Meet the new players of AC/DC carrying the torch for rock and roll royalty
AC/DC's Power Up tour has cemented Angus Young's role as band leader, with new faces Chris Chaney and Matt Laug joining the legendary lineup.
The pecking order of AC/DC has been well established since the legendary rockers kicked off the Power Up world tour 18 months ago in Europe.
There’s The Boss, Angus Young, the lead singer Brian Johnson and the three black-clad lieutenants at the back.
Since the Back in Black era, an AC/DC concert has been the Angus Young Show as the revered guitarist duck-walks, spins on his back and rips searing 10-minute solos.
While his late brother, band co-founder and rhythm guitar genius Malcolm was the General, Angus is unarguably the Main Character.
In a pattern that plays out at every show, Johnson takes centre-stage to sing for a bit before falling back in line with the rhythm section and abdicating the spotlight to the diminutive rock giant clad in the schoolboy uniform now at 70 with a shock of white hair.
The oldest member of the backline positioned in front of the Marshall stacks is Stevie Young, who assumed Malcolm’s rhythm guitarist role in 2014 when his uncle was forced to retire after his dementia diagnosis.
AC/DC rookies on the Power Up tour are bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Matt Laug.
The 57-year-old Laug, who has played with Slash’s Snakepit and Alanis Morissette, has been in the seat since AC/DC reignited in 2023 to perform at the Power Trip rock festival in California, replacing in-again, out-again drummer Phil Rudd.
The New Zealand-based Rudd was out of the band in 2015 due to some serious legal issues which were resolved with the musician serving home detention after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession.
He was back in the fold to record Power Up but his absence from the touring line-up has been unexplained, with most fans and pundits speculating it might be due to visa issues stemming from his convictions.
While longtime bassist Cliff Williams played at the Power Trip gig, he resumed his retirement, first announced at the end of the Rock Or Bust world tour in 2016 and interrupted when he joined the band to record the Power Up album in 2020.
Chaney’s hire was announced at the same time as AC/DC confirmed the world tour in February last year.
“We are thrilled to finally announce the ‘POWER UP’ European Tour,” the band wrote in a statement. “Angus, Brian, Stevie, and Matt will be joined by Chris Chaney to carry the torch for Cliff.”
The youngest member of AC/DC at 55, Chaney is a jazz-trained bassist whose resume also includes playing with Morissette, Jane’s Addiction and with the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in his side projects.
AC/DC have never been fans of the interview circuit to promote records or tours, and neither Angus nor frontman Johnson have done chats on the Power Up global jaunt.
Young and the team who have worked with AC/DC for decades are fiercely protective of their privacy and keep the focus of any media on the show and its epic production.
The hired guns are reportedly discouraged from sharing their experiences of the group beyond posting official photos and videos on their social media channels.
AC/DC resume their Australian tour after its blistering opening shows at the MCG at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Friday and November 25.
Originally published as Meet the new players of AC/DC carrying the torch for rock and roll royalty
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