AC/DC have opened up on whether some of their more controversial songs would receive the same reception if they were released in 2020.

The hard rock icons are known for their near-the-knuckle lyrics, famously describing an anonymous lover as a “fast machine” who keeps “her motor clean” on 1980’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’.

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When asked if it would receive a warm reaction in 2020, amid heightened cultural sensitivities from a new generation, frontman Brian Johnson told NME: ““I’m scared to open my mouth now, me son!”.

“I don’t know anymore, I didn’t even know what ‘woke’ stands for and I only found out since I came back to England. I have no idea of what it does or how it works!”

In the same interview, the band also discussed whether they knew ‘Back In Black’ would become a mammoth success, after it became the second best-selling album of all time.

“We knew it was a great album and it was Brian’s first role with us,” said frontman Angus Young. “But when we were making it, we had no idea of how it would be received and from the get-go we had an idea of how it would go on to become this huge success.”

In the same interview, Brian Johnson also recalled a drunken trip with the late Malcolm Young to find the Loch Ness monster.

AC/DC’s next album, ‘Power Up’, arrives on November 13.