Rock world mourns AC/DC guitar great
THE world’s greatest rhythm guitarist and unassuming rock mastermind, AC/DC founder Malcolm Young, has died at age 64.
A natural musician who conjured many of the signature riffs that made AC/DC a global rock force had suffered dementia for several years.
His brother Angus paid tribute to the special bond the pair shared in steering the band from its first gig, in Sydney on New Year’s Eve in 1973, to the world’s biggest stadium stages.
“As his brother it is hard to express in words what he has meant to me during my life, the bond we had was unique and very special,” Angus posted. “He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever. “Malcolm, job well done.” Young died surrounded by his family.
Early onset dementia had forced him to relearn his legendary riffs during the band’s Black Ice tour.
His last performance was in 2010 in Bilbao, Spain.
Young was a renowned perfectionist and uncompromising strategist, who took the hard decisions needed to propel AC/DC from the Australia pub circuit to international success.
As he stood anchored rock solid on the stage, so he was the boss off it, in the studio and their business affairs, infamous for abruptly firing managers, producers or musicians when they did not measure up to his exacting standards.
“As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man,” said the statement issued by the AC/DC camp when it announced his death.
“He always stuck to his guns and did and said exactly what he wanted. He took great pride in all that he endeavoured.
“His loyalty to the fans was unsurpassed.”
Young and his family immigrated from Glasgow to Australia as “10-pound Poms” in 1963, landing at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The musical endeavours and success of the Easybeats, the band formed by older brother George, who died last month, inspired Malcolm and Angus to pursue a rock career.
They formed AC/DC in 1973 and released their debut record High Voltage in 1975, expanding their audience with each record and rocketing to global attention in 1979 with their third album, Highway To
Hell, released months before the death of frontman Bon Scott.
They enlisted Brian Johnson to go on with the show and released the seminal
Back In Black record in 1980, which became the second highest selling album in rock history with more than 50 million albums.
Young was bemused by their reception by the British music media, who initially identified his band as punk rock, their explosive arrival with songs about sex, drink and rock’n’roll a defiant rebuke of the pretentiousness that had crept into the genre.
“We were always saying: ‘We ain’t a punk band, we’re rock’n’roll’,” Malcolm said.
“But it was good that punk came along and changed the face of music for a while.”
His love of the hedonistic lifestyle took its toll in the late 1980s when his excessive drinking became lifethreatening and he left the band to combat his addiction, replaced by nephew Stevie.
“I wasn’t brain dead, but I was just physically and mentally screwed by the alcohol,” Young said.
With Angus, Malcolm was credited as the primary songwriter for all of AC/DC’s 17 studio records, even their 2014 opus Rock or Bust which Angus said he built from guitar ideas the brothers had assembled over the years.
The world’s music community and millions of fans mourned his death yesterday and paid tribute to one of the architects of modern rock.
Legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen recalled their early days touring with AC/DC in Europe in the 1980s.
“It is a sad day in rock and roll. Malcolm Young was my friend and the heart and soul of AC/DC. I had some of the best times of my life with him on our 1984 European tour. He will be missed and my deepest condolences to his family, bandmates and friends,” Van Halen posted.
Malcolm is survived by his wife, O’Linda, children Cara and Ross, son-in-law Josh, three grandchildren, sister and brother.