Malcolm Young on The First Step Towards Forming a Band With Angus…
We never really played together. I was more into the Beatles and Stones, and Angus was more into the heavier stuff, Hendrix and Cream, with the lead guitar. I used to listen to songs as songs — the drums, the vocal, the music side of it. I tended to pick up on the chords, the whole picture around the guitar. It just happened at one point when I was putting together a band. We were going to get a keyboard player, but I got Angus instead (laughs). Angus had his own band, a little rock outfit, but they just packed it in.
He told me they were finished, and I said, “Come down tomorrow and have a bash.” We were going to play rock ‘n’ roll, it was simple as that. When Angus came in, it was a big piece. He hadn’t come into his stage act yet. George and my sister helped him a lot with that. They said, “You gotta have a gimmick, Angus.” They thought a good act always had something people could relate to. My sister said, “Why don’t you get your school uniform with the shorts?” She knocked that up for him and this little guy became larger than life. Believe me, he can fire up. It’s not an act. He takes it on full. I don’t think anyone could become that intense method acting. That’s what people expect and he does it. Even I don’t know how he gets himself into that state.
Malcom Young on AC/DC’s Early Shows…
We had a good thing with the clubs. Rowdy, mad, brawling Aussies…it made Angus do it more. By the end of the night everyone was won over. He wore the outfit, but he could play that guitar. We used to go to clubs and check out what was going on, and none of them were playing music that was getting people up and rocking and dancing. People would dance to the records between the bands. We thought, this is rock ‘n’ roll. (The Rolling Stones’) “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” would come on the jukebox, and the dancefloor would be filled. All the bands were doing that hippie period of music, that hippie hangover stuff.
They didn’t have a clue. It was just wide open for us. The very first show, the very first song we did, we had them won over. We’d play “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and jam in the middle, drag it out, some Little Richard, “Great Balls of Fire,” a couple more Stones tracks. Stuff we all roughly knew. Have a quick bash, and we just bluffed our way through. As long as they were up dancing, we were doing our job. The more they dance, the more they drink. Everyone was really happy. Everywhere we played, we were getting offers for residencies. The band was up and running. Melbourne, which is a bit like L.A. and London in size, there were people calling us in Sydney asking about the band. We were moving up quickly. At the time we weren’t fazed. It was like, “Oh, good, another gig.”
