The Eternal "Schoolboy" (59 photos)

On Angus Young's 70th Birthday





Australian lead guitarist, songwriter and the only permanent member of AC/DC Angus McKinnon Young was born on March 31, 1955 in Cranhill, a suburb of Glasgow (Scotland), to a large family of William and Margaret Young (Angus had 6 brothers and a sister).

In 1963, Scotland was hit by the harshest winter in its history, with snow cover reaching almost 2.5 m. And the then advertised resettlement program to Australia tempted parents who were not used to the cold at the end of June of that year, along with their 6 children: George, Malcolm, Angus, Stephen, William Jr. and Margaret Jr. (who was actually the eldest of the children), to fly to Canberra. Later, another son, John, joined the family. And the eldest, Alexander "Alex" Young, decided to stay in the UK, since he had already had some success in the music industry, and saw no point in changing his life. He played the saxophone for singer Tony Sheridan, who was accompanied at the time by little-known musicians who later became The Beatles. And the German band Accept has a powerful song in their 1980 album of the same name, “I’m A Rebel,” which was written by Alex in 1976, and was first played and recorded by his brothers Angus and Malcolm. However, it was not released anywhere in those years, and the world only learned about it when it was performed by the Germans (and this is not plagiarism, the authorship was officially indicated).



The Young Brothers: Malcolm, George, and Angus

Everyone in the family loved music: Stephen played the accordion, Alex and John were the first to master the guitar, followed by George, Malcolm, and finally Angus, who studied with the brothers from the age of 5. And he made his first instrument from a banjo he found in the house, on which he re-strung 6 strings in the manner of a guitar. But it was not very serious and was more like children's games. And Angus began to play seriously on a guitar borrowed from a friend. Then, already in Australia, he had a used acoustic guitar "Hohner", inherited from his brothers, and then, in 1970, an electric "Gibson SG", bought second-hand at a sale, but Angus did not part with it until the deck became unusable. This guitar was destined to become one of the symbols of not only AC/ DC, but also rock and roll as such.





Angus Young's guitar - "Gibson SG Custom"

In Sydney, Angus entered the Ashfield Boys High School (New South Wales), but quickly got bored with studying, and he often skipped school, hanging around the city with older guys, eventually leaving school, and at 15 went to work: he was a meat cutter, a typesetter in a magazine.

Brother George, who then played in the popular in the 1960s. The Easybeats, taught Malcolm and Angus to play guitar when he was home between tours. And in October 1973, the younger Youngs decided to put together their own band, which they called AC/DC, "in honor" of the sticker on the vacuum cleaner: "alternating current/direct current - alternating current/direct current".



However, before AC/DC, Angus, when he was not yet 18 years old, had already managed to play in the rock band Marcus Hook Roll Band, created by Harry Vanda and George Young in 1972, as a musical joke (he even recorded an album with them), and then Malcolm decided to invite him to his group.



"We never played together at first, not even at home. When I'd go in to see what he was up to, he'd say, 'Go away!' I was amazed when Malcolm asked me to come to rehearsal and play..." (from an interview with A. Young).



The band initially consisted of Angus on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess from The Masters Apprentices on drums, and their mutual friend Larry Van Kriedt on bass guitar, with Dave Evans singing after seeing a job advert in the local paper. They began performing glam rock at Sydney's Chequers nightclub. But that line-up didn't last long - in 1974 alone, the band went through several drummers and bassists before Neil Smith on bass and Noel Taylor on drums settled in for a more or less long time. They took part in the first official performance of AC/DC.



Malcolm and Angus

Before this concert, Malcolm, who had taken on the role of leader, decided to make sure that the band would be remembered for something other than music. As a result, in April 1974, a costumed line-up took to the stage: a joker on drums, a New York cop on bass, a guitarist in a flight suit, a peacock-glamorous rocker in the center, and a schoolboy in a cap with a lead guitar. A kind of Australian rock answer to the disco-Americans The Village People. The performance was a challenge from all points of view, but Malcolm, who was hard to please, was not pleased: the next "image overhaul" was that he ordered Evans, Smith and Taylor to immediately "take off their stupid rags", but the "little schoolboy" was allowed to remain in character.



So Young Jr., who had already tried out several stage costumes before that introduction (Spiderman, Zorro, Gorilla, a parody of Superman named Super-Young), developed his signature schoolboy image. And to match it, AC/DC spread a "duck" to the press that Angus was 14 years old, not 18, which was not difficult - his height did not reach 158 cm. And at first, the audience even joked that Young did not have time to change before the concert, and went on stage in what he came in.



His first "stage" school uniform was made for him by his sister Margaret, who "looked after" the group. And when it wore out, Angus began to wear the uniform suit he had left over from the "Ashfield Boys". Thus, the school uniform and the modified "duck walk" of the American "father of rock and roll" Chuck Berry (whom Young greatly respected) became his calling card.



Angus Young's "school" suit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum

In September of that year, AC/DC replaced Evans with the charismatic Ronald "Bon" Scott, an acquaintance of George Young, who already had experience as a drummer and vocalist in the group The Spectors. And Bon, along with Angus, contributed a lot to the formation of the band's image.

This event marked the beginning of AC/DC's path to success. Two more tracks were recorded with Evans: "Can I Sit Next to You Girl" and "Rockin' in the Parlor" (in 1974 they were released as their debut single). And "Can I Sit Next to You Girl" was then re-recorded with Scott's vocals.

During performances, Young not only actively played the guitar, but also energetically jumped around the stage. And when Scott joined the group, Angus often began to continue playing, climbing onto his shoulders, and the pair went to the audience. At the same time, sometimes they also created a "smoke screen" from the backpack behind Young's back, from which clouds of smoke emanated.





Bon Scott and Angus Young

And during one performance, Angus wanted to energetically move on stage as usual, but caught on a wire and fell. But he did not lose his head and presented the fall as part of the show, and began to twitch his legs and his whole body, continuing to play. Young called the resulting trick "spasm", and often used it at concerts.



With their regular appearances on the Australian-wide pop music television show Countdown (1974-78), AC/DC became one of the country's most well-known and popular bands. Over the years, they released a number of successful singles, including the popular rock 'n' roll anthem "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"

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And in 1975, AC/DC released their debut studio album, "High Voltage", in the hardcore style.



The band signed a contract with the American company "Atlantic Records", owned by "Warner Music Group", and began touring the UK and Europe, gaining fame and experience. They performed as an opening act for famous rock bands of the time: Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Cheap Trick, Nazareth, Foreigner, Thin Lizzy and The Who.

In 1976, their 3rd Australian album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" was released.



The next studio album, Highway to Hell (1979), became a bestseller and took AC/DC to new heights. However, despite its immense popularity, it was also associated with a lot of negativity. On the cover, Angus appeared as a devil with horns and a tail, after which particularly hard-core religious figures even began to picket the band's performances. The musicians were accused of worshiping Satan and promoting his teachings. Fuel was added to the fire in 1985 (6 years after the album's release) when the Los Angeles police detained a certain Richard Ramirez, who claimed that he had been listening to Highway to Hell for a long time, and, having discerned a call to murder between the lines of the songs, went and killed 16 people. Incidentally, Angus often showed off his "horns" during his performances.







This album was the last recorded with Scott: on February 19, 1980, Bon's body was found in a friend's car after a heavy drinking session in a London club. The official cause of death was alcohol poisoning. He was 33 years old.





After the death of the vocalist, AC/DC were even ready to break up: Bon was very colorful, and replacing him with someone like him seemed problematic. But then Brian Johnson appeared in the group. Who, oddly enough, immediately came to the court.



Brian Johnson and Angus Young

And soon an album was released, which the musicians dedicated to the memory of Bon - "Back in Black" (1980). It brought AC/DC into space orbit, and is still considered their best disc. The album took 2nd place in the list of best-selling, second only to "Thriller" by the king of pop Michael Jackson (circulation - more than 22 million copies in the USA and more than 42 million abroad). The authorship of most of the songs on it belongs to Angus.



That same year, Angus married Helen van Lochern, and the couple have been living happily ever after. However, the couple has no children.



Angus and Helen Young

The band's next album, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (1981), was well received by both critics and the public, and also sold well. And the track of the same name, which ended with the roar of cannons, became the culmination and final number of most subsequent AC/DC concerts.



But the album "Flick of the Switch" (1983) was met rather coolly. Also, drummer Phil Rudd left the band due to disagreements with the other musicians caused by alcohol problems. Simon Wright (ex-Tytan) was taken in his place after an anonymous audition.

In this line-up, in 1985, AC/DC recorded the album "Fly on the Wall", which sold even worse than its predecessor. The album was accompanied by a short musical film of the same name, in which the musicians perform 5 of the 10 songs from the album in a bar, using various special effects.



In 1986, AC/DC returned to the charts with the album "Who Made Who", which contained hits from previous albums and 2 new instrumental compositions. And the title track even became the soundtrack to the Stephen King film "Maximum Overdrive" (1986).

In February 1986, the band was inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association Hall of Fame.



And in 1988, the musicians released the album "Blow Up Your Video" together with their original producers - Vanda and the elder Young. It sold better than the previous ones, and even got into the British Top 20 best singles with the song "Heatseeker".

Then the group began to experience a creative decline: Wright left, who was replaced by session musician Chris Slade, Johnson could not participate in work for several months due to problems with his voice, and the Youngs wrote songs for the next album themselves.



But in 1990, AC/DC reminded people of themselves again with the release of "The Razors Edge", containing such songs as "Thunderstruck" ("Struck by Lightning", written by Agnus under the impression of a flight to Germany, when their plane was struck by lightning) and "Moneytalks". The album sold over 10 million copies, became multi-platinum and entered the Top 10 of the hit parade in the USA (2nd place) and the Top 20 singles in the UK.



And on March 21, 1991, AC/DC began their European tour in Helsinki (Finland). The British part of the tour took place on April 15 at Wembley Stadium in London. And on September 28 of the same year, the musicians performed at the 1st Soviet International Heavy Music Festival "Monsters of Rock", held on the airfield of the Moscow Tushino airfield, together with the groups Metallica, Pantera and Black Crowes, the USSR was represented by the metal group E.S.T.







In 1994, Rudd returned to the group. Slade's departure, in this regard, was amicable and occurred due to the desire of the band members to see Rudd. In Angus's opinion, Slade was the best musician in AC/DC, but the desire to have Phil in the band was still stronger.

With this lineup, the band recorded the albums "Ballbreaker" with hip-hop and heavy metal producer Rick Rubin in 1995 and "Stiff Upper Lip" in 2000. After their release, AC/DC signed a long-term contract for several more albums with Sony Music, which began to be released under the Epic Records label.



In March 2003, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in New York City, performing their hits "Highway to Hell" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" with Aerosmith's Steve Tyler at the ceremony. In May of that year, Malcolm was awarded the Ted Albert Award for "outstanding contribution to Australian music." That same year, the Recording Industry Association of America updated their album sales figures from 46.5 million to 63 million, making AC/DC the 5th-best-selling band in US history after The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Eagles. In addition, Back in Black was certified double diamond (20 million copies), making it the 6th-best-selling album in US history (in 2005, the number of copies sold reached 21 million, putting it in 5th place).



In July 2003, the band performed together with the Rolling Stones at Sarsfest in Toronto, Canada, dedicated to the fight against the SARS coronavirus epidemic.

And on October 1, 2004, Corporation Lane, which is located near Swanston Street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, where the band recorded the video for the track "It's a Long Way to the Top" (1975), was officially renamed ACDC Lane in honor of the band.



On May 16, 2012, Angus was voted the best Australian guitarist of all time by Guitar Magazine.



And in April 2014, due to poor health, Malcolm left AC/DC, leaving Angus as the last permanent member of the band. Over the following years, the lineup changed significantly again.



In March 2016, doctors recommended that Johnson stop performing, otherwise the singer was at risk of "complete hearing loss." As a result, AC/DC had to postpone a series of concerts in the US and Europe as part of the "Rock or Bust World Tour": in that situation, it was unclear whether Johnson would remain in the band at all. Brian himself said that the hearing problem is not related to his performances with AC/DC for 36 years, but most likely to his passion for car racing - due to forgetfulness, he did not put earplugs in his ears during one of the races, as a result of which the eardrum of his left ear was ruptured. And on April 17, 2016, AC/DC announced that Axl Rose, the frontman of Guns N' Roses, would take over as the vocalist for the concerts.



Axl Rose and Angus Young during an AC/DC concert

And in July of the same year, bass guitarist Williams announced his intention to leave the band after the end of "Rock or Bust", explaining his decision by the departure of three other permanent members. And after the end of the tour, the band took a long break.

The death of Malcolm Young on November 18, 2017, had a particularly strong impact on this. Moreover, three weeks before, on October 22, George Young, who had once influenced the brothers' decision to become musicians, also passed away at the age of 70.

At Malcolm's funeral, all the members of AC/DC met for the first time in many years: former bass player and now rural pensioner Cliff Williams, former vocalist and now racing driver Brian Johnson, former drummer Phil Rudd and elderly Angus Young, almost unrecognizable without a guitar. The legends met and finally talked. And after talking, they found out that the problems of all the members of the group had long been resolved.



Malcolm Young's Funeral

And in 2018, the musicians were spotted all together leaving the recording studio. And on October 7, 2020, the single "Shot In The Dark" was released, and on the same day, official photos of the new lineup of the band appeared: Rudd - drums, Williams - bass, backing vocals, Stevie Young (Angus's nephew) - rhythm guitar, backing vocals, Angus Young - lead guitar and Johnson - vocals.



Left to right: Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Stevie Young

The title of the new, 17th studio album by AC/DC was also announced — “Power Up”, dedicated to the 47th anniversary of the band. The authors of all 12 of its tracks were announced to be Angus and Malcolm Young. And on Friday, November 13, 2020, the album was released.



Another boom regarding the band's return to concert activity broke out in the summer of 2021. Fans wanted this, which is why the topic was hotly discussed. But Williams did not plan to actively perform, and Johnson had already taken the stage with other groups.



But in the spring of 2023, AC/DC members delighted fans exhausted by the wait by announcing that their concert would still take place. The musicians announced a performance at the Californian festival "Power Trip", which was scheduled for the fall. And in October 2023, the group, having survived cataclysms and metamorphoses, took the stage after a long break.



Then, in the summer, a new tour followed, starting in Andalusia (Spain) and ending in Dublin (Ireland), in which, in addition to the two former leaders - Young and Johnson - rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, session drummer Matt Logue (who collaborated with Alice Cooper and Slash) and bassist Chris Chaney (ex-Jane's Addiction) participated.



Spanish promoter Guy Mercader, who opened up post-Franco Spain to the Western music world in the 1970s, was sure that for his long-time friends from AC/DC, this tour would likely be their last… age… Although Angus still looked “lively”, it was noticeable that he was doing it with great difficulty.



But on July 21, 2024, an AC/DC concert took place in Bratislava. It lasted almost 2 hours and gathered more than 100 thousand spectators at the old airfield in the capital's Vajnory district, becoming the largest musical event in the history of Slovakia. The band performed as part of the "Power Up" tour in support of their latest album. The musicians performed 21 songs, including 2 encores. They played all their biggest hits, including "Back in Black", "Thunderstruck", "Highway to Hell" and "T.N.T." To be continued?



Angus Young has firmly established himself in the list of 100 greatest musicians according to Rolling Stone magazine.



In music, Angus is first and foremost an improviser. By his own admission, he is no good at "recording" other people's compositions, he lacks perseverance and desire to listen to the notes, and his pride will not allow him to play one-to-one without adding something of his own. So one night he was in a Parisian club, where he spontaneously joined a band performing there, jamming with them for 1.5 hours.



Young is a heavy smoker, having become addicted to the bad habit back in his "fun" school days, and can smoke 2 packs a day. But he has only consumed alcohol a few times in his life.





"I can count on my fingers the number of times in my life I've had a drink. I was always sick anyway, so no one thought of forcing me to have an extra drink. We got a kick out of rock music, and we never had to drink before going on stage to be "free". But, nevertheless, the audience looks at me as if I were some kind of animal" (A. Young).



And the musician often had conflicts with his brother, who suffered from alcohol addiction. Angus had "preventive talks" with him, which sometimes led to fights. Young Jr. himself loves tea, chocolate and milk.



Throughout his career, Angus has favored Gibson SG guitars, and as a result, the company offered the musician to create a signature instrument, the Angus Young SG, featuring a custom pickup.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a big fan of AC/DC. Young recalled how he first met the actor: he grabbed him by the armpits, lifted him to eye level and boomed, "Hello!" Then they decided to star in a video, and Angus taught Arnie his "duck walk." The video turned out great, it's called "Big Gun." And the composition itself was later included as a soundtrack in the film "Last Action Hero" (directed by John McTiernan, 1993), with the same Arnie in the lead role.

Young is generally a man "with a surprise": few people know that he is interested in landscape painting, has been drawing since school, although he himself speaks about his skills quite modestly - he does it only as a hobby.



In addition, the musician is interested in history. He is interested in tracing the development of various world cultures and the reasons for their fall: "You know, people, as a rule, constantly make the same stupid mistake. They want to outsmart everyone. That's why the world looks so shitty now. That's why there are so many wars in the world. Because no one even tries to understand the mistakes of the past," he said in an interview.



Young's fame, thanks to his efforts as a guitarist and as an extraordinary personality, continues to attract followers to the music industry - both fans and aspiring musicians. Angus's style is copied in everything from his playing style to his long hair and stage antics.

AC/DC are cited by many of their contemporaries and later musicians, rock and metal bands, as having influenced their work. Among them: Airbourne, Anthrax, Bon Jovi, The Darkness, Def Leppard, Dokken, Dream Theater, Faster Pussycat, Iron Maiden, Great White, Guns N' Roses, Immortal, Journey, Megadeth, Metallica, Nirvana, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Rammstein, Ratt, Rhino Bucket, Saxon, Skid Row, Supagroup, Tool, Twisted Sister, UFO, Van Halen, Wolfmother, Y&T, Korn.

AC/DC's enduring popularity, thanks to Angus's relentless energy and signature guitar work, has been a decisive factor in their financial well-being. After all, the band's ability to remain relevant and beloved for decades is not only a musical triumph, but also a commercial one. This longevity has allowed Young to accumulate wealth, profiting from both the nostalgia of the older generation and the interest of new fans.



Sources estimate Young's fortune at around $160 million. And this figure is the result of decades of tireless touring and competent financial management. And a significant part of it is income from record album sales. The undying popularity of AC/DC provides Angus with a constant stream of royalties. In addition to a solid capital, the Young spouses own, in addition to a house in Sydney, estates in the UK and the Netherlands (where Helen is from).



"In general, rock music is coming to an end, the culture of performing songs has simply disappeared. Any voice or solo can be easily faked on a computer. In 10 years, the rock heroes of the 70s will begin to die out like flies - one after another. Everyone will die, and only rap will remain! This is the music of the future" (A. Young).



Awards and recognition:

On August 24, 2006, Young received the Kerrang! Awards Legends Award from editor-in-chief Paul Brannigan, who called AC/DC "one of the most important and significant rock bands in history."

In 2009, Angus was included in the list of the greatest guitarists of all time, compiled by the British magazine Classic Rock.

On May 16, 2012, the musician was named the best Australian guitarist of all time, according to the results of a poll by the Australian magazine "Guitar".

He is also included in the list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine, both in the 2003 and 2011 versions.



Discography of A. Young:

With the Marcus Hook Roll Band: "Tales of Old Grand Daddy" (1973).

With AC/DC: "High Voltage" (1975), "T.N.T." (1975), "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" (1976), "Powerage" (1978), "Highway to Hell" (1979), "Back in Black" (1980), "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" (1981), "Flick of the Switch" (1983), "Fly on the Wall" (1985), "Blow Up Your Video" (1988), "The Razor's Edge" (1990), "Ballbreaker" (1995), "Stiff Upper Lip" (2000), "Black Ice" (2008), "Rock or Bust" (2014), "Power Up" (2020).