Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Malcolm Young 'suffering from dementia', ACDC guitarist's family confirms

'Malcolm is suffering from dementia and the family thanks you for respecting their privacy,' his family confirmed in a statement to People

Jenn Selby
Wednesday 01 October 2014 10:58 EDT
Comments
AC/DC pictured in 2005, with Malcolm Young second from the left
AC/DC pictured in 2005, with Malcolm Young second from the left (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Malcolm Young, founding member and guitarist of Australian rock band AC/DC, left the band last week because he has dementia.

“Malcolm is suffering from dementia and the family thanks you for respecting their privacy,” his spokesperson confirmed in a statement to People.

The 61-year-old musician, originally born in Scotland, had already announced he would not be returning to the group after taking a long break earlier this year due to an unspecified illness.

AC/DC are set to release new album, Rock Or Bust, in December.

They start a new world tour in 2015.

Malcolm’s nephew, Stevie Young, who played rhythm guitar on the new LP, will play in his place.

Last week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Young had been moved into a nursing home to receive full time care in Sydney.

“If you were in the room with [Young] and walked out, then came back in one minute later, he wouldn't remember who you are. He has a complete loss of short-term memory,” a family friend apparently told the publication.

Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young (the school uniform-wearing lead guitarist) formed AC/DC in 1973.

Most famed for the track “Back In Black” (1980), they have sold over 200million albums worldwide.

The band are strongly rumoured to be headlining this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in