boost from Brian because some of its work is in jeopardy due to a lack of funding.

Director Tony Jameson-Allen told the Northern Echo newspaper: ”It’s an absolutely amazing boost for a charity run by two people to receive a phone call from the singer of a group that has sold more than 200 million records worldwide.

”The cost of dementia nationally is estimated at being £26bn a year and that figure will double by 2030, so I’m urging healthcare commissioners to give cost-effective Sporting Memories a real crack at making this work.”