2023-07-07 18:30:07
The AC/DC group in “AC/DC. Forever Young” (2022), by Dominique Mesmin and Marie-Claire Javoy. PHILIP MORRIS/ARTE
ARTE – FRIDAY 7 JULY AT 10.40 P.M. – DOCUMENTARY
Nothing to see with the tube of the Alphaville groupreleased in 1984: the title of the documentary, Forever Youngplays here on the surname of the three Young brothers, Angus, Malcolm and George, respectively imp guitarist, rhythm guitarist and first producer of the Australian hard rock group AC/DC, which they co-founded in 1973.
From, “no one else hits every album for fifty years”, recalls Murray Engleheart, an Australian author specializing in AC/DC. Their records have sold over two hundred million copies in total. And the disappearance of singer Bon Scott (1980) then that, in 2017, of Malcolm and George Young did not affect their popularity.
AC/DC, stronger than death? Designed as a tribute, this unpublished does not address any controversial subject (conditions of Malcolm’s death, slump in the 1980s or more or less failed tours). On the other hand, it allows us to discover the attitude « fucked up »the Easybeats (George’s first band) and the early glam look.
He provides a pleasant moment by looking back on the group’s career using archives of interviews (notably with Angus), extracts from concerts (much too brief: you have to wait thirty-five minutes to hear fifteen seconds of Highway to Hell) and interviews with former musicians or relatives, including Tony Currenti, their drummer in 1974, or Mary Renshaw, ex-friend of Bon Scott. Their testimonies converge to identify the key elements of their longevity.
An essential lesson
First mark the spirits, by their exuberance and their humor. The look of Angus, dressed as a schoolboy and crossing the stage in a duck walk (“no duck”) unrestrained, has a lot to do with it. Even if the leader of the group was Malcolm.
Then have fun. The only serious thing is the music, which they work tirelessly. The film demonstrates that the simplicity of the music is only apparent. Very early on, George also taught them an essential lesson: “Keep your sound. » AC/DC will never derogate from it.
Read also: Operation “survival” for AC/DC
Finally the clan, whose origins we discover in the poor childhood of the Young family, near Glasgow, in Scotland, before they joined Australia in 1963 – where the migrants are welcomed with fanfare, before being placed in camps. These difficulties forge what Michael Browning, their producer, calls the“Scottish Atavism” : they never give up.
Thus, after the death of Bon Scott, Angus leaves to meet the father of the missing singer before hiring Brian Johnson to succeed him. The Scrapbook Back in Black which follows sells fifty million copies. Similarly, in 2014, Stevie Young succeeded his uncle Malcolm, and the release of Power Upin November 2020, is welcomed as a musical miracle. The world then greet the “riffs of unstoppable simplicity ». Immutable… Since then, rumors of a return to the stage have been circulating.
AC/DC. Forever Young, by Marie-Claire Javoy and Dominique Mesmin (Fr., 2022, 55 min), on Arte.tv until October 27.
#Young #brothers #Scottish #clan #service #rock