The Completely Opposite Music Tastes Of Malcolm And Angus Young

Back in 1973, the brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed the iconic rock band AC/DC. Throughout their career, the band went under few lineup changes. However, they never stopped rising in prominence with their chart-toppers and commercially successful releases like ‘Highway To Hell.’

In 2014, Malcolm Young announced his retirement from AC/DC due to his early-onset dementia. This marked the first time the band’s lineup changed in twenty years. Unfortunately, Malcolm passed away on November 18, 2017, and the Young brothers-led era of AC/DC ended.

Considering that AC/DC was formed by two brothers, Malcolm and Angus Young, one would probably assume that they both share the same music tastes. However, according to Malcolm Young, this wasn’t the case for him and Angus. Let’s learn why Malcolm thought so.

Malcolm Young Was More Into The Beatles and The Stones While Angus Young Liked Heavier Music

Angus Young played the lead guitar while Malcolm Young played the rhythm guitar. Throughout the band’s career, Angus was more in the spotlight than Malcolm, but Malcolm was the band’s driving force. Although the brothers were known for their close bond, they had different tastes.

In a recently surfaced interview by The Coda Collection, Malcolm Young recalled the formation period of AC/DC and revealed that they recruited Angus although they were planning to get another keyboardist. Following that, Malcolm stated they had never played with Angus, as he was more into the music of The Beatles and The Stones, while Angus liked heavier music like Hendrix and Cream.

In the 2003 interview by The Coda Collection, Malcolm Young commented on his brother Angus as:

“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.

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. I tended to pick up on the chords, the whole picture around the guitar.”

As it seems, their different music tastes didn’t affect the Young brothers’ relationship. In fact, these differences might have contributed to AC/DC’s success since it is of the most prominent rock acts in the music scene.