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AC/DC’s Malcolm Young once set out on a whisky-fuelled quest to find the Loch Ness monster

“What a night!”

Malcolm Young onstage

Photo: Larry Hulst / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

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AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has recalled a time when he and late rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young – fuelled by whisky and armed with fireworks – were in Scotland and set off on a quest to find the fabled Loch Ness monster.

“We both had these Land Rovers and we’d taken them for a trip around Scotland – Malcolm loved his fireworks and he’d taken a big box with him,” Johnson told NME. “One night, we were four sheets to the wind and staying at this hotel right on the side of the loch. Mal just said, ‘C’mon, let’s go and find the Loch Ness monster! I’ve got fireworks and it might attract it!’”

Johnson recalled strolling into the lake with Young: “There we were, going straight into the water in our shoes, up to our knees, and it was freezing!”

“Mal had a drink in one hand, a box of fireworks in the other, and was trying to set fire to the loch. We were just howling. By the time we got back to our wives we had straw in our hair and were covered in mud. What a night!”

Elsewhere in the interview, the 73-year-old singer shared his hopes that the record will inspire a new generation of rockers.

“Instead of looking at dancers on TikTok, I’m hoping this album will make young kids go out and buy a guitar,” Johnson said. “It would just be great to get more young rock bands out there, writing their own songs and getting up there on stage.”

AC/DC’s latest album PWR/UP is due for release on 13 November.

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