Angus & Malcolm Young's Sydney childhood home

The Young family moved to 4 Burleigh Street in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Burwood in 1963, after emigrating from Cranhill, Glasgow, under the Australian government's Ten Pound Pom immigration scheme. Malcolm was 9; Angus was 8. Older brother George was already developing his musical career that would lead to the Easybeats. It was in this terrace house in Burwood that Malcolm and Angus grew up, developed their guitar playing, and eventually formed AC/DC in 1973 -- Malcolm at 19, Angus at 18 and still attending the nearby Ashfield Boys High School in the grey school uniform he would make famous as a stage costume.

Burwood in the 1960s was a working-class suburb with a strong immigrant community, including many Scottish and British families who had taken the same migration path as the Youngs. The streets around Burleigh Street -- modest terraces, corner shops, the noise of traffic and industry -- shaped the band's sensibility as much as any musical influence. Angus's school uniform came directly from this world: he wore it to rehearsals one day when he was running late from school, and the image stuck.

Tragically, the Burleigh Street house was demolished by property developers in 2024, apparently without the heritage protections that might have saved it. AC/DC and Angus Young expressed their disappointment publicly; the developers apologised for the oversight. The loss of the building is a significant failure of Australian music heritage preservation. A plaque or replacement marker at the address would be an appropriate recognition of the house's place in rock history.