Malcolm Young

Malcolm Young’s personal life has been in the wraps. Not much is known about his love life or relationship status as well.

Malcolm’s health concerns first came to limelight during their ‘Blow Up Your Video’ world tour. It was during the tour that Malcolm took a leave of absence to address to his problem of alcohol addiction which had worsened during the years. Fearing the same fate as Scott’s, Malcolm resolved to put an end to his growing addiction to alcohol.

Fighting from alcohol addiction and finally winning over it, Malcolm rejoined his group. He continued playing for the band until in April 2014, when he no longer was able to perform. He took a leave of absence that eventually led to his official retirement from the band.

Malcolm Mitchell Young was born on January 6, 1953 in Glasglow, Scotland, UK to William and Margaret Young. He was the sixth child of his parents.

Malcolm was ten years old, when his family shifted base to Sydney, Australia. Soon, he earned the reputation as a schoolyard brawler. Leaving school, he started working as a machine maintenance engineer for a bra company.

Malcolm’s tryst with music, especially guitar started early in life. He was in school when he first picked up a guitar. Talented as he was, he soon progressed from playing acoustic guitar to an electric one, taking tips from his brother George, who was a member of the band Easybeats.

Early on in his career, Malcolm Young started playing guitar in local bands. In 1971, he joined Australian band Velvet Underground. Though the band underwent a number of line-up changes, they never quite made an impact.

In 1973, Velvet Underground disbanded. Following this, Malcolm joined forces with his younger brother Angus. Together the brother duo played for an obscure recording ‘Marcus Hook Roll Band Tales of Old Granddaddy’, before teaming up to form their own band AC/DC. In 1974, Dave Evans joined the brother’s AC/DC group and the trio began to tour nationally.

In 1976, AC/DC shifted base from Australia back to UK. Apart from the Young brothers’ duo, the team had Bon Scott as the lead singer, Phill Rudd as a drummer and Mark Evans filling up as bassist.

From 1976 to 1979, AC/DC came up with five albums including ‘High Voltage’, ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’, ‘Let There Be Rock’, ‘Powerage’ and ‘If You Want Blood’. With a streak of successful albums in their kitty, AC/DC soon gained a reputation and a fan following outside Australia.

In 1979, AC/DC came up with their first international breakthrough album ‘Highway to Hell’. It became the first AC/DC album to break into the US top 100, eventually reaching #17. Following ‘Highway to Hell’, AC/DC’s popularity rose tremendously. They became known for their high-energy live performances and a string of successful albums.

Malcolm Young’s most promising work came in 1980 with AC/DC’s most successful album ‘Back in Black’. Despite coming after Scott’s loss, the album gave the band the international breakthrough that they were looking for. It sold more than 50 million copies and went on to become the second-highest-selling album in history. ‘Back in Black’ was also included amongst the ‘greatest’ albums list.