BOOK REVIEW: Malcolm Young – The Man Who Made AC/DC by Jeff Apter

BOOK REVIEW: Malcolm Young – The Man Who Made AC/DC by Jeff Apter

Allen & Unwin
August 2019
Paperback, $32.99
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

Biography
88%

You might say that Malcolm Young – who, as the rock steady rhythm guitarist with hard rock legends AC/DC, was known by many as “the best right hand in the business” – was overshadowed by the exuberant Bon Scott and his own schoolboy-attired younger brother, lead guitarist Angus, but that’s pretty much just how he liked it.

Young was driven and focussed, a great player and songwriter, who was determined to learn all he could from older brother George, a legend in his own time with The Easybeats, and apply that to a no-frills rock and roll band of his own.

Jeff Apter’s exhaustive book follows Young from his earliest days in Glasgow, the family’s emigration to Australia and time at Villawood Migrant Hostel, and his rise to stardom with Accadacca.

It’s a fascinating ride, one which highlight’s Young’s reclusive lifestyle, his battles with alcohol, and his heartbreaking struggles with dementia before passing in 2017.

Apter’s book is more than a biography, it’s a tribute of a talented and canny man, the man who more than any other was responsible for AC/DC’s success after years of struggle.

Category: Book Reviews