ANGUS YOUNG - My life in shorts

THE AC/DC GUITAR HERO ON THE BAND AND BACK IN BLACK, THE PERILS OF GOING ON STAGE IN A SCHOOLBOY INFORM, AND WHAT SHAPED HIM AS A PLAYER – THE POWER OF THE BLUES, AND THE “NASTY” SOUND OF CHUCK BERRY’S GUITAR

- Paul Elliott

Angus Young is a rock’n’roll legend, but not a man to take himself too seriously. As he once said of his art: “You don’t go to the butcher for brain surgery.”

Born on March 31st, 1955 in Glasgow, the youngest of eight children, Angus was just eight years old when his family emigrated to Australia, and it was in Sydney, in 1973, that he and his older brother Malcolm, rhythm guitarist, formed AC/DC. The band went on to sell more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 50 million of Back In Black.

The death of Malcolm Young on November 18, 2017 left Angus as the last remaining founder member of AC/DC. But it was Malcolm’s wish that the band carried on, banging out loud, raw rock’n’roll, just as they always did. And as Angus said: “I enjoy playing. That’s what keeps me going.”

What first turned you on to rock’n’roll?

The sound of Chuck Berry’s guitar. It’s everything rolled into one: it’s blues, it’s rock and roll, and it’s got that hard edge to it. To me, that’s pure rock’n’roll. It’s not clean – it’s nasty.

Did playing guitar come easily to you?

As a kid, I was never one for the tennis racket. I was more interested in getting my fingers round the guitar neck, because when I was little – I’m little now, but I was ‘little’ little – getting a hand around the neck was a big thing. That was the hardest part.