AC/DC Guitarist ANGUS YOUNG Spending 'Millions Of Dollars' On Dutch Mansion

Australia's Sunday Herald Sun reports:

Reclusive AC/DC guitarist Young is spending millions of dollars on a towering mansion in a sleepy Dutch village.

The controversial three-storey home boasts a basement recording studio, his-and-hers bathrooms and a swag of guest rooms.

And there's plenty of space in the vast backyard for Young to hang out his trademark schoolboy uniforms.

The property is the talk of tiny Aalten — population 12,000. Locals are aghast that the mansion is out of keeping with the modest houses of the rest of the village.

The energetic wildman's connection with the town is long-standing. Ellen, his wife of more than 25 years, is from there and her family runs the local blacksmith business.

Young recently appeared on the Netherland's annual "rich list" for the first time, with Quote 500 estimating his fortune at $125 million.

The Youngs live in a small house diagonally opposite the building site.

Ellen Young, who checks building progress every couple of hours, told the Sunday Herald Sun: "I don't want to talk to you about it. My husband is very private and this is nothing to do with you. We don't go to parties or red carpet events; we don't want attention."

Angry neighbours — who made a fuss about the house to a local Dutch newspaper — have agreed to the Youngs' request to keep quiet in future.

But some are still seething.

One, who asked not to be named, questioned why such a private couple would draw such attention to themselves.

"It is a big house in a little town," she said. "It stands out. Look at it. It does not fit.

"Angus does not want to stand out. He is shy and no one really knows him. Why build something like that?"

Nearby resident Albert Linden said: "It's a nice house, but a big house. It's in the middle of other buildings and it's not like those other buildings. Outside the village would be a better spot for something that size."

The sprawling property's impact on the streetscape surprised at least one official.

Politician Jan van Duijvenvoorde said the committee that approved the home hadn't seen the need for debate.

"On the drawings, it didn't look that big," he said.

Building work has so far taken more than two years and it will be another year before the Youngs can move in.

Neighbour Jolanda Assink said Mrs Young had shown her inside the unfinished home.

"It's very large, but nice," Mrs Assink said. "She helped design it. It has a bathroom for her and a bathroom for him. And the kitchen is very big.

"They are good neighbours. I don't see him much, but she is friendly with my children."

Young — whose band is famous for songs such as "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Highway to Hell", "Jailbreak" and "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll)" — is rarely seen in Aalten, which is in the Dutch countryside near the German border and is considered one of Holland's music hubs — although Young has never attended gigs there.

Young also owns homes in England and Australia.