Angus Young
Performing live in 2001 in Germany
Background information
Birth name	Angus McKinnon Young
Born	March 31, 1955 (1955-03-31) (age 53) Glasgow, Scotland
Genre(s)	Hard rock, Heavy metal, Blues-rock, Rock and roll
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1973 - present
Label(s)	EMI, Epic, Atlantic, Albert
Associated acts	AC/DC
Website	acdc.com or http://acdcrocks.com/
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson SG

Angus McKinnon Young (born on 31 March 1955) is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his wild, energetic performance style and schoolboy-uniform stage outfits. He was ranked 96th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time^[1]. Image File history File links AngusYoung1. ... is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... Blues Rock or Blues-rock is a fusion genre of music which combines elements of the blues with rock and roll. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition (chords) or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label, and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Albert Records is an Australian record label founded in 1964 by Ted Albert. ... This article is about the band. ... The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. ... is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... This article is about the band. ... This article is about the magazine. ...

Biography

Angus Young, one of nine children of William and Margaret Young, was brought up in Sydney, Australia with his older brothers Malcolm, George, Alex, who all became musicians, an elder sister Margaret, and four other siblings. Angus started playing guitar when he was five years old — a local child had one and Angus would play it during visits. He got his own guitar by taking a banjo his family had lying around the house and re-stringing it like a guitar. This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... Malcolm Mitchell Young (born January 6, 1953) is a British guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and co-songwriter for the Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. He has been with them since he co-founded the band in November 1973. ... George Redburn Young (born 6 November 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland) is an Australian rock musician, songwriter and record producer, best-known as the co-writer of the international hits, Friday On My Mind and Love Is In The Air; and for his production of the hard rock band, AC/DC... Alexander Young (b. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. ...

Early years

Young did not get into guitar-playing seriously until after the Young family moved from Scotland to Australia in 1963. He bought a Gibson SG, after seeing it in a friend's catalogue. Until then, he had been playing on an old Höfner guitar he inherited from his brother Malcolm, due to the fact that although guitars were available, they were expensive because they were from America.^{[citation needed]} Angus's brother George (of The Easybeats) gave both Angus and Malcolm guitar lessons when he would come home during breaks from touring. This article is about the country. ... The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. ... Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... The Easybeats were a rock and roll band from Australia. ...

Prior to forming AC/DC, Young played in a local group called Kantuckee. Kantuckee's lineup included Bob McGlynn (vocals), Angus Young (guitar), Jon Stevens (bass) & Trevor James (drums). This was the first band to record Demo takes for Stevie Wrights classic "Evie" at the request of George Young. 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)^[2] Stephen Carlton Stevie Wright (born December 20, 1948, in Leeds, Yorkshire) is an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australias first international pop star[1]. From 1965-1969 he was the lead singer for the Sydney-based rock and roll band The Easybeats, widely regarded as the... Evie is an Australian rock song released as a single in 1974 by Australian music legend and former The Easybeats frontman Stevie Wright. ...

Formation of AC/DC

Angus and Malcolm Young formed AC/DC in 1973. The first line up included Angus Young on lead guitar, Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess on drums, Larry Van Kriedt on bass guitar and Dave Evans on vocals. The band's first single was "Can I Sit Next To You". Which was later re-recorded with Bon Scott, as their vocalist, as "Can I Sit Next To You Girl." They got the name AC/DC after seeing the letters "AC/DC" on the back of a sewing machine owned by their sister, Margaret. "AC/DC" stands for Alternating Current/Direct Current. Rhythm guitar is a guitar that is primarily used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment for a singer or for other instruments in an ensemble. ... Colin Burgess (born November 16, 1946) was the first drummer with rock band AC/DC. From 1968-1972 he played in the successful Australian rock group The Masters Apprentices, and was recruited at the time of AC/DCs formation in 1973, joining Malcolm Young (Rhythm Guitar), Angus Young (Lead... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... Larry Van Kriedt is the original AC/DC bassist/volcalist along with Malcolm Young (Rhythm Guitar), Angus Young (Lead Guitar), Dave Evans (Lead Vocals) and Colin Burgiss (Drums). ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other persons of the same name, see David Evans. ... Ronald Belford Bon Scott (July 9, 1946 – February 19, 1980) was a Scottish-Australian rock musician, most well-known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. ...

After playing with the band for a while, Young developed his trademark schoolboy image. Before settling on the schoolboy costume, Angus had tried other costumes, such as Spider-man, Zorro, a gorilla, and a parody of Superman, named Super-Ang.^[3] The schoolboy costume became a signature trademark of Young. To match this image the press and public were told that Young was born in 1959, not 1955. The original uniform was reputedly from his secondary school, Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney. One rumour is that he did not have time to change his clothes between school and band practice, and simply wore the uniform; while such an event may have occurred years earlier, by 1973, Angus had long left school. His sister Margaret suggested he wear the uniform after Malcolm asked each band member to come up with their own gimmick, which was ironic as Angus very much disliked being at school. This was the era of glam rock, when costumes were common for pop and rock acts. Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... For other uses, see Zorro (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Gorilla (disambiguation). ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Ashfield Boys High School Emblem Ashfield Boys High School is located in Ashfield, in the Inner West of Sydney. ... Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a rock music style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. ...

Recent events

Although Young prefers to keep his private life out of the media, it is known that he now lives in Sydney, Australia and also has a home in Aalten, Netherlands (because he has a home in the Netherlands , he is also on the Quote 500, the list of Holland's 500 richest people). Young married his Dutch wife Ellen in 1980 shortly before Bon Scott died.^[4] This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... Aalten is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. ... Ronald Belford Bon Scott (July 9, 1946 – February 19, 1980) was a Scottish-Australian rock musician, most well-known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. ...

On August 24, 2006, Young received Kerrang! magazine's Legend Award from the editor, Paul Brannigan. Brannigan called AC/DC "one of the most important and influential rock bands in history."^[5] The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

Equipment

Guitars

Angus Young has used Gibson SGs in various forms (his original, and the basis for his current signature model, was a 1968 SG) throughout his career. He is rarely seen with another guitar. However, he also owns Telecasters, Gibson Firebirds and ES335s. When AC/DC played a jam of "Rock me Baby" with the Rolling Stones in 2003, he played a Gibson ES-335 borrowed from Keith Richards, perhaps one of the only times he was without an SG onstage. Young's 1968 SG has T Top pickups. Another 1964 SG that he used on the recording of Ballbreaker, has patent # pickups. All of these are high output Alnico 5 pickups with matched coils. Angus has used Ernie Ball strings for over 40 years, gauge .10-.048^[6] The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. ... 1950s-style Telecaster with natural finish, with metal bridge cover removed. ... The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present. ... Gibson ES-335 In 1957, Gibson realeased the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, the ES-335. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and founding member of The Rolling Stones. ... Alnico is an acronym[1] referring to alloys which are composed primarily of aluminium (symbol Al), nickel (symbol Ni) and cobalt (symbol Co), hence al-ni-co, with the addition of iron, copper, and sometimes titanium, typically 8-12% Al, 15-26% Ni, 5-24% Co, up to 6% Cu...

Angus Young Signature SG

Angus Young and Gibson Guitar Corporation have collaborated to make the Angus Young Signature SG, which is special in several ways. ^[7] The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. ...

The model features a pickup designed by Young himself (the Angus Young Signature Humbucker) in the bridge position, and a '57 Classic Humbucker in the neck. The headstock features Young's famous "Devil Schoolboy!" engraved picture, and the tremolo bar features Angus' name instead of the Gibson logo. The guitar has a rosewood fingerboard, trapezoid fret inlays, a signature black pickguard, 22 frets, a worn cherry finish, and nickel hardware. The volume and tone knobs are bigger than those of a regular SG but it still features the standard 3-way selector switch. There has been only one occasion on which Angus used the guitar on stage, playing "Shoot to Thrill" at the Summit in Houston, TX in October 1983. This performance is featured on the "AC/DC Plug Me In" DVD. Traditional Open Coil (uncovered) humbucker pickup A conventional humbucker (or Humbucking pickup) is a type of electric guitar pickup that uses two coils, both generating string signal. ...

Amplifiers

Young's amps have been plexi Marshalls: JTM45s, JTM50s, JMP50s and Superleads (plus a few Wizard amplifiers). His main amp is his JTM45, which he uses both live and in the studio. When Young plays live, he runs this through an isolation speaker box that sits under the stage and feeds directly into the PA system. In the studio, Angus has often used a 100w plexi for riffs and a smaller plexi (jmp50, jtm50, or jtm45) for solos. Speaker cabinets he has used have been Marshall 4x12"s (model 1982 and 1960, mostly B models) with Celestion G12H 30 watt (on old recordings), Vintage 30s (on newer recordings) and G12M 25 watt speakers (on solos/overdubs on newer recordings). Malcolm has used Mesa Boogie Cabs before as seen on AC/DC's 1992 live album, Live. Angus is said to, by Marshall, use the 1987X 50watt head. ... The Mesa Boogie Logo Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses. ... Live is a 1992 album by Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. It was released both as a single album and as a double album (known as Live: 2 CD Collectors Edition). The album has been considered the closest thing to a greatest hits album in the AC/DC...

Influence

Angus Young's energetic guitar style has been an influence on many young hard rock guitarists. His work with AC/DC has been an influence on bands ranging from Guns N' Roses and Def Leppard to newer artists like Jet and You Am I.^{[citation needed]} Young cites his own influences as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Leslie West, and other blues/rock and roll players.^[8] Hard Rock redirects here. ... Guns N Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... Def Leppard are an English hard rock band from Sheffield who formed in 1977 as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. ... For other uses, see JET. JET is a hard rock band from Melbourne, Australia, whose debut album Get Born, released in 2003, has so far sold over four million copies throughout the world. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born October 18, 1926 in St. ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the Father of Chicago blues. He is also the actual father of blues musician Big Bill Morganfield. ... Leslie West (born October 22, 1945) is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. ... Blues music redirects here. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

Style

Angus Young's playing style is very straight blues, playing in the minor pentatonic blues scale. His style is spiced by additional non-blues tricks. In AC/DC's earlier recordings, power chords can be heard in songs such as "T.N.T." and "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)". He also utilises touches of Scottish folk in his playing, and pull-off arpeggios (pull-offs, played one-handed) are a popular trick, appearing in songs such as "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Who Made Who", "Can't Stand Still", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Sin City", "Shake a Leg", "Thunderstruck", and "Let There Be Rock" (live). In 1976, the band recorded an instrumental arrangement of the Scottish traditional song "Loch Lomond", retitled "Fling Thing", which has appeared in their stage act over the years. The title refers to the Highland Fling. In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ... In music, a pentatonic scale is a notes per octave. ... In music, a power chord is an interval which serves the diatonic function of a major or minor chord. ... T.N.T. is a song recorded in 1975 by the hard rock band AC/DC from their Australian album T.N.T. and the international version of High Voltage. ... Its A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock n Roll) is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of their Australian album T.N.T., released in December 1975 (see 1975 in music), and was written by Angus Young... Various arpeggios as seen on a staff Notation of a chord in arpeggio In music, an arpeggio is a broken chord where the notes are played or sung in succession rather than simultaneously. ... Baby, Please Dont Go is a song by Big Joe Williams that was made somewhat popular by AC/DC. Since its 1945 release, it has been thoroughly covered by bands, including Muddy Waters, Them, Paul Butterfield and Paul Revere & the Raiders, Amboy Dukes(Ted Nugent), AC/DC, Tom Petty... Who Made Who is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC, released in 1986 as the soundtrack to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive. ... Stiff Upper Lip is a 2000 hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC. The album was recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City. ... Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of their Australian album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. ... Cover of Sin City shows Marv walking through the rain. ... Shake A Leg is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, first appeared as track number nine on their 1980 album Back in Black. ... This article is about a 2004 film; for the AC/DC song, see Thunderstruck. ... Let There Be Rock is the fourth studio album by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in March 1977 (see 1977 in music). ... Loch Lomond Loch Lomond is a traditional Scottish song. ... Bonny is a song performed by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, based on the traditional Scottish ballad The Bonnie Banks O Loch Lomond and played as a tribute to the bands original lead singer, Bon Scott. ... Scottish highland dance The Official Dances The Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing was set up in 1950 to standardise techniques and regulations of highland dance competitions. ...

He is especially noted for his vibrato, his intricate improvisation in live shows, and his stripped down approach to the guitar, with regard to amp-provided effects and guitar accessories.

He often receives criticism from the music press, many of his critics stating that AC/DC's songs sound too similar, focusing on the same handful of chords. However, as Young stated in an interview with the Atlanta Gazette in 1979:

"It's just rock and roll. A lot of times we get criticised for it. A lot of music papers come out with: 'When are they going to stop playing these three chords?' If you believe you shouldn't play just three chords it's pretty silly on their part. To us, the simpler a song is, the better, 'cause it's more in line with what the person on the street is."

Stage antics

Angus Young is notorious for his wild onstage antics. He entertains audiences with his intense jumps onstage and with his running back and forth across the stage while playing his guitar. Young would clamber on to Bon Scott's shoulders during concerts and they would make their way through the audience with smoke streaming from a satchel on his back, while he played an extended guitar solo, usually during the song "Rocker". Once, at a concert in Donington, he rode on Brian Johnson's shoulders. In some of his concert videos, he would raise his foot and bring it back down to the front of his other foot like a zig-zag on stage while keeping the same rhythm on the guitar as he played. Rocker is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the sixth track of their Australian album T.N.T., released in December 1975 (see 1975 in music), and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. ...

Angus (left) performing his Devil Horns act, along with Campino (right), lead singer of German Punk rock band Die Toten Hosen.

In later years, Young performed moves such as his own version of the Duck Walk, which was inspired by his idol Chuck Berry, and his "spasm", during which he throws himself to the ground, kicking, shaking, and spinning in circles, while playing the guitar. Both moves can be seen on various videos, such as "Live At Donington". ^[9] Young developed the "spasm" while he was playing live in a small club in Australia, after he accidentally tripped over a cable on stage while playing his solo. He covered it up by having a seizure-like "spasm" on stage to make it seem like part of the act. It has been a trademark of his ever since. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2050x1530, 338 KB) en: Angus Young, lead guitarist of the hard rock band AC/DC (left) and Campino, singer of the german punk rock band Die Toten Hosen (right) at Müngersdorfer Stadion, Köln (Cologne), Germany on June 5th 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2050x1530, 338 KB) en: Angus Young, lead guitarist of the hard rock band AC/DC (left) and Campino, singer of the german punk rock band Die Toten Hosen (right) at Müngersdorfer Stadion, Köln (Cologne), Germany on June 5th 2001. ... This is an overview of the Devil. ... Campino at a 1987 concert Andreas Frege (b. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Andreas Frege (Campino) Andreas Meurer (Andi) Andreas von Holst (Kuddel) Kuddel and Andi Die Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. ... Image:Duckwalking1. ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born October 18, 1926 in St. ... A spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. ... Live is a 1992 album by Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. It was released both as a single album and as a double album (known as Live: 2 CD Collectors Edition). The album has been considered the closest thing to a greatest hits album in the AC/DC...

Angus Young also performs "the bob". In the bob, he headbangs while tapping his feet. He taps his right foot twice when headbanging up, and his left foot twice when headbanging down. The bob is found in many songs such as You Shook Me All Night Long, Bad Boy Boogie, Highway to Hell, and many more.

Other gimmicks employed by Young include his strip act, which can be seen during "Bad Boy Boogie" on the most definitive live concert footage Let There Be Rock (1980). It is also viewable in during "Jailbreak" on the 1991 Live at Donington DVD, during "Boogie Man" on No Bull, and during "Bad Boy Boogie" on Stiff Upper Lip Live. And sometimes when he "strips" he will pull down his pants...revealing his undergarments, then pulls them up and moons the crowd. Sometimes he would use his fingers to perform his devil horns act -- usually before playing "Highway to Hell" or "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" - whether being on stage or having his picture taken by the press. Jailbreak is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the ninth and final track of their Australian album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976 (see 1976 in music), and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. ... Live is a 1992 album by Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. It was released both as a single album and as a double album (known as Live: 2 CD Collectors Edition). The album has been considered the closest thing to a greatest hits album in the AC/DC... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc - see Etymology) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... The cover of the No Bull DVD. No Bull is a live video released by AC/DC on November 1996, recorded in Madrid, Spain, produced by Rocky Oldham and filmed on Super 16mm film. ... Stiff Upper Lip is a 2000 hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC. The album was recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City. ... This is an overview of the Devil. ... Highway to Hell is a song by the hard rock band AC/DC. It is the opening track of the groups 1979 album Highway to Hell and the twelfth track on AC/DC Live. ... Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be is a song by the popular Australian Hard Rock band AC/DC. This song is found on both the Australian and International releases of Let There Be Rock. ...

References

• Guitar Legends magazine issue #78 - AC/DC: We Salute You!

External links

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Angus Young

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Angus Young

• ACDC.com Official Website
• AC/DC profile page by Epic Records
• AC/DC profile page by Albert Music
• AC/DC profile page by Atlantic Records
• Angus interview with Gibson Guitars