Why does AC/DC's Angus Young wear a school boy uniform?

31 March 2025, 16:50 | Updated: 31 March 2025, 18:52

AC/DC's Angus Young performs in Glasgow in 2015. Picture: Ross Gilmore/Redferns via Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The AC/DC lead guitarist and co-founder is known for wearing school boy stage attire, but where did it originate from?

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By Jenny Mensah

Angus Young celebrates his 70th birthday this week.

The musician, who was born on 31st March 1955, is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of AC/DC, but he's also known for the school boy outfit he's worn as a stage costume throughout his career.

The diminutive axeman's iconic uniforms have graced many stages over the years, but do you know why he began dressing as a school boy in the first place?

Radio X takes a look at the origins of the Scottish-born, Aussie rocker's attire below...

AC/DCs drummer Phillip Rudd, guitarist Angus Young, bassist Mark Evans, guitarist Malcolm Young and lead singer Bon Scott in 1977. Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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AC/DC were were founded in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, alongside Colin Burgess (drums), Larry Van Kriedt (bass guitar) and Dave Evans (lead vocals).

Their family had relocated to Australia from Scotland from 1963 when Angus was just eight years old and the youngest of the seven Young siblings.

Their eldest brother George had provided somewhat of a blueprint for the family, forming Aussie pop rock outfit The Easybeats in 1964.

The success of the Friday On My Mind rockers clearly made quite the impression on two of the Youngs, who went on to form AC/DC nine years later.

Malcolm and Angus came up with the name of the band after their sister Margaret pointed out the symbol AC/DC on the AC adapter of her sewing machine. That wasn't the only suggestion his sister gave that stuck, however...

AC/DC's Angus Young in Lodnon circa 1976. Picture: Chris Walter/WireImage/Getty

Why does AC/DC's Angus Young wear a school uniform?

Angus Young tried a variety of stage costumes in the early days of Acca Dacca, including Spider-Man, a Gorilla suit and a parody of Superman called Super-Ang, before settling on his school boy look thanks to another suggestion from his sister Margaret.

Biographer Murray Engleheart recalled in the book AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll that Angus would come home from Ashfield Boys High School and run straight into the bedroom to practice his guitar all night without changing.

Despite having not long left school when the band formed, his sister Margaret suggested he don a school uniform in a nod to his youthful appearance as well as his old after-school ritual. For their show in Sydney's Victoria Park in April 1974, Malcolm wanted the band to come up with a fresh look so they could make an impact. And it was for this show that Angus first borrowed Margaret's son Sam's school blazer, which just about fit him because of his small stature.

Soon, the school boy look became a trademark for Angus, signifying his on-stage persona alongside his take on Chuck Berry's iconic duckwalk.

Though the uniforms have evolved and changed over the years, Young can always be counted on to don some version of a his school boy shorts, blazer and cap.

Speaking about his commitment to the look, Young dubbed the outfit as his "thing" which is believes has become something fans expect to see at their live shows.

"Some people look great in civilian gear," he joked on The Boss. "Like when I was younger and saw Jimi Hendrix, and went, 'Wow!' It's the image, that's the first thing when you're younger. How cool he looked! How cool he played. And I thought, 'I want to be that cool.'"

"So I put the school suit on, the Highway To Hell rocker added. "That's my thing. Why do people come to see us play? It's the school suit. It works!"

However, he's also previously joked about the choice of outfit and why it may not have been the most convenient choice as time has gone on: "When I picked it, I didn't know I'd have to wear it when I'm 60".