We knew that day was coming. We even got used to not seeing him on stage with the band. There will be many eulogies in the upcoming days. All of them will highlight his impeccable sense of rhythm, his unshakeable vision, his psycho-rigid unwillingness to budge from a certain rock and roll ethos.
This is Angus' second brother to die in less than a month. It's hard to imagine the mischievous imp in schoolboy uniform crying. It's hard to think of our heroes as old, frail, or dead. Yet last night, as it must to all men, Death came to Malcolm Mitchell Young.
Most of us didn't know the man but if you like rock and roll, you had to find your way to AC/DC somehow. Whether it's the rough, tough Australian blooze band of the early days, the commercial juggernaut of the Back In Black era or the classic rock behemoth they've become since the early nineties.
There is no one way to grieve, but a suitable one would be to lower your turntable's needle on an appropriately black groove. I suggest Hell's Bells.
AC/DC @ Stade de France, Paris in 2010:
Sorry for the shitty quality, this is my only footage of the band with Malcolm.