History of the AC/DC Band
Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young were the founders of the band, although Angus attributed the band’s formation to his brother. In 2014, Malcolm announced that he would be retiring from the band due to dementia, and he later passed on in 2017.
The AC/DC Band Formation
The Young family immigrated to Australia from Scotland in 1963 during a cold winter, reportedly through an assisted immigration scheme. Because the dad was continuously unemployed, the family had lived in poverty for many years. That winter was the worst in recorded history, and with temperatures falling below zero, the family could not resist the discounted one-way tickets out of the country.
At the time, the Young family was large, with seven children and two parents, and they had to do with living in a makeshift tin hostel. George formed a band that he branded “Easybeats” and practiced in the laundry room.
Within two years, their hard work had paid off when the band landed a recording deal. It then released “Friday on My Mind,” which became Australia’s first international hit. The band then moved to the UK in 1966 thanks to its global success, but the success didn’t last long. Easybeats finally split up in 1969, and as if things couldn’t be worse, the band was heavily indebted.
While George was reeling from his band’s failure, his brothers were still in school but not doing well. Malcolm had been enrolled at Glasgow school and was constantly embroiled in fights. Angus joined the school, but Malcolm’s precedence was, unfortunately, not in his favour.
Angus was caned on his first day at school to warn him against fighting. Seeing that the family did not boast a good reputation, Angus was finally given an ultimatum to either leave or get expelled from school.
However, all that turned out to work in their favour because when George moved back to Australia in 1973, he asked both his brothers to form a new band with him. At the time, their sister Margaret had a sewing machine with an “AC/DC” inscription meaning alternating current/direct current. They took up these initials for their band’s name, and that was the birth of AC/DC, the band.
