AC/DC's Malcolm Young remembered at private funeral service

Phil Rudd and Brian Johnson attend the service in Sydney
Phil Rudd and Brian Johnson attend the service in Sydney (Image credit: Getty)

AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young was remembered at a private funeral service in Sydney earlier today.

Young, who died earlier this month at the age of 64, was laid to rest following a service at the city’s St Mary’s Cathedral, with friends, family, bandmates and musicians in attendance.

Mourners included his brother Angus, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd and former bassist Mark Evans. They were joined by promoter Michael Chugg, rocker Jimmy Barnes and Angry Anderson at the service, which included eulogies by members of Young’s family.

Young’s 1963 Gretch guitar, nicknamed The Beast, was placed on the coffin inside the cathedral, while those in attendance were given a booklet and guitar picks inscribed with the dates of Young’s birth and death.

A statement in the booklet read: “Malcolm’s family thank you for your love, support and overwhelming outpouring of kindness during this time.

“They ask that you remember Malcolm as a man who was generous and had immense talent. His enormous legacy to his family and music industry worldwide will never be forgotten.”

Hundreds of fans gathered on the streets and following the service, the funeral cortege was led by the Scots College Pipes And Drums band, who played a medley of songs including AC/DC classic It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ’N’ Roll) and Waltzing Matilda.

The service was followed by a private family burial.

Fans have paid tribute to Malcolm Young in AC/DC Lane in Melbourne

Fans have paid tribute to Malcolm Young in AC/DC Lane in Melbourne (Image credit: Getty)

Malcolm Young - a tribute to the man who drove AC/DC to the top

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.