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Malcolm Young

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Malcolm Young
Young in 2010
Young in 2010
Background information
Birth nameMalcolm Mitchell Young
Born(1953-01-06)6 January 1953
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
OriginSydney, Australia
Died18 November 2017(2017-11-18) (aged 64)
Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, Australia
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instruments
  • Guitars
  • vocals
Years active1969–2014
Labels
Websiteacdc.com

Malcolm Mitchell Young (6 January 1953 – 18 November 2017) was a Scottish-Australian musician and songwriter, best known as a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the hard rock band AC/DC. Except for a brief absence in 1988, he was with the band from its November 1973 beginning until retiring in 2014 for health reasons. Young and the other members of AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Though his younger brother Angus is the more visible of the brothers, Malcolm was described as the driving force and the leader of the band. In 2014, he stated that despite his retirement from the band, AC/DC was determined to continue making music with his blessing.[1] As the rhythm guitarist, he was responsible for the broad sweep of the band's sound, developing many of their guitar riffs and co-writing the band's material with Angus. He was married to Linda Young and had two children, Cara and Ross.

Young took a leave of absence from AC/DC in April 2014, to receive treatment for dementia.[2][3] In September 2014, the band's management announced that he would be retiring permanently.[4] He died on 18 November 2017.

Early life

William Young (born February 16, 1911) and his family lived at 6 Skerryvore Road in the Cranhill district of Glasgow in Scotland.[5] William worked first as a wheel boy in a rope works and then as a machine / saw operator in an asbestos / cement business. In 1940 William joined the Royal Air Force serving in World War 2 as a flight engine mechanic. After the war William worked as a yard man for a builder and then as a postman. His wife Margaret (born July 14, 1913, her maiden name was also Young) was a housewife.[5]

The 'big freeze' of 1963 was the worst winter on record in Scotland with snow eight feet deep.[6] A TV advertisement at the same time offered assisted travel for families for a different life in Australia.[6] 15 members of the Young family left Scotland by aeroplane in late June 1963[6] including fifth son, George (6 November 1946 – 22 October 2017), and younger brothers, Malcolm and Angus (born March 31, 1955).[5][6] Also aboard were his eldest brother Stephen (June 24, 1933 – 1989), his only sister, Mrs Margaret Horsburgh (born May 2, 1935) and brother, William Jr (born December 15, 1940).[7]: 6–7  Another elder brother, Alex (December 28, 1938 – 1997), stayed in the UK, and was later a member of London-based group, Grapefruit.[8]: 6–7  A final brother, John Young (born May 17, 1937), had migrated to Australia separately.[7]: 6–7  Malcolm later described the family's musical background, "All the males in our family played, Stevie, the oldest played accordion, Alex and John were the first couple to play guitar, and being older it was sort of passed down to George, then myself, then Angus."[7]: 6–7 

Initially staying at Villawood Migrant Hostel (a site later developed as Villawood Immigration Detention Centre) in Nissen huts, George Young met and became friends with another migrant, Harry Vanda.[6] The Young family moved into a semi detached house at 4 Burleigh Street in the Sydney suburb of Burwood.[9]

Music career

Both Angus and Malcolm Young were in a band with their brother George and his music partner Harry Vanda called Marcus Hook Roll Band. the project released an album in Australia called Tales of Old Grand Daddy.[10] Young played guitar on the 1974 release "Evie" by Stevie Wright, written and produced by Harry Vanda and George Young. The song is 11 minutes long and has three parts. Young played the guitar solo in Part One of the song.[11] Malcolm Young was in a short lived Newcastle-based band The Velvet Underground (not the well-known 1960s band).

AC/DC

Malcolm Young in 1990

Malcolm Young was 20 when he and younger brother Angus formed AC/DC in 1973. Angus was on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess on drums, Larry Van Kriedt on bass guitar and Dave Evans on vocals.[8] "Can I Sit Next To You Girl," their first single, was later re-recorded with Bon Scott as their vocalist.[8] They decided upon the name AC/DC after seeing the letters "AC/DC" on the back of their sister Margaret's sewing machine.[12]

AC/DC released their debut album, High Voltage on 17 February 1975. Over the next 3 years AC/DC cemented themselves as a popular hard rock act, especially in Australia, with the follow-up albums, T.N.T., Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Let There Be Rock and Powerage. All their albums until this point were produced by Young's brother George and Harry Vanda in partnership.[6] Their 1979 studio album, Highway to Hell, became their best-selling at the time and launched them to new heights of fame.

Months later Scott died from alcohol poisoning. Questions were raised as to whether the band could continue without him.[8] Young and his other bandmates soon decided they should finish the work they had begun for their new album, so they recruited ex-Geordie singer, Brian Johnson to replace Scott. Five months later, Back in Black was released as a tribute to Scott.[8] It quickly became a huge success, far out-selling any of their previous albums, and going on to reach 22x multi-platinum in the US alone, and selling 50 million copies, the second highest-selling album worldwide, behind only Michael Jackson's Thriller. AC/DC's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, cemented their position as the most popular hard rock act of the time.

Soon after this AC/DC's popularity declined with the mediocre success of their next 3 albums, Flick of the Switch, Fly on the Wall and Blow Up Your Video. AC/DC looked as though they had reached their peak early in the decade and by the end of it, were in decline.[8] Malcolm Young missed the majority of AC/DC's Blow Up Your Video World Tour to address his alcohol problem.[8] He eventually became sober and returned to the band. During his absence he was replaced by his nephew, Stevie Young.

However, their 1990 studio album, The Razors Edge, brought them back into the spotlight, reaching 5x multi-platinum in the US alone and selling between 10 and 12 million copies worldwide.[8] Over the next 10 years AC/DC released two other studio albums, Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip, which confirmed their renewed popularity and success. After a lengthy eight-year hiatus, AC/DC returned with a new studio album, Black Ice. Black Ice debuted at number 1 in 29 countries and was certified multi-platinum in 14 of those, becoming one of their most successful albums worldwide, and was followed by a hugely successful world tour. In 2010, AC/DC released an album of songs used for the Iron Man 2 soundtrack they had put together, this reached number 1 in many countries around the world, including the UK, and number 4 in the US. Malcolm Young confirmed in 2011 that AC/DC were in fact working on a 16th studio album.

In 2003, AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame and the following year they were ranked number 72 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 greatest artists of all time." VH1 ranked them number 23 on their list of the "100 greatest artists of all time" and number 4 in their list of the "100 greatest artists of hard rock." They were also named the 7th "Greatest heavy metal band of all time" by MTV.[8]

Health problems and death

In April 2014, Young became seriously ill and was unable to continue performing.[13] On 16 April 2014, AC/DC released a note stating that Young would be "taking a break from the band due to ill health".[14] However, singer Brian Johnson stated that despite earlier reports, AC/DC are not retiring: "We are definitely getting together in May in Vancouver. We're going to pick up guitars, have a plonk and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas. If anything happens we'll record it."[15] In July, Johnson revealed that Young was in hospital receiving treatment for an unspecified condition and during May recording sessions had been replaced in the studio by guitarist Stevie Young, his nephew.[2] On 24 September 2014, the band's management announced that Young would not be rejoining the band.[4] Stevie Young continued to fill in for Malcolm on the band's 2015 Rock or Bust World Tour.[16]

On 26 September 2014, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Young had dementia and had been admitted to a nursing home where he could receive full-time care. A source close to Young was quoted in this article as saying that he had "complete loss of short-term memory".[17] Young's family confirmed four days later that he had dementia, saying that Young "is suffering from dementia and the family thanks you for respecting their privacy".[3]

In subsequent interviews, Angus stated that his brother had been experiencing lapses in memory and concentration before the Black Ice project and had been receiving treatment during the Black Ice World Tour which ended in 2010. Angus confirmed that although his brother did not play on the 2014 Rock or Bust album: "He still likes his music. We make sure he has his Chuck Berry, a little Buddy Holly." He added that AC/DC would continue according to his brother's wishes and standards: "Look, even with his health, Malcolm was touring until he couldn't do it anymore." In that same interview, Angus stated that Malcolm was rehearsing AC/DC's songs repeatedly before every concert just to remember how they went.[18] In an interview with Guitar Player about Malcolm Young's songwriting credits in Rock or Bust, Angus stated, "Mal[colm] kept doing what he could until he couldn't do it anymore, but I have all the material he was working on. There were a lot of riffs, ideas, and bits of choruses. I'd fill things in to see if we had a song. Every album we've ever done has been that way. There was always a bit from the past, a bit from what we had that was brand new, and, sometimes, just an old idea that either Malcolm or myself had worked on but we never finished. The songwriting process didn't really change, except for the fact that Mal wasn't physically there. So when it came to writing and putting stuff together, I had Stevie [Young] there with me. You see, Malcolm was always a great organizer. He always kept track of the stuff we were writing together. He'd record it, date it, make notes. My records — if you can call them that — are always chaotic. So, this time, Stevie helped me organize a lot of what was there." [19]

At the conclusion of the Black Ice World Tour, Malcolm was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was treated at an early stage, so surgery was successful and the cancer was removed. He also had an unspecified heart problem and wore a pacemaker.[20]

Young died on 18 November 2017 at the age of 64[21] at Lulworth House in Elizabeth Bay.[22] Young's elder brother George Young died a few weeks earlier, on 22 October 2017.[23][24][25]

Legacy and influence

Influenced by 1950s rock and roll and blues-based rock guitarists of the 1960s and 1970s, Young was regarded as a leading rock exponent of rhythm guitar.[26] He is the subject of a song (and album) title by Australian punk rock band Frenzal Rhomb: "Forever Malcolm Young".

Guitar Player magazine has stated that the secret to Young's guitar technique was playing open chords through a series of Marshalls set to low volume with little or no gain. This is contrary to a common belief of many rock guitarists that rhythm guitar should involve loud and overdriven power chords through large amplifiers.[27]

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth stated in a 2004 interview that he considered himself, Young, and James Hetfield of Metallica to be the best rhythm guitarists in the world.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ Roberts, Lesley (19 October 2014). ""WHOLE LOTTA ROYSTON: WRITER HAILS ROCK BRUVS AS HOME CITY URGED TO HONOUR THEM; How Glasgow Forged Superstar Rockers' Heavy Metal."". Sunday Mail: 36. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b "AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young is in hospital, says bandmate Brian Johnson". theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b "AC/DC's Malcolm Young Has Dementia". people. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b "AC/DC 'ROCK OR BUST'". Alberts Management. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "Item details for: A1877, May 1963 Young W". National Archive of Australia. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Easy Beats to AC/DC, The Story of Aussie Rock". BBC TV. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Tait, John Francis; ProQuest (2010), Vanda & Young: Inside Australia's Hit Factory, University of New South Wales Press, ISBN 978-1-74223-217-1
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wall, Mick (2012). AC/DC: Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be. London: Orion Publishing group. ISBN 9781409115359.
  9. ^ "The Young House, 4 Burleigh Street, Burwood" National Trust Register Listing Report
  10. ^ Baker, Glenn A. (14 March 1981). "Vanda and Young: AC/DC and the Young Brothers". Billboard. 93 (10): VY-4, VY-11. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ Tait, John (2010). Vanda & Young. University of New South Wales Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-74223-217-1.
  12. ^ Engleheart, Murray; Durieux, Arnaud (2006). AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll: The Ultimate Story of the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0-06-113391-6.
  13. ^ Peter Vincent, Martin Boulton. "AC/DC to split over sick band member, according to rumours". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  14. ^ "A Message From AC/DC". AC/DC. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Brian Johnson: AC/DC Not Retiring Yet". Metal Hammer. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Grow, Kory (1 October 2014). "AC/DC's Malcolm Young has dementia, family says". Rolling Stone.
  17. ^ "AC/DC's Malcolm Young reportedly in care for dementia in Sydney". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  18. ^ "Hard Rock, Harder Times: AC/DC Return Without Two Key Members". Rolling Stone. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  19. ^ Molenda, Michael (May 2015). "Unbroken & Victorious". Guitar Player. 49 (5): 48–52, 54–56, 58, 60–61. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  20. ^ Matthew Wilkening (8 January 2015). "Lung Cancer, Pacemaker: More Malcolm Young Health Woes Detailed". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  21. ^ "AC/DC co-founder dead at 64". NewsComAu. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  22. ^ "AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young dead at 64". 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. ^ "AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young dies aged 64". 18 November 2017.
  24. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (18 November 2017). "AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young dies aged 64" – via www.theguardian.com.
  25. ^ Reporters, Telegraph (18 November 2017). "AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Malcolm Young dies age 64" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  26. ^ Stafford, Andrew (1 November 2015). "AC/DC: without rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, AC have lost their DC". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  27. ^ Gold, Jude. "Beginner Lesson! AC-DC'S Crushing Chords". GuitarPlayer.com. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  28. ^ "'I'm Over My Metallica Demons,' Says Dave Mustaine". NewGNR.com. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
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