Angus Young

Angus Young was born on March 31, 1955 In Glasgow, Scotland. When he was 8 years old, his family moved to Australia. His mother bought him his first guitar when he was 11. At the age of 15, Young quit school and went on to work at a pornography magazine as a printer.

In 1970, he bought his first Gibson SG and joined a band called Tantrum. The band mostly played at school dances and local gigs. His brother, Malcom was forming a new band, and Angus decided to join. It was AC/DC. It was during this time that he started to perfect his stage persona. He always wore a school uniform which went on to become his trademark.

In 1973, the band performed their first gig at the Chequers Club in Sidney, Australia. Together, the band cut a single called Can I Sit Next To You?

In the next 2 years, the band released High Voltage and TNT. It was with these releases that they were noticed by Atlantic records. They signed a deal with them, and moved to London, England. The band's first release, Let There Be Rock, helped to cement a good fan base. The album was extremely popular in the UK, and with that success, they released Powerage. The following album, Highway to Hell, sold over 1 million copies.

Tragedy soon struck the band when singer Bon Scott died when he choked on his own vomit. He was replaced by Brian Johnson (from Geordie), and the band went back to the studio. Their next release, Back in Black was the band's best selling album ever, selling over 10 million copies in the US alone. Soon after that release, drummer Phil Rudd was forced to leave the band after he was caught making advances on Malcom's wife.

In 1981, the band released their next album, For Those About to Rock. It was another huge success for the band topping the US charts for 3 weeks.

1983's release Flick Of The Switch was not as big for the band, but they had a cemented fan base, and went on to release several albums (including Razor's Edge which was recorded in Vancouver and released in 1990) and tour in their promotion of them.

In 1995, Rudd rejoined the band for the recording of BallBreaker. It was with this album that the band received it's best reviews. It sold millions of copies worldwide.

Stiff Upper Lip, released in 1999 brought the band back to Angus's roots in the Blues. It was recorded in Bryan Adams' studio in Vancouver. The same year the band received the Diamond award for sales over 10 million for their Back in Black album.

photo of Angus Young by Tara Canova