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George Young (rock musician)

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George Young
Birth nameGeorge Redburn Young
Born(1946-11-06)6 November 1946
Glasgow, UK
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died22 October 2017(2017-10-22) (aged 70)
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)Guitar, bass guitar, piano, drums, vocals
Years active1964–1992 (as musician)

George Redburn Young (6 November 1946 – 22 October 2017) was a British-Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands The Easybeats and Flash and the Pan, and was one-half of the songwriting and production duo Vanda & Young with his long-time musical collaborator Harry Vanda.

Born in Scotland, Young moved to Australia with his family as a teenager, and became a naturalised citizen. He was a member of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easybeats, and co-wrote with bandmate Harry Vanda the international hits "Friday on My Mind" and "Love Is in the Air", the latter recorded by John Paul Young (who is unrelated). Vanda and Young were also the producers of early work by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, formed by his younger brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Vanda & Young were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Easybeats were inducted in 2005. Young died on 22 October 2017, aged 70.

Early years

George Young grew up in Bridgeton, in Glasgow, Scotland.[1] His father William Young (born February 16, 1911) was a labourer, and his mother Margaret (born July 14, 1913, her maiden name was also Young) was a housewife.[1] The 'big freeze' of 1963 was the worst winter on record in Scotland with snow eight feet deep.[2] A TV ad offered assisted travel for families for a different life in Australia.[2]

15 members of the Young family left Scotland by aeroplane in June 1963 including fifth son, George, and younger brothers, Malcolm (born January 6, 1953) and Angus (born March 31, 1955).[1][2] Also aboard were his eldest brother Stephen (June 24, 1933 – 1989), his only sister, Mrs Margaret Horsburgh (born May 2, 1935) and brother, William jr (born December 15, 1940).[3]: 6–7  Another elder brother, Alex (December 28, 1938 – 1997), stayed in the UK, and was later a member of London-based group, Grapefruit.[4]: 6–7  A final brother, John Young (born May 17, 1937), had migrated to Australia separately.[3]: 6–7  Malcolm later described the family's musical background, "All the males in our family played, Stevie, the oldest played accordion, Alex and John were the first couple to play guitar, and being older it was sort of passed down to George, then myself, then Angus."[3]: 6–7 

Initially staying at Villawood Migrant Hostel (a site later developed as Villawood Immigration Detention Centre) in Nissen huts, George Young met and became friends with another migrant, Harry Vanda].[2] The Young family moved into a rental house in Burwood.[5] For secondary schooling Young attended Sefton High School.

The Easybeats (1964–69)

Main article: The Easybeats

George Young started his music career in Sydney, where on rhythm guitar he formed a beat pop band, the Easybeats, in late 1964 alongside Dick Diamonde (born Dingeman Vandersluys) on bass guitar, Gordon "Snowy" Fleet on drums (ex-Mojos), Harry Vanda (born Johannes Vandenberg) on lead guitar (ex-Starfighters, Starlighters) and Stevie Wright on lead vocals (ex-Chris Langdon and the Langdells).[6][7] All of the members had a connection with Villawood Migrant Hostel and their early rehearsals were held in its laundry room.[5][6]

Aside from performing and recording, Young co-wrote nearly all of their tracks. Early top 10 hits on the Australian singles chart for the Easybeats were co-written by Young with bandmate Wright:[6] "She's So Fine"[8] (No. 3, 1965), "Wedding Ring"[9] (No. 7, 1965), "Women (Make You Feel Alright)"[10] (No. 4, 1966), "Come and See Her"[11] (No. 3, 1966), "I'll Make You Happy"[12] (track on Easyfever extended play, No. 1, 1966), and "Sorry" (No. 1, 1966).[13][14] Later top 10 hits were written with Vanda,[6] "Friday on My Mind" (No. 1, 1966)[15] and "Heaven and Hell" (No. 8, 1967).[14] The group had relocated to United Kingdom to record and perform; they disbanded in late 1969.[6]

Vanda & Young

Main articles: Vanda & Young and Flash and the Pan

After the Easybeats dissolved Young formed a production and song writing duo with Vanda, as Vanda & Young in 1970, initially living in London.[7][16] They provided pop and rock songs for other recording artists, and for themselves under various stage names: Paintbox, Tramp, Eddie Avana, Moondance, Haffy's Whiskey Sour, and Band of Hope.[16] The pair worked with Young's elder brother Alex in Grapefruit.[16] Young and Vanda returned to Sydney in 1973 where they worked for Ted Albert, at his Albert Productions recording studio to become the in house producers.[4][16]

One studio-based group Marcus Hook Roll Band, was joined in 1974 by Young's brothers, Malcolm and Angus.[4] The brothers had already formed a hard rock group, AC/DC, in 1973. Young helped them with AC/DC, which went on to become a success internationally.[4] He declared to his brothers "that he didn't believe a band can ever call itself a band until it's done at least 200 gigs".[17] With Vanda he co-produced AC/DC's early albums, T.N.T. (1975), High Voltage (1976), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976), Let There Be Rock (1977) and Powerage (1978).[4][7] Young briefly played as AC/DC's bass guitarist for a short stint, early in their career.[4][7] He produced AC/DC's 2000 album, Stiff Upper Lip.[4][7] Malcolm was replaced in the group by their nephew, Stevie Young, in 2014.[18]

In mid-1976 Young formed Flash and the Pan, initially as a studio-based duo with himself on guitar, keyboards and vocals, and Vanda on guitar and keyboards.[16][7] They had local top 10 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart with "Hey, St. Peter" (No. 5, September 1976) and "Down Among the Dead Men" (No. 4, July 1978).[16][19] The group's ninth single, "Waiting for a Train" (December 1982), had lead vocals by their former bandmate, Stevie Wright.[16] When the single was issued in Europe in April 1983 it peaked at No. 7 in the UK,[20] No. 15 in Belgium and No. 26 in the Netherlands.[21][22]

Vanda & Young also co-produced work for Wright, John Paul Young (no relation), the Angels and Rose Tattoo.[7] As songwriters they provided "Evie" (April 1974) for Wright, which was a number-one hit in Australia.[19] They co-wrote, "Love Is in the Air" (December 1977), for John Paul Young, which reached No. 3 in Australia.[19]

After retiring from the music industry in the late 1990s, Young resided mainly in Portugal with his family.[3] He died on 22 October 2017.[23][24]

Honours

In 1988 Vanda & Young were inducted into the inaugural class of the ARIA Hall of Fame.[25] Young's brothers, Angus and Malcolm, were inducted into the hall at the same ceremony as members of AC/DC.[25] The Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) in May 2001 conducted a survey of music industry personnel to determine, the "ten best and most significant Australian songs of the past 75 years."[26] The survey listed "Friday on My Mind" at No. 1 and at the APRA Music Awards of 2001 ceremony You Am I performed the track with Vanda guesting on guitar.[26] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2005, the Easybeats, including Young and Vanda, were inducted into the Hall of Fame.[27] In 2007 Australian Musician magazine selected the meeting of Vanda and Young at the Villawood migrant hostel in 1964 as the most significant event in Australian pop and rock music history.[28] Since 2009 APRA has run the Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition.[29]

Selected list of Vanda & Young productions

Selected list of Vanda & Young songs

References

General
  • McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c "Item details for: A1877, May 1963 Young W". National Archive of Australia. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Easy Beats to AC/DC, The Story of Aussie Rock". BBC TV. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Tait, John Francis; ProQuest (2010), Vanda & Young: Inside Australia's Hit Factory, University of New South Wales Press, ISBN 978-1-74223-217-1
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wall, Mick (2012). AC/DC: Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be. London: Orion Publishing group. ISBN 9781409115359.
  5. ^ a b Maloney, Shane; Grosz, Chris (December 2010). "Encounters: Harry Vanda & George Young". The Monthly. Schwartz Publishing. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e McFarlane, 'The Easybeats' entry. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Entries at Australian Rock Database:
    • Vanda & Young: Holmgren, Magnus; Stocker, Neil Kempfer. "Vanda & Young". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
    • the Easybeats (1964–69): Holmgren, Magnus. "The Easybeats". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
    • Marcus Hook Roll Band (1972–74): Holmgren, Magnus. "Marcus Hook Roll Band". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 25 December 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
    • AC/DC (1974, 1975): Holmgren, Magnus. "AC/DC". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
    • Flash and the Pan (1976–93): Holmgren, Magnus. "Flash and the Pan". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 22 October 2013 suggested (help)
  8. ^ "'She's so Fine' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  9. ^ "'Wedding Ring' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  10. ^ "'Women Make You Feel Alright' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  11. ^ "'Come and See Her' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  12. ^ "'I'll Make You Happy' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  13. ^ "'Sorry' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  14. ^ a b Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Turramurra, NSW: Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd. ISBN 0-646-44439-5. NOTE: Chart positions back calculated by Kent in 2005.
  15. ^ "'Friday on My Mind' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 October 2017. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  16. ^ a b c d e f g McFarlane, 'Flash and the Pan' entry. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  17. ^ Clinton Walker. Highway To Hell. – Chapter 8 – "The Young's". (ISBN 0 330 36377 8).
  18. ^ "AC/DC's Angus Young Says Stevie Young Was 'The Logical Choice' to Step in for Malcolm Young". Blabbermouth.net. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  19. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  20. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 204. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  21. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Flash and the Pan". Ultratop & Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  22. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Flash And The Pan". Dutch Charts & Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  23. ^ Carmody, Broede (23 October 2017). "AC/DC producer and Easybeats musician George Young dead at 70". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  24. ^ "News". AC/DC Official Website. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  25. ^ a b Hall of Fame Archived 26 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ a b Culnane, Paul (28 May 2001). "The Final List: APRA'S Ten Best Australian Songs". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Saturday Breakfast RN – 16 July 2005 – ARIA Hall of Fame". Saturday Extra. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 16 July 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  28. ^ Australia's great rock moments
  29. ^ "Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Retrieved 25 October 2017.
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