George Young
Founder member of The Easybeats and songwriter who produced AC/DC albums
GEORGE Young, who has died aged 70, was a musician, songwriter and producer who found international success with The Easybeats, the Australian version of The Beatles, co-wrote the disco smash hit Love Is in the Air (1977) and produced rock group AC/DC’s early albums.
Young was born in Glasgow on November 6, 1946, one of eight children, seven of whom were boys, to William Young, a builder and mechanic, and his wife Margaret. All the sons played musical instruments, although George was most influenced by his sister Margaret’s Chuck Berry records.
In 1963, Young’s parents emigrated to Australia, taking all but one of their children with them, the three youngest being George and his brothers Angus and Malcolm (both of whom would later go on to form AC/DC). Upon arrival, the family was housed in Nissen huts at the Villawood migrant hostel in the suburbs of Sydney, but later moved to a rented house nearby.
Educated at Sefton High School in Sydney, George was drawn back to Villawood where he had met Harry Vanda, a Dutch migrant living there, with whom, in 1964, he formed The Easybeats.
Young and Vanda played guitar and were joined by other Villawood inhabitants, a bass player, the Dutch-born Dick Diamonde, as well as the British-born Stevie Wright and Gordon “Snowy” Fleet on vocals and drums respectively.
The group was soon gigging in a basement pub in the suburbs of Sydney (based on the Cavern Club in Liverpool), and after being signed to EMI The Easybeats became increasingly popular across Australia, making their international breakthrough with Friday On My Mind (1966), which was co-written by Vanda and Young.
The song’s energetic beat combined with urgent lyrics, given an alluring fury by Stevie Wright’s singing, expressed the frustrations of a working man’s existence: “Monday, I have Friday on my mind.” It was later covered by several artists including David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen, and in 2001 it was voted “Best Australian Song of all time” by the Australasian Performing Right Association.
In 1966, amid much hysteria in Australia, The Easybeats moved to “Swinging London” and they went on to tour Europe and America with the Rolling Stones. But by 1969 they had disbanded after later releases received a critical panning and band members found themselves caught up in debt and drugs.
Young was back in Australia by 1973, the same year that his younger brothers formed AC/DC. It was Young who introduced his brothers to Bon Scott, who would become their wild frontman, and, with their older brother’s guidance (“never forget you’re working class”), AC/DC became one of the most successful hard rock groups in the world.
Besides producing and writing for the band’s first six albums, including the explosive Let There Be Rock (1977), Young also collaborated successfully with Vanda on various musical projects (including the new wave band Flash and the Pan) as well as co-writing, with Vanda, the enduring disco ballad Love Is in the Air, written for John Paul Young (no relation) and inspired by “Eurodisco”. The song was reinvigorated when it featured in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom (1992).
In later life, Young retired to Portugal and avoided both publicity and the music business. He died on October 22.