14 DAY TRIAL // The media from Down Under was buzzing today with reports that the legendary local rock band AC/DC is close to announcing their imminent break up after so many years on stage due to an undisclosed illness of one of the band members that has left him unable to perform.
The Sydney Morning Herald is following in the speculation that the band which formed in 1973 is ready to retire. It claims that sources close to the band have confided that guitarist and songwriter Malcolm Young, 61, is unable to continue playing on stage, although a clear reason as to what has caused this inability has not been offered.
The speculation hit the media as soon as entertainment commentator Peter Ford for the 3AW radio station said that “we may not hear them perform or record ever again.” As soon as fans picked up on this, the rumor mill cranked into action and it was only made worse by reports that guitarist Malcolm Young had returned to Australia with his family.
An anonymous email sent to 6PR radio station claimed that “My information is that Malcolm Young has moved himself and his family back to Australia, he's very very ill and that AC/DC may well be history.”
The insider continued by saying “I have extremely good contacts in Europe that are very close to AC/DC. I have it on very good authority that one of the band members is quite ill and has returned to Australia with his family.”
According to the same sources, the members of AC/DC all have a standing pact that if one of them needs to leave, he will not be replaced. Following this, it only stands to reason that the other members of the band are going to retire too if Young is indeed unable to play anymore.
This news comes to contradict previous reports that the band was due to hit the studio later in May for a new album they've been promising fans for some time.
Billboard contacted sources close to the group and they denied the report of the rock band splitting up, claiming that there were “unaware of any break-up or change.” This state of uncertainty is maintained by the fact that the band's representatives aren't talking about the issue, nor are they putting out any statement to contradict reports.
It was just months ago, at the beginning of the year, that Brian Johnson, frontman for AC/DC, took to confirming they were heading to the studio to record new material. There were also rumors that the band planned a massive tour to mark their 40th anniversary.
AC/DC remains one of Australia's most successful exports in terms of rock music, with over 200 million albums sold during its lengthy career that spans over four decades.