Angus Young Explains Origin Of Iconic Schoolboy Stage Outfit
AC/DC’s co-founding guitarist Angus Young shed light on how he developed his signature schoolboy stage garb during a recent appearance on BBC Radio. Ultimate-Guitar.com transcribed some of Young’s chat in which he gave the backstory to one of rock’s most unique outfits. The guitarist credited his sister for encouraging him to don the schoolboy blazer, coat, cap, and tie when he hit the stage: “She always thought it was cute because I’d come home from school — in Australia, you had little uniforms that you wore to school, so she always thought I look really cute sitting there in my little school uniform with a big guitar, playing in my bedroom. So, she thought it was a cute thing at the time.”
He went on to recall, “When (my brother) Malcolm asked me if I would join him, he was putting together a new band, and if I would play in it, my sister says, ‘I’ve got a great idea for Angus — you got to put him in his school suit!’ She said it’d be a great gimmick. ‘Just put him in that school uniform!'”
Angus went on to admit the uniform has taken on a special significance over the decades: “I feel strange if I’m playing away. When I’ve got the school uniform on, I feel complete. If you’re going to see Spider Man in a movie, he’s got to have the spider suit on him.”