AC/DC and Priest win Grammys

AC/DC and Judas Priest both won their first-ever Grammys at the American awards ceremony last night.

The Australian giants, officially the biggest-selling band in the world, grabbed Best Rock Performance for War Machine from their Black Ice album while the English Midlands' finest struck gold with Best Metal Performance for Dissident Aggressor from A Touch of Evil Live.

Kings of Leon track Use Somebody was named Record of the Year and Best Rock Song, while Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown was Rock Album of the Year.

Jeff Beck, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, David Byrne and Brian Eno were also winners, along with producer Brendan O'Brien for his work on Black Ice plus Pearl Jam's Backspacer, Mastodon's Crack the Skye, Killswitch Engage's self-titler and Springsteen's Working on a Dream.

Winner highlights
Record of the year: Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

Album of the year: Fearless - Taylor Swift

Song of the year: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) - Beyonce

Best rock album: 21st Century Breakdown - Green Day

Best solo rock vocal performance: Working on a Dream - Bruce Springsteen

Best rock performance: Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

Best hard rock performance: War Machine - AC/DC

Best metal performance: Dissident Aggressor - Judas Priest

Best rock instrumental: A Day in the Life - Jeff Beck

Best rock song: Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

Best recording package: Everything that Happens will Happen Today - David Byrne and Brian Eno

Best limited edition package: Archives Vol I - Neil Young

Producer of the Year: Brendan O'Brien

Meanwhile, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has told of his terror when he was diagnosed with a throat disorder last year. His illness forced the cancellation of a handful of live shows while he was treated.

Johnson tells The Rock: "I found out I had Barrett's Syndrome and the next step is cancer of the esophagus, then they have to take the voice box out. That stopped me right in my tracks. I was very lucky we caught it in time.

"I was the most scared I've ever been in my life - I didn't sleep for a week."

AC/DC will headline Download at Donington in June, and will provide the soundtrack for the Iron Man 2 movie, with the associated album released in April.