AC/DC Confirms Young’s Exit; World Tour

The 61-year old was earlier “taking a break” due to an unspecified illness when the veteran act went into Warehouse Studios in Vancouver in April with producer Brendan O’Brien and mixer Mike Fraser.  Young’s look-alike nephew Stevie Young was recalled to fill in during the sessions.

AC/DC announced on its website today,  “Unfortunately, due to the nature of Malcolm’s condition, he will not be returning to the band.” He is said to be so ill he is in care in Sydney.

Stevie Young will handle guitar duties when the high-voltage act embarks on a world tour in 2015 behind its November 28-due album Rock Or Bust.

Malcolm Young, a younger brother of George Young of ‘60s rock band The Easybeats had done sessions for other acts in Sydney before he formed the band in November 1973 with younger brother Angus. Malcolm rarely gave interviews but ruled the band with an iron rod. His rhythm chords, delivered with precision and discipline, were an essential part of the AC/DC sound which sold 200 million albums.

Stevie Young, the Glasgow-born son of the eldest Young brother Stephen, turns 58 in November. He has drifted in and out of AC/DC’s aura. He jammed with his uncles as a teenager in Sydney, before he returned to the UK in the mid-1970s. His band Starfighters opened for the UK leg of AC/DC’s Back In Black tour in 1980. He stepped into AC/DC in 1988 during the U.S. dates for the Blow Up Your Video tour while Malcolm dealt with alcoholic dependency.

Rock Or Bust is the band’s first in six years. It follows up Black Ice which debuted at #1 in 31 countries and has sold almost 8 million copies worldwide, its Australian record label Alberts said.

Turner Sports will give a sneak peek of one track, Play Ball, during its 2014 Major League Baseball Postseason coverage, starting September 27.

Last month, while drummer Phil Rudd was promoting his solo debut Head Job, he told Australian radio that Rock Or Bust was better than Black Ice. He called the record “stellar” and added, “I hope it’s as good as I remember when I came away from the studio. It’s pretty damn good.”

Rudd emphasised that AC/DC will continue to tour and record. “We’ll probably all have to be dead before it stops. You’ll never stop Angus.”