Angus Young Biography

Angus Young was born on 31 March 1955 to William and Margaret Young and was the youngest of eight children. In 1963, he and his parents migrated to Sydney, Australia, along with his siblings, Malcolm, George, and Margaret.

He first started playing a banjo, and then the guitar on a cheap acoustic model purchased second-hand by his mother. His first Gibson SG was also bought second-hand.

At 15, he dropped out of Ashfield Boys High School. Initially, he played in a local group called Kantuckee. The band split, and was later called Tantrum.

In 1973, he and his brother Malcolm formed AC/DC with Angus on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess on drums, Larry Van Kriedt on bass guitar, and Dave Evans as vocalist.

Their first single was “Can I Sit Next To You”. It was later re-recorded with Bon Scott as their vocalist in “Can I Sit Next To You Girl”.

After trying a number of stage costumes, he finally settled on his signature schoolboy look as suggested by his sister Margaret who created the original uniform. Later he used his school uniform.

In 1975, AC/DC released their debut album, “High Voltage”. They followed it up with “T.N.T.”, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, “Let There Be Rock” and “Powerage” over the next three years.

“Highway to Hell”, a studio album, became their best-selling in 1979 and launched them to new heights of fame. The group’s lead singer Bon Scott died from alcohol poisoning shortly afterwards.

Following Bon Scott’s death, AC/DC recruited ex-Geordie singer, Brian Johnson to finish the album they had started. In 1980, “Back in Black” was released as a tribute to Scott.

AC/DC’s 1981 album “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” was a big success. The following albums “Flick of the Switch”, “Fly on the Wall” and “Blow Up Your Video” gained mediocre success.

AC/DC’s 1990 studio album “The Razors Edge” brought them some glory. It reached 5x multi-platinum in the US and sold between 10 and 12 million copies worldwide.

The 1995 album “Ballbreaker” included the tracks “Hard as a Rock”, “Boogie Man”, “Cover You in Oil”, “Hail Caesar”, and “Ballbreaker”. The album “Stiff Upper Lip” was released five years later.

They put together the songs used for the “Iron Man 2” soundtrack into an album released in 2010. It reached number 1 in many countries including the UK, and number 4 in the US.

Young has designed the Angus Young SG, in collaboration with Gibson Guitar Corporation, with a pick-up in the bridge position, and a ’57 Classic Humbucker and “lightning bolt” inlays in the neck.

In 2014, AC/DC came out with their sixteenth studio album ‘Rock or Bust.’ The album received positive reviews from critics and topped several charts including ‘Australian Albums,’ ‘Austrian Albums,’ US Top Rock Albums,’ and ‘Scottish Albums.’

The band put out their seventeenth studio album ‘Power Up’ in November 2020. The album opened to a positive critical reception and debuted at number one on the ARIA Charts. It also peaked at number one on music charts such as ‘US Billboard 200,’ ‘US Top Rock Albums,’ ‘Spanish Albums,’ and ‘Canadian Albums.’

The album, “Back in Black” became the second highest-selling album worldwide, behind only Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. It reached 22x multi-platinum in the US alone and sold 50 million copies worldwide.

In 2008, AC/DC brought out “Black Ice” which debuted at number 1 in 29 countries and was certified multi-platinum in 14. It became one of their most successful albums worldwide.

AC/DC won their first Grammy Award in 2010 for the track “War Machine” in the category Best Hard Rock Performance from the album “Black Ice”. The album won a nomination for Best Rock Album.

In 2003, AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The following year they were ranked number 72 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 greatest artists of all time”.

Young married Ellen in 1980. They live in Kangaroo Point, Sydney. They also own a home in Aalten, Netherlands. Angus is a heavy smoker but does not drink.