Highlights
- AC/DC’s success spans generations, with hits like “Back in Black” and “Highway to Hell.”
- Malcolm Young’s role in AC/DC was crucial, his rhythm guitar style contributing to the band’s sound.
- Malcolm Young passed away from dementia, but his love for the guitar remained until the end.
AC/DC has been together for decades and has continued to gain fans, despite changes to the lineup over the years, including the addition of Axl Rose, who has been rumored to have punched David Bowie. From those who loved the band as they came onto the scene in the 1970s and introduced the world to their rock-blues sound to fans today who are just getting introduced to “Back in Black,” “Thunderstruck,” and “Highway to Hell,” the music of AC/DC spans generations.
The band was started by Malcolm Young and Angus Young. Though Scottish, the Youngs would put together an Australian rock group that became one of the most successful in the history of music. With over 200 million records sold and becoming the ninth-best-selling artist in the United States, AC/DC made their mark in the music industry. The band would make millions, but Angus Young would be the most successful of all, with his $160 million net worth.
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However, with all the success that Malcolm and Angus, along with their bandmates, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, and Brian Johnson have enjoyed over the years, there was tragedy as well. First, the original lead singer of AC/DC, Bon Scott passed away in 1980 from acute alcohol poisoning. He would later be replaced by Johnson, and AC/DC would go on to enjoy more success. But, no amount of success could prepare the band for the tragic loss of what happened to AC/DC’s original guitarist, Malcolm Young.
Malcolm Young Was An Original Member Of AC/DC
Malcolm Young helped found AC/DC with his brother
Malcolm Young was one of the founding members of AC/DC. He and his brother, Angus Young, were two of eight children born in Scotland. Their parents moved the family to Australia to look for better work opportunities than were being provided in Glasgow.
It was in Sydney that Malcolm and Angus’ older brother, George, started a band, the Easybeats. This laid the foundation for Malcolm to start a band of his own. However, instead of being just rock, Malcolm wanted more of a blues influence to the music because of the music he had been surrounded by growing up.
Despite being one of the founding members of AC/DC, Malcolm did not want to be the center of attention. Instead, according to The Coda Collection, he enjoyed playing the lead guitar, an instrument that Angus would recall years after the band had formed that Malcolm could not be bested on.
“His rhythm style is a style in itself. I sit and watch and try to copy him but it’s still not Malcolm,” Angus explained.
“He’s got this amazing left hand, y’know? It’s just so quick, so fast…he’s always three or four moves ahead of us all. The adaptability of it — there’s all the chords I’ll struggle with, and he’s already hitting ’em. And on top of that, he keeps that right hand going, and it’s so smooth that there’s never a note missing. When you look at it, you go, ‘Aw, he’s just filling in spaces.’ But when you look at it closer, you realize he’s not only filling them in, he’s playing in between them. We sound like we do because of him.”
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The sound that AC/DC would have for decades would abruptly come to an end when it was learned that Malcolm was going to take a break from the band in 2014 because of health issues. Unfortunately, the health issues that Malcolm was suffering from were not those that he would bounce back from, ultimately causing his demise just a short few years later.
Malcolm Young Suffered From Dementia
Malcolm Young started showing signs of dementia in 2008
In April 2014, AC/DC announced that Malcolm would be “taking a break” from the band. However, it was clear a short time later that Malcolm would not be returning. This is because what he was suffering from was described as “debilitating.”
But with AC/DC not initially announcing what it was that Malcolm was dealing with, fans had to be content with the statement the band released regarding his health.
“Malcolm would like to thank the group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support,” the statement, in part, read. “In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family’s privacy be respected during this time.”
It was not until September 2014 that the affliction that Malcolm was suffering from was dementia. According to Angus, Malcolm first started to show signs of dementia in 2008.
“When we were writing songs together, me and him, it was noticeable,” Angus explained.
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Angus went on to say, “Malcolm was always very organized. It was kinda strange because it the first time I’d ever seen him disorganized, being confused about a lot of things. That’s when it hit me that something’s not right with him. When we were actually doing that album, yeah it became even more prominent, and then he would be confused just traveling somewhere and stuff.”
Despite the dementia, Malcolm kept writing until he could no longer do so. This was when the retirement from AC/DC occurred and Malcolm was not seen in the limelight again.
What Angus Young Had To Say About Malcolm Young’s Last Days
Angus Young stayed by Malcolm Young’s side as his dementia got progressively worse
Just three years after the diagnosis of dementia was made public, Malcolm passed away from the condition. After this happened, Angus spoke out about his brother and how things were for Malcolm in his final days. An interview that was both emotional and allowed Angus to pay tribute to his older brother after his death.
“I think the hardest part was not so much in parting, because that was a kind of end, you know – the relief,” Angus explained. “The decline, that’s the hard part, because you knew him, and then to see that was gone.”
Angus went on to say, “Even to the end … if I was there, from here to here he had a big smile. And I think that was probably … for me, that always gave me a kind of joy, even though he was in that state. That was always the joy of it.”
Even though dementia had taken away most of who Malcolm was, it was not able to take away Malcolm’s love of the guitar. Angus recalled that Malcolm “always got a great kick if I played him guitar. He would try to tap his foot. But he always knew I was there. … I was with him toward the end.”
AC/DC would go on to retire given the health of other band members. But, in 2020, the group would come back together to go on a tour and release their seventeenth studio album, PWR/UP. While it was not the same without Malcolm, AC/DC still took the stage by storm, with fans and critics both praising the album.
It is not known if the band will tour again, but AC/DC is not ruling out another tour. What the lineup will look like is unknown, but regardless of who is on that stage, the rock and blues that Malcolm wanted for the sound of AC/DC continues to live on, a testament to the legacy Malcolm and Angus built when they formed AC/DC so many years ago.
Source: NewsFinale
