Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, school uniform-style stage outfits, and his own version of Chuck Berry's duckwalk. Young was ranked 38th in the 2023 edition of Rolling Stone's 250 greatest guitarists of all time list. In 2003, Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of AC/DC.
Angus McKinnon Young was born on 31 March 1955 in Glasgow, Scotland. In the 1950s, Young's father, William Young (1911–1985), his mother, Margaret (1913–1988; maiden name also Young), and his elder seven siblings lived at 6 Skerryvore Road in the Cranhill district of Glasgow in Scotland. Cranhill was a tough, working-class suburb with high unemployment.
Prior to moving to Cranhill, William worked first as a wheel boy in a rope works and then as a machine/saw operator in an asbestos/cement business. In 1940, William joined the Royal Air Force, serving in World War II as a flight engine mechanic. After the war, William worked as a yard man for a builder and then as a postman. Margaret was a housewife.
Young spent the first seven years of his life in Scotland. His siblings were Stephen Crawford, Margaret, John, Alexander, William, George and Malcolm.
Music was part of family life. Stephen played the piano accordion and the piano, Young's sister Margaret was passionate about music, John played the guitar, Alexander was an accomplished singer, bass guitarist and saxophonist who in the early 1960s left for a career in music in Europe, and George and Malcolm eventually became founding members of the Easybeats and AC/DC respectively. Stephen was the father of Stevie Young who in later years took over from Malcolm in AC/DC.
Young himself took up the guitar at the age of five or six, receiving one lesson from Alexander, after which he was self-taught. Young also learned how to fight on Cranhill's tough streets, and, on one occasion, was struck by a car.
Prompted by the winter of 1962–1963, the worst winter on record in Scotland, and TV advertisements offering assisted travel for families to emigrate to Australia, the Youngs flew from Scotland to Sydney, Australia, in late June 1963, when Young was eight years old. John migrated to Australia separately from his parents and siblings, while Alexander was the only child to remain in the UK.
Initially staying at Villawood Migrant Hostel (a site later developed as Villawood Immigration Detention Centre) in Nissen huts, brother George met and became friends with another migrant, Harry Vanda, a relationship that grew into their professional careers in music.
Young's family moved into a semi-detached house at 4 Burleigh Street in the Sydney suburb of Burwood. The house was demolished in December 2024, despite being on the National Trust List of Historic Homes since 2013. Young attended Burwood Public School from 1960 to 1966 and in 1967, attended Ashfield Boys High School, dropping out at age 15. While at high school, Young enjoyed only the art classes. He practised the guitar in his bedroom after school.
After high school, Young worked at various jobs, including night shifts at a butcher shop. Then he became an apprentice printer. For one week, a soft porn magazine called Ribald moved into the print shop where Young worked. Young set some type for that magazine, but, despite some claims, was never its employee.
Young first started playing on a banjo, re-strung with six strings. Young's first guitar was a cheap acoustic model purchased second-hand by his mother. After high school, and with a pay packet, Young bought his first Gibson SG second-hand around 1970 from a music shop just down the street from his home: "I got out and got a Gibson SG that I played until it got wood rot because so much sweat and water got into it. The whole neck warped. I bought it second-hand; it was about a '67. It had a real thin neck, really slim, like a Custom neck. It was dark brown."
Both Angus and Malcolm were in a band with George and his music partner Harry Vanda called Marcus Hook Roll Band. The project released an album in Australia called Tales of Old Grand Daddy.
Prior to forming AC/DC, Angus Young played in a local group called Kantuckee. Kantuckee's line-up included Bob McGlynn (vocals), Angus Young (guitar), Jon Stevens (bass) and Trevor James (drums). The band split and was later called Tantrum with the following line up: Mark Sneddon (vocals-guitar), Angus Young (guitar), Jon Stevens (bass) and Trevor James (drums).
Young was 18 when he and Malcolm formed AC/DC in 1973. Young was on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess on drums, Larry Van Kriedt on bass guitar and Dave Evans on vocals. The band had a recording contract with Albert Productions; it had also produced the work of the Easybeats.
"Can I Sit Next To You Girl", the band's first single, was later re-recorded with Bon Scott as their vocalist. They decided upon the name AC/DC, suggested by their sister Margaret, who saw the letters "AC/DC" on the back of her sewing machine.
Young tried a number of stage costumes, such as Spider-Man, Zorro, a gorilla, and a parody of Superman named Super-Ang, before settling on his signature schoolboy look at the suggestion of his sister. To match this image, the press and public were told that Young was born in 1959, not 1955. The original uniform was created by his sister Margaret, and, when it fell apart from wear and tear, he used his uniform from Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney.
AC/DC released their debut album, High Voltage, exclusively in Australia on 17 February 1975, along with a single "Baby, Please Don't Go" / "Love Song". Over the next three years, AC/DC cemented themselves as a popular hard rock act, especially in Australia, with the follow-up albums T.N.T., Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Let There Be Rock and Powerage. All their albums until this point were produced by Young's brother George in partnership with Harry Vanda. Their 1979 studio album, Highway to Hell, became their best-selling at the time and launched them to new heights of fame.
Months after this, Scott died from alcohol poisoning. Questions were raised as to whether the band could continue without him. Young and his other bandmates soon decided they should finish the work they had begun for their new album, so they recruited ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson to replace Scott. Five months later, Back in Black was released as a tribute to Scott. It quickly became a huge success, far outselling any of their previous albums, and going on to reach 27x multi-platinum in the US alone, and selling 50 million copies, the second-highest-selling album worldwide, behind only Michael Jackson's Thriller. AC/DC's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, cemented their position as the most popular hard rock act of the time.