Across the musical timeline, many great bands have centred around family members; Oasis, The Kinks, and even the Bee Gees. Another classic example is AC/DC.
Characterised by the dovetailing, hard-rocking grooves of guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, brothers in blood and sound, they are one of the most distinctive and influential outfits of all time.
It is easy to wax lyrical about the exploits of AC/DC, and the vivacious musicianship of the brothers Young. However, when fans are so enthusiastically discussing their punchy riffs, anthemic choruses and penchant for providing a bloody good time via rock ‘n’ roll, people overlook the fact that their older brother, George Young, played a key role in them becoming the much-loved band they are today.
George was seven years older than Malcolm, and nine Angus, and he forged a path into music history years before they did. He was the main songwriter for the Australian band The Easybeats, the Antipodean answer to ‘The British Invasion’, who enjoyed several hits. Due to their success, the Easybeats settled in Europe for a time.
There, after the group split in 1969, Young and former bandmate Harry Vanda formed a production and songwriting partnership. Then, the duo returned to Sydney in 1973, where they worked as in-house producers for the pioneering Ted Albert at his studio.
Angus and Malcolm formed AC/DC in 1973, and George led them to hone their craft and shape their sound. After accruing first-hand knowledge with The Easybeats, he instilled an honest, hard-working ethos into his brothers and their band from early on. In a moment that is deemed pivotal in their history, he told Angus and Malcolm that he “didn’t believe a band can ever call itself a band until it’s done at least 200 gigs”.
Alongside Vanda, he co-produced all of the group’s early albums, High Voltage, T.N.T.,
High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Cheap, Let There Be Rock and Powerage. He also played bass for them between 1974 and the following year.
Speaking to Guitar World in 1992, Angus described the lessons George taught them. He remembered that he “was so quick that you learned a lot when you were with him. Especially when you were 14 or something.”
Continuing: “He’d pick up a bass and hand you the guitar. And you’d think you were incompetent, but before you knew it you were playing with him. He’d go ‘G… A…’ And you were away.
It wasn’t just musical lessons that Young taught his brothers. He also offered them sobering logistical advice: “He also taught me… like, say you play a song five nights in one key, but on the sixth night the singer’s throat ain’t makin’ it. You might have to go down a tone or so. George was really used to that, and he got me used to that.”
Following the 2017 deaths of George and Malcolm just a month apart, in 2020, Angus spoke to Double J, about the former’s influence: “George – even before we were AC/DC, when we were younger – gave us a lot of guidance, especially with studio work… He was always good when we were in our early teens, taking this into the studio and showing us how you made a good record.”
Sometimes family is all you really need.
Editors’ Picks
- 1970s Music
- AC/DC
- Australian Rock
- George Young
- Hard Rock
- Mentorship
- Music Production
- Rock History
- Sibling Bands
- The Easybeats
