“When the Easys returned to Australia for a national tour in May 1967, it was clear they’d changed: George Young, especially, disembarked the plane with a real swagger in his step, a dour Scot transformed into a pinstriped, Carnaby Street rock and roll dandy, an oversized scarf fluttering in the breeze. Angus and Malcolm looked on, thrilled: they were no longer suburban nobodies; their brother was George Young, international pop star. A proud Angus boasted about George every chance he got.”

 

“Harry and George’s initial project was a group named The Marcus Hook Roll Band, strictly a front for themselves plus Alex Young and little brothers Malcolm and Angus. It was the first time Malcolm and Angus had been inside a recording studio.”

 

“These were gruelling shows, with the band required to play several hour-long sets per night. Accordingly, their setlist was top-heavy with covers…Their extended version of Big Joe Williams’ ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’ was a feature; it closed their first set.”

 

“This was a no-fuss shoot: the plan was to sardine the band onto the back of a flatbed truck and drive them down Melbourne’s Swanston Street while they played ‘Long Way’ as if their life depended on it. It was a tight fit, made even more snug by the presence of three Rats of Tobruk pipers; Angus swore that he spent much of the journey trying not to tumble off the lorry.”

 

“Angus exorcised all his pent-up frustrations during the recording of ‘Let There Be Rock’, the key song for their new album, another high-energy classic in waiting. Angus played so hard, in fact, that smoke started to billow out of his amp; he was lucky not to have torched the studio.”

 

“Intriguingly, in 2016, researchers in South Australia found that vibrations from rock songs, especially ‘Thunderstruck’, assisted the benefits of chemotherapy drugs. Angus was helping heal the sick.”

All quotes taken from High Voltage by Jeff Apter, in stores now! To listen to all these tracks (plus more) listen to Jeff's playlist on Spotify: