AC/DC's ANGUS YOUNG: 'It Is Good To Be Able To Sit Back And Pick What We Want To Do'

Paul Cashmere of Australia's Undercover News recently conducted an interview with AC/DC guitarist Angus Young. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Undercover News: What sort of lifestyle has the fame and wealth created?

Young: I've always been one for the simple things. I have never been one for the flashy lifestyle. I think that is the same for everyone in AC/DC. I think that is why we stand out as who we are. We are just one of those bands. I think if you said to someone to describe you a rock guitarist they wouldn't picture somebody like myself, with the shorts and the school suit on. I think we have always been different from the rest.

Undercover News: What about material things?

Young: Material things? I have never been a big lover of the flash life, the big house with the big swimming pool and the couple of bimbos on each arm. Throw in the two bimbos, maybe.

Undercover News: The albums are spreading out these days. There were two in the first year, five in the first two and a half years but they are few and far between now.

Young: True, but what AC/DC has done is that we have made more albums in our career than what a lot of bands have done. We have had more albums in the last twenty years than THE WHO. We are now lucky we get a lot more time to sit back and spend the time writing which is great for us. You can really concentrate. Sometimes in the past you get the deadline coming into it especially when you commit yourself to a tour. A lot of stuff in the early days was written and recorded while we were touring. Nowadays, it is good to be able to sit back and pick what we want to do.

Undercover News: How did Bon's [Scott, vocals] death affect you?

Young: For me it was like losing someone probably more than even in your family. We were very close as people. We were very, very tight. In a band like AC/DC it is like a childhood gang. We think the same. You spend so much time together that it is a very tough thing for you to go through.

Undercover News: How hard was Bon to replace?

Young: That was difficult too. We really didn't know. At the time people were saying "go on" and others were saying "you should stop." At the time we didn't even want to look for a singer. All I know is that Malcolm [Young, guitar] called me up one day and said we should get together and keep writing songs because we were just moping around at the time. He said this will just keep our minds away from it and then we can decide when we felt more what we should do. As far as replacing someone like Bon Scott, you can never replace someone like him. We were lucky we met Brian Johnson. Brian has his own character too. He has a unique character like Bon. I always looked at someone in music doing something different as unique people. That is what I did with Brian Johnson. He is a unique character.

Read the entire interview from Undercover News.