AC/DC Biographer Explains Why He Thinks Malcolm Young Won’t Return

Jesse Fink, author of 'The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC,' is clarifying statements he made last week concerning Malcolm Young -- after some media outlets misinterpreted them as a confirmation that the band's co-founding rhythm guitarist would not be returning.

“I’m really disappointed with how some media outlets ... took what I said in that interview and twisted my words and misrepresented what I said,” Fink tells Loudwire. “It went from me saying I’m not expecting Malcolm to return, to outlets overseas that were saying Malcolm Young won’t return, like it was a definitive statement. I never said he would never return. I said I’m giving my opinion and my opinion is I’m not personally expecting Malcolm Young to return to the band.”

The ailing Young was not part of AC/DC's most recent recording sessions. The Young family has not commented in full on his health issues, even as nephew Stevie Young joined the group in the studio.

Without going into the specifics of Young's illness, because he doesn't know them, Fink reaffirms that he can't imagine that the guitarist can "play a 40-city, 40-show world tour and get up onstage and play 20 songs a night and do it as well as he did last time when he’s supposedly dealing with this debilitating illness."

But Fink also stresses that he hasn't spoken to Young or any other current members of AC/DC, only receiving second-hand information from "people who have had personal encounters with him who have said that they don’t expect that he’s going to be playing again,” Fink said. “I wouldn’t say that they know exactly what he’s going through, they’re just giving me their personal take on how he appeared to them and that’s an important point to make.”

Finally, Fink says, “the only person who really knows what’s going on with Malcolm’s medical situation is Malcolm himself, Malcolm’s family and Malcolm’s doctors. That needs to be understood.”

Check out an exclusive excerpt from Fink's book 'The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC' right here.