Let’s go back to the early 1980s. My musical tastes were confused. ABBA or Bee Gees? Lata or Asha? Pink Floyd or Beatles? Ghulam Ali or Jagjit Singh? Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin? Then I heard the Australian band AC/DC. Their volume shook my great-grandfather from his grave, but guess he was dancing to ‘Highway To Hell’ and ‘Hell’s Bells’.
Cut to last Saturday, when social media flashed the news of Malcolm Young’s death. Co-founder of the band along with brother Angus. He was 64, and after being detected with dementia, Axl Rose filled in a while. Everybody reacts differently to a known musician’s demise. Now here’s what I did. First I checked YouTube for my favourite AC/DC song that for years ‘Shook me all night long’. First saw the live version. Then an unplugged one. Followed by versions by artistes like Steven Tyler, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi, Axl Rose Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Anastasia and former AC/DC singer Brian Johnson.
Simultaneously I posted the news on Facebook. Half of my friends’ circuit replied ‘RIP’ and I am sure they never knew who Malcolm Young was, and that he played something called a rhythm guitar. I also changed to my shorts and started dancing bare-chested. Three, I did my research on the band, and discovered the fabulous Bon Scott was lead vocalist till he died of alcohol abuse in 1980. Next, as AC/DC was an Australian band, I got into other acts from that region and era. Men At Work, INXS, Little River Band, Olivia Newton John and even Crowded House, a mix of Australians and New Zealanders.
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Finally, I spent the next 36 hours pumping up the neighbours, shaking them day and night long. Iron Butterfly, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, Anthrax, Napalm Death... So on and so forth.
It only gets louder. Thank you, Malcolm. Meet my great-grandfather up there.