AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Reflects On Malcolm Young’s Departure

The AC/DC singer Brian Johnson said that the band’s heart “stopped beating” when their former bandmate left.

Johnson recently reflected on the departure of the late guitarist Malcolm Young in 2014. He said that the band’s heart “stopped beating” when he left. The band announced in April 2014 that Young would be “taking a break from the band due to ill health.”

At that time, only a few details were shared, but later on, the public found out that he was diagnosed with dementia. Young died on November 18, 2017, and it was “a truly awful day” for Johnson. He recalled:

“He was just 64 when the dementia that he’d been battling for years finally got the better of him.

“When Malcolm left AC/DC in 2014, the heart of the band stopped beating. To this day, I miss him more than I could ever put into words. He never missed a trick, from a band member’s performance to a crew member’s well-being. I don’t know how he did it.”

Johnson added that Young “had his demons, but he beat them, and he beat them good.”

“His guitar playing was masterful. And behind that powerful sound, there was a subtlety that music critics could never understand,” the singer opines. “Standing to his right onstage, I could only ever marvel at the man. But I kept my admiration to myself for the most part because he wasn’t the kind of guy who enjoyed taking a compliment,” he said referring to how great Young was as a rhythm guitarist.

Stevie Young, Malcolm’s nephew, took his place in AC/DC and has maintained the position ever since. Meanwhile, Johnson is set to release his memoir entitled The Lives of Brian this coming October 25 wherein he’ll share some of the stories he had with the late bandmate.