AC/DC has a secret , and you won’t find it in the myriad of magazine articles , on-line biographies,books ,and fansites dedicated to the band . Sure, you’ll see tons of photos and references to lead guitarist Angus Young’s frenetic stage energy while performing in his schoolboy short pants . But understand this : AC/DC was , is , and always will be his big brother Malcolm‘s band .
My initial hunch that this was true came during my first interview with the band , as Angus , singer Brian Johnson and I were discussing the breakthrough album Highway to Hell (the last with colorful ruffian singer Bon Scott , who died of alcohol poisoning shortly after) and the follow-up with Brian singing , Back in Black . Numerous times during the conversation, both Angus and Brian alluded to what Angus’s older brother , rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young , thought , said , or did . It became increasingly apparent as the stories unfolded that , musically and spiritually , Malcolm Young was to whom the others looked . Angus Young may have been chosen early on to be the focal point of AC/DC , but big brother Malcolm has always been the heart and soul of this band , becoming even more so after the death of Bon Scott in 1980 .
So a few years later when another AC/DC interview opportunity arose , I insisted that Malcolm be included , and my hunch was quickly confirmed . Malcolm is plain-spoken , unpretentious , wise , and doggedly determined . And while the excellent biographers at AllMusic.com correctly note that AC/DC’s popularity and sales waned from the mid-1980s through the end of the decade , they fail to grasp why : Malcolm’s drinking had increased to a debilitative point whereby it was affecting not only his health but his creative leadership of the band , and wisely he took a leave of absence for over two years . So it was no coincidence that , when a clean and sober Malcolm Young rejoined AC/DC for 1990′s The Razor’s Edge , it became the quintet’s biggest seller and best-reviewed album since Back in Black a decade earlier .
It’s Malcolm’s band .
-Redbeard