A Look at AC/DC’s Angus and Malcolm Young’s Brotherly Bond: ‘It Was Unique and Very Special’
According to Angus, his brother Malcolm Young was always a ‘solid thing’
With tickets for the 2025 AC/DC North American tour now on sale, fans are reflecting on the band’s roots, including the bond between founding members Angus and Malcolm Young. We dug up everything the pair has said about one another, including why Malcolm left the band in the first place and how Angus is doing after his death. Keep scrolling for more.
Angus and Malcolm Young’s early days before AC/DC
Angus and Malcolm Young were both born in Glasgow, Scotland, during the 1950s, with Malcolm being two years older. They then moved to Sydney, Australia in the 1960s, where they remained and founded AC/DC.
Growing up, the two brothers had six siblings, one of whom—George—introduced them to music after he released a hit song, “Friday on My Mind,” with his band Easybeats. Despite that, the Young family was still skeptical about their kids entering the music industry due to its unpredictability.
Instead, they encouraged Malcolm to work as a mechanic in a bra factory, while Angus got a job at a butcher shop.
Despite their blue-collar jobs, the two never gave up on music. Instead, they pursued their passion while balancing work. They even formed the Marcus Hook Roll Band with their brother George and his friend, Harry Vanda. The group released one album, Tales of Old Grand-Daddy, in 1974, but sadly went their separate ways after that.
“I’ve never felt like a pop star; this is a nine-to-five sort of gig,” Malcolm said in 2008. “It comes from working in the factories, that world. You don’t forget it.”
How Angus and Malcolm Young created AC/DC’s iconic sound
Despite having an upcoming record with another band, Angus and Malcolm went ahead and created their hit music group in 1973.
“[Malcolm] got me into it,” Angus admitted in 1983. “In the early days, we used to fool around on some of our first albums. He would do little bits of guitar. We would double up, swap, do a solo here, a solo there. Malcolm’s more experienced at it than me.”
“I’m just like a color over the top. He’s the solid thing; he pumps it along. His right hand is always going. In that field, I don’t think anyone can do what he does. He’s very clean; he’s very hard. It’s an attack. Anyone that sees him or knows about guitars can tell.”
Both then and now, the band was and is known for its heavy metal sound and iconic guitar solos, which can be heard on songs like “Thunderstruck,” “Highway to Hell” and “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
“If we had done something differently, we might not still be around,” Malcolm told Guitar Player. “If we’d jumped on one of the bandwagons, it might have been costly for us, like it was for many other bands. That’s why we never changed hairstyles for the latest fashion or embraced the latest musical trend. We just stuck to what we always were.”
“I think we’ve done just what we’ve wanted to do.”
Between 1975 and 1988, the band released 12 studio albums, including T.N.T. (1975), Highway to Hell (1979), and Back in Black (1980). After that, though, they cut back mainly due to Malcolm’s drinking.
Angus himself even commented on his brother’s alcoholism in 1983, saying that he had to do all the guitar solos because “my brother’s too lazy. It interferes with his drinking.”
Malcolm was able to return to the band in the 1990s and went on to release four more albums before announcing his departure in 2014 due to his ongoing battle with dementia.
“After 40 years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. Malcolm would like to thank the group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support,” the band said in a statement at the time of the announcement.
“In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family’s privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music.”
The brothers’ later years and Malcolm’s legacy
Following the announcement of Malcolm’s dementia, he and Angus continued to spend as much time together as possible.
“I think the worst part is the decline—that’s the hard part. Because of how you knew him, and then to see that that was gone,” Angus tearfully said in 2020. “I would say, even to the end, if I was there … he had a big smile. And for me, that always gave me a kind of joy. Even though he was in that state, that was always the joy of it.
“He still got a great kick if I played him guitar. He would try to tap his foot. But he always knew I was there. So that was a big thing. I was with him towards the end.”
Malcolm tragically passed away in 2017 at age 64 after a long battle with dementia, leaving behind an indelible legacy.
“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 wrote in a statement at the time. He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever. Malcolm, job well done.”
Since then, Angus has continued speaking out about his late brother’s legacy, and even revealed that the band’s 2020 album PWR/UP is “a tribute to Malcolm.”
“I think he would be proud of the job we’ve done for him. Even the title we give it, Power Up, pretty much sums him up, too. When he put on that guitar, he was one big guitar. To put it this way: When he played guitar, it sounded like two people were playing.”
The personal lives of Angus and Malcolm Young: family and marriage
Unlike most rock and roll stars, Angus and Malcolm spent most of their career happily married with kids.
For Angus, he married his wife Ellen in 1980 and has been with her ever since. The couple doesn’t have any children.
On the other hand, Malcolm married his wife Linda in 1979 and welcomed two kids with her; the couple remained together until he died.
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