Obituary: Malcolm Young

Legendary Australian guitarist and AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young has died aged 64.

Known for the powerhouse riffs and rhythm guitar that propelled the Sydney group to superstardom, Young’s family said in a statement he had been suffering from dementia for several years.

He was replaced by nephew Stevie for the band’s last tour promoting the 2014 album Rock Or Bust.

Young started AC/DC in 1973 with his younger brother, fellow guitarist Angus.

Their other brother George Young, a member of The Easybeats and a producer for AC/DC, died in October aged 70.

While Angus Young, the group’s school-uniform-wearing lead guitarist, was the public face of the band, Malcolm Young was its key writer and leader, the member the rest of the band watched for on-stage changes and cut-offs.

AC/DC was consistent for over 40 years with a mix of driving hard rock, lusty lyrics and bluesy shuffles, selling over 200 million albums, surviving the loss of its first singer and creating one of the greatest rock records ever in Back in Black, the world’s second best-selling album behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller — via ABC News