Malcolm Young Says Goodbye With Legacy Defining Final “For Those About To Rock” Performance

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Malcolm Hits The Stage For The Last Time

Fans had no idea that when they saw Malcolm Young onstage on June 28, 2010 in Bilbao, Spain that it would be the last time. He passed away last year at the age of 64, leaving behind scores of fans and friends around the world who are struggling to navigate the new reality that is life without one of rock’s chief architects.

AC/DC perform at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario January 9th, 2009 (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Corbis via Getty Images)

Known as the driving force behind AC/DC, Malcolm was forced to leave behind the career he loved so much after dementia took hold and refused to let go – but before he took his final bow, he gave fans a show they’d never forget. The last of 168 show on AC/DC’s 2008-2010 Black Ice World Tour found Malcolm and the guys in Bilbao, Spain at the Estadio de San Mamés in front of a crowd of over 50,000 strong.


NEW YORK, NY – MAY 18: Malcolm Young of AC/DC’s 1959 Gretsch White Falcon guitar is shown on display at Hard Rock Cafe’s 40th anniversary Memorabilia Tour at Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square on May 18, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Fun Fact: AC/DC’s Black Ice World Tour was their most successful, grossing $441.6 million, making it the fifth highest-grossing concert tour of all-time right behind U2’s U2 360° Tour, The Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang Tour, Coldplay’s A Head Full Of Dreams Tour, and Roger Waters’ The Wall Live Tour.

Their 19-song set included four tunes from Black Ice and kicked off with “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” before culminating in an explosive performance of “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You),” nothing looking or sounding even the slightest bit out of place for rock and roll’s loudest band.

(GERMANY OUT) AC/DC – Band, Hard rock, Australia – Guitarist Malcolm Young performing in Berlin, Germany, Olympiastadion (Photo by Engelke/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

In later years Angus would reveal that he’d been experiencing lapses in memory and concentration even before Black Ice was recorded and released and had been undergoing treatment during the Black Ice World Tour but in that moment, onstage? Things ran like the well oiled machine we’ve come to know and love, and as we begin to navigate rock music without Malcolm in it, that’s how we want to remember him with AC/DC. Check it out in the video below!