This is connected to news that Malcolm Yojng suffered a stroke recently that left a blood clot in his brain and he's discovered that he can't play like he needs to for the band to continue.
Horrible horrible news.

Here is a measured collection of developments:
http://loudwire.com/acdc-retirement-int ... ng-stroke/

And here is a slightly sensationalistic report that announces their demise already:
http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com.au/20 ... -2014.html

Quite a drag. If there was ONE thing I really wanted, it was to be able to take my son to see AC/DC live, no matter how young he was.



All that is AC/DC is from Malcolm Young. He is the engineer of the band. Here's to hoping he recovers quickly.

yeah, bummer. my pen pal told me.

I once heard that someone asked Malcolm why HE never played solos. His reply: solos interfere with my drinking. \m/

You retire with MY eternal respect and gratitude.

In my eyes/ears, they're the greatest rock band in history, but to me they've kind of been in retirement mode over the last 20 years. I got my three INCREDIBLE shows in (86, 88 & 91 subsequently), which cements their #1 ROCK placement with me forever. They weren't just resting on their laurels then (the 80's-90's shows), although the Bon albums are obviously the best ones. I was nine years old when Bon checked out though, so I did my best.

Tweets close to the band are apparently coming out and confirming this rumor, so I at least hope Malcolm recovers and enjoys the long retirement the guy deserves.

The band that got me into heavy music so I will love them forever. But they have been on autopilot for the last 30 years. Never became an embarrassment at least.

Amen! They were literally the only rock band from the 70's that didn't lay a turd on top of their legacy in the 80's. Yeah, the some of the albums might have been lackluster, but it was still goddamned-AC/DC!!!

They were monumental.

The first album I bough with my own money was "For Those About To Rock"
I remember painters coming to my house when I was 9 years old and one of them was wearing an AC/DC shirt and I would go outside and tell them what I knew about Angus and they would crack up at this little kid that loved AC/DC.
In New Jersey you would look out the window of your car as your dad drove into a distant town and there would be ANGUS RULES spray painted on bridges and overpasses. You were scared of the kids that put that there, but you could relate.

Shit, they've been with us so long its going to be weird for them to be gone. I remember listening to Dirty Deeds on a tape player. Not a boom box, but a flat cassette player with the red record button on it.

My high school class had a vote for the prom theme and "Big Balls" won. Some Eric Clapton song came in second. The teachers opted for the Clapton song. I actually revisited this story a few years ago with a guy who was on the student council because I thought it was bullshit and without a pause he said "That song got 94 votes. It won" and then he took a swig of his beer.

/end story time.

God damn I'm gonna miss that band. At least I saw them in 2001. From the 3rd row.

Hehe, I taped "High Voltage" with one of those - over the mic from my portable mono-turntable. Thats how Hifi I was in 77. They played a small club in Berlin that year but we didn't dare to go because the regulars of that place supposedly beat up kids just for fun. Made it two years later though, just a couple of month before Bon Scott died.

According to the band's Facebook page:

Quote:

After forty years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. Malcolm would like to thank the group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support.

In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family’s privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music.

Knew of the band through the radio and through cousins who owned Dirty Deeds, but I wasn't on board until I saw Maximum Overdrive. Movie was a turd but the music? Ye gods. First concert was the Blow Up Your Video tour, which was pretty much the greatest goddamn thing ever. Saw 'em again when I was living in Paris on the Razor's Edge tour. Open seating, so I got to muscle my way to the front, right against the barricade in front of the stage. Wound up being right below one of the cannons brought out of "For Those About to Rock," which made that show pretty much the new greatest goddamn thing ever. Saw 'em a third time on the Stiff Upper Lip tour, and they delivered then too. I could - and will - complain about the fact that you can set your watch to their setlist, it's so predictable, but I can't say a single bad thing about their performances. Always 100%.

It'd be cool to get one more album out of them, but the last one was pretty meh, even by this long-time, dedicated apologist's standards. "Rock and Roll Train" and "Black Ice" were great, but everything else had the same mid-paced tempo. Not too exciting to listen to, but it's not bad for jogging music.

Same here, same tape. I also used to lean it up against the speaker to record AC/DC albums from the neighbor kids. Definitely the band that got me into heavy music as a kid.

I also saw that Razor's Edge tour at The Spectrum in Philly...and of the 200-300-?? number of concerts I've seen all time, its STILL the loudest show I've ever seen. My ears rang for 2-3 straight days afterwards. At one time I was a pretty diehard fanboy (late middle school into high school), and although my fandom is pretty much all but passed at this point, there's no denying the legacy they paved. From many interviews, etc. I watched with these guys over the years, they all seemed to be an especially cool cast of dudes, almost overtly laid back and about the fun of it.

I remember when for those about to rock was huge on mtv. what year was that? I want to remember how young of a boy I was. it was unlike anything else on mtv, this dude was all like screaming.

I would argue that motorhead shares that distinction (sadly ironic that Lemmy was laid low in similar fashion recently).

But this sucks to hear....and continuing to tour without Malcolm would be understandable I suppose but if he's not a part of the songwriting then it's just not going to be AC/DC to me.

You could make that argument, but the worst of the Brian Johnson AC/DC albums is still a million billion times better than March or Die.

I'll put Fly on the Wall up against March or Die....

You're right about Motorhead making out of the 80's in good standing. I (mistakenly?) file them as an 80's band though, albeit early 80's. I guess they did have three 70's albums though...

Weird beard, I'm listening to Fly on the Wall right now. Stupid 80s production, sounds like it was recorded in a hanger that fell down a well. Still, love most of the album, even though it was first one where the filler ("First Blood," "Stand Up," "Hell or High Water") was obviously so and they reached a lyrical nadir with "Playing with Girls." Still, bonus points for not covering Ted Nugent.

According to The Age, a source who knows the Young family has told Fairfax that Malcolm's condition has deteriorated so badly his wife Linda and family were investigating full-time respite care for the guitarist.

It is believed Young returned to Sydney with his family before Christmas and was having in-home care at his house in East Balmain. He is now said to be having difficulty remembering familiar faces and having increasing problems communicating.

"His memory loss is so bad it is consistent with Alzheimer's or dementia although we do not know that is what it is," the source said. "There has been talk about cancer too."
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/friend ... m-anymore/

^sucks.

Egad.

Even though the "band" is maintaining a cavalier attitude about not hanging it up, they really shouldn't continue without Malcolm.

They'll probably tour with his nephew, Stevie (Young) filling in for him. Which I think is what they did on another tour when Malcolm was absent because he had to get a handle on his drinking. Didn't someone say they saw the 'Blow Up Your Video' tour? Arz?

EDIT:
http://www.ac-dc.cc/perl/members.cgi?th ... evie_young

Yeah, I think that's about right. He's missed a couple of tours now. Blow Up Your Video, maybe also on the Stiff Upper Lip tour too. Or maybe even the last one. He's looked like death warmed over for at least a decade now.

If he can write and record and his son subs for him on their retirement/victory lap, that'd be good enough for me. I'd hate to think they'd take a page from Kiss and just run the band into the ground in the name of a quick buck.

Only band to ever lose a lead singer as fucking amazing as Bon Scott and still go on the be one of the best heavy metal bands of the time period.

I mean fuck, I saw them on the "Blow Up You video" 1988 tour and they kicked my ass. Well past their prime but shit, I didn't know it.

Sorry to hear, hope he can regain some skills so he can play again with Angus. I know if they can they will.

Saw them on the For Those About To Rock tour and the one after....'83 & '85.
Killer.
Angus running all over the place.
Fun stuff.

Yeah, going into the '88 tour, everyone knew Malcolm wasn't there, but that it would be a temporary thing. It was a Young family member, I want to say a nephew, who they say they hired because of his resemblance to Malcolm. It totally killed. I guess they could get away with it, but man, the Black Ice live performances I saw on youtube, it was BJ who was the star of the show, Angus just looked spent (understandably as a dude in his mid-fifties!). There was a recent video circulating with BJ playing with Billy Joel's band, the guy still has it.

Anyway, if they ever tour again, no Malcolm and a old/hobbled Angus wouldn't be worth the ticket price they'd command for me to sully my ironclad/unfuckable memories. Nope; everything has to end.