Few rock bands have kept the same engine humming for over 50 years the way AC/DC has. But that doesn’t mean the lineup stayed frozen. From the early days in Sydney to the present, the band has seen deaths, departures, and replacements—and today, five of its key members are still alive and touring.

4 related posts

Current living members (2025): 5 ·
Original members (1973): 5 ·
Deceased members (notable): 3 ·
Years active: 1973–present

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Exact net worth of individual members
  • Future lineup changes after the current tour
  • Where certain members currently reside
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • Band continues touring with current lineup in 2025
  • Possible new material hinted by band members
  • No official word on replacements for aging core
What to watch

Angus Young, now 70, remains the only original member still on stage. The band’s ability to continue depends heavily on whether he and Brian Johnson (77) can maintain touring stamina.

How many AC/DC members are still alive?

Current living members of AC/DC as of 2025

  • Angus Young (lead guitar) – only constant member since 1973 (Britannica)
  • Brian Johnson (lead vocals) – joined 1980 (Britannica)
  • Cliff Williams (bass) – member since 1977 (except short hiatus) (Britannica)
  • Phil Rudd (drums) – on and off since 1975 (AC/DC – Wikipedia (band entry))
  • Stevie Young (rhythm guitar) – replaced Malcolm Young in 2014 (Rock 95)

The pattern: five living members make up the band’s current touring and recording unit. According to a French-language Wikipedia entry, this is the commonly reported active lineup (AC/DC — Wikipédia (French edition)).

List of deceased AC/DC members

  • Bon Scott (lead vocals, 1974–1980) – died February 19, 1980 from acute alcohol poisoning (Britannica)
  • Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar, co-founder) – died November 18, 2017 after dementia (Britannica)
  • Colin Burgess (original drummer) – died December 2023 (Wikipedia)

Three notable former members are deceased. The loss of both Scott and Malcolm Young reshaped the band’s direction and sound.

Why this matters

With Malcolm gone and Bon Scott dead for over four decades, the band’s driving creative force now rests on Angus Young and Brian Johnson — two men in their 70s. The trade-off: legacy authenticity versus physical limits on touring.

Who are the original members of ACDC?

Original lineup in 1973

AC/DC formed in November 1973 in Sydney. The first ever lineup, per the official list of members, was:

  • Dave Evans (lead vocals) (Wikipedia)
  • Angus Young (lead guitar) (Britannica)
  • Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar) (Britannica)
  • Larry Van Kriedt (bass) (Wikipedia)
  • Colin Burgess (drums) (Wikipedia)

None of Bon Scott, Phil Rudd, or Cliff Williams — the classic-era backbone — were present at the very start (Wikipedia).

Founding brothers Angus and Malcolm Young

Angus and Malcolm Young were the only original members to remain through every era. Angus remains the sole continuous member. Malcolm retired in 2014 due to dementia and died in 2017 (Britannica).

The implication: the Young brothers’ vision — bluesy hard rock with a schoolboy mascot — is what defined AC/DC from day one.

What happened to the original lead singer of AC/DC?

Bon Scott’s death in 1980

Bon Scott, who replaced Dave Evans in 1974 and sang on the band’s first seven albums, died on February 19, 1980. The official cause was acute alcohol poisoning (Britannica). He was 33 years old.

Circumstances of his death

Scott’s body was found in a friend’s car in East Dulwich, London, after a night of heavy drinking. The coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure. His death came just as the band was gaining international momentum.

The catch: Scott’s death could have ended AC/DC. Instead, it forced the band to find a new voice — and they chose Brian Johnson.

Has AC/DC replaced any dead members?

Replacements after Bon Scott’s death

  • Brian Johnson replaced Bon Scott on lead vocals in 1980, after a successful audition. Johnson’s gritty voice defined the Back in Black album (Britannica).

Replacements after Malcolm Young’s retirement and death

  • Stevie Young (Malcolm’s nephew) took over rhythm guitar duties starting with the 2014 album Rock or Bust and continues (Rock 95).
  • Other notable replacements: Chris Slade has substituted for Phil Rudd on drums during Rudd’s legal issues; the Italian Wikipedia entry lists Chris Chaney and Matt Laug as current lineup members on bass and drums respectively, though this differs from the commonly cited active lineup (AC/DC – Wikipedia (Italian edition)).

The pattern: AC/DC has never replaced a deceased member with a newcomer of the same stature — they always choose experienced players connected to the band’s inner circle.

Who is the richest member of ACDC?

Net worth of Angus Young

Angus Young is widely reported to be the wealthiest member, with an estimated net worth of around $150 million. This comes from decades of songwriting royalties, touring revenue, and the Back in Black catalog (Britannica (band’s commercial impact)).

Net worth of Brian Johnson

Brian Johnson’s net worth is estimated at about $40 million. His contributions as lead vocalist on the band’s biggest album give him a solid but smaller share (Britannica).

Comparison with other band members

Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd have net worths estimated in the $10–20 million range. Stevie Young, being a later addition and not a primary songwriter, likely has the lowest. The trade-off: songwriting credits (held by the Youngs) produce far more wealth than performance alone.

The upshot

Angus Young’s $150 million net worth outpaces the rest of the band combined. For a guitarist who never became a mainstream frontman, that’s the power of owning the publishing rights to a catalog that has sold over 200 million records.

Angus Young’s financial dominance underscores the value of songwriting ownership in rock music.

Timeline of AC/DC member changes

Here’s a chronological overview of major lineup events.

Year Event Source
1973 Band formed in Sydney Wikipedia
1975 First album High Voltage released Rock 95
1980 Bon Scott dies; Brian Johnson joins Britannica
1980 Back in Black released Britannica
2014 Malcolm Young retires due to dementia Rock 95
2017 Malcolm Young dies Britannica
2023 Original drummer Colin Burgess dies Wikipedia
2025 Current lineup continues touring –

These milestones show how the band has adapted to loss and change over five decades.

What’s confirmed vs. what remains unclear

Confirmed facts

  • Bon Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning in 1980 (Britannica)
  • Malcolm Young died from dementia in 2017 (Britannica)
  • Current lineup (2025): Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Stevie Young (French Wikipedia)

What’s unclear

  • Exact net worth of individual members
  • Which precise members will still tour after 2025
  • Whether additional replacements (e.g., Chris Chaney, Matt Laug) are permanent (Italian Wikipedia)

“Malcolm was the backbone of the band. Without him, AC/DC wouldn’t be what it is.”

— Angus Young, as cited in Britannica (band profile)

“It was a huge honor to step in for Bon Scott. I never tried to be him — I just tried to sing my heart out.”

— Brian Johnson, as recounted in Rock 95 (history feature)

The band’s future hinges on the health of its two oldest members.

Additional sources

rock95.com, ozwatcher.org, wrif.com, es.wikipedia.org, australiawatch.net, en.wikipedia.org, express.co.uk

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Frequently asked questions

Where was Bon Scott found when he died?

His body was discovered in a friend’s car in East Dulwich, London, on the morning of February 20, 1980. The cause was acute alcohol poisoning.

How many original AC/DC members are still alive?

Only Angus Young from the original 1973 lineup is alive and still in the band. Larry Van Kriedt and Dave Evans are alive but no longer in the band; Colin Burgess died in 2023.

Which song does AC/DC refuse to play?

No official source confirms a song AC/DC refuses to play. Rumors sometimes involve “Night Prowler” due to its connection to a criminal case, but the band has not publicly banned it.

Who is bigger, AC/DC or Metallica?

Both are among the highest-grossing rock acts. In terms of album sales, AC/DC is estimated at over 200 million units worldwide; Metallica around 125 million. Revenue and touring grosses vary.

What does Paul McCartney think of AC/DC?

McCartney has not publicly stated a clear opinion on AC/DC. The question arises mostly from fan forums and clickbait.

Who was Ozzy Osbourne’s favorite band?

Ozzy has called AC/DC one of his favorite bands in multiple interviews, praising their “raw energy.”

For longtime fans tracking the band’s lineage, the takeaway is straightforward: AC/DC has survived the deaths of two iconic frontmen and a founding brother. The core in 2025 — Angus, Brian, Cliff, Phil, Stevie — is as close to a classic lineup as the band can offer at this stage. For casual listeners, the question isn’t whether the band can still rock; it’s how much longer the surviving members can keep the road alive. The pattern: legacy acts that lose their songwriting engine eventually fade. AC/DC, powered by the Youngs’ catalog, may still have a few more encores left.

Related reading: AC/DC Surviving Members · Barry Gibb