by André Depienne

In 1963 the Young family emigrated to Australia from Scotland. In high-school, Malcolm started playing the guitar. His older brother George founded the band The Easybeats, that had an international hit single with Friday On My Mind in 1966. George showed his younger brother how to improve his guitar playing and became his role-model. At 15 Malcolm quit school and would form several bands, none of which were very successful.

In 1973 he formed AC/DC and the band was joined by younger brother Angus on lead guitar a little later. Their first album High Voltage was released on February 17th, 1975 exclusively in Australia. One year later, a record by the same name, but with a different track list and cover, was released in Europe and America.

In 1979, with the release of their 6th album Highway To Hell, AC/DC gained international success among Hard Rock fans. It was the last album featuring Bon Scott on vocals, as he died one year later and was replaced by Brian Johnson. As rhythm guitarist and songwriter, Malcolm was AC/DC's driving force. He was behind the band's powerful guitar sound and fans and music journalists alike saw him as one of the world's most skillful rhythm guitarists. He was famous for his raw and hard riffs, which gave AC/DC their unique sound.

His guitar of choice was a 1963 Gretsch G6131, known as the Gretsch Jet Firebird, with a solidbody and two cutaways. Nicknamed The Beast, Malcolm modified the guitar to his needs by removing the red glaze from its body and changing parts of its mechanics.

In May 2014 AC/DC announced on its website, that Malcolm Young was ill and was to take a break from the music business. Only four months later the band made it known that, because of his health issues, Malcolm had decided to once and for all leave AC/DC. After a stroke, he suffered from dementia which led to the complete loss of his short-term memory. He also had to undergo lung and heart surgery which affected his condition for the worse.

He had still been part of writing the album Rock Or Bust, but during its recording and the tour in 2015, he was replaced by his nephew Stevie Young, who now is a constant member of the band.

Malcolm Young died on November 18th, 2017 at the age of 64.