A Scots cousin of late AC/DC legend Malcolm Young has told how she once upstaged her famous relative as she backs calls for a Glasgow memorial.
Sandie Maciver, who is a cousin of Malcolm through marriage, met her rockstar relative for the first time when he visited the Outer Hebrides to trace family a few years before his death.
And Sandie, who is from Stornoway and was well known throughout the islands as a singer, laughed as she recalled the moment a local recognised her before the iconic guitarist.
She shared her special memory with the Record after thousands of AC/DC fans desperately scrambled to get their hands on tickets for what could be the legendary rockers’ last ever show in Scotland this summer.
Sandie said: “They were long lost relatives.
“Malcolm’s wife Linda found us. Her mother was my mother’s second cousin and they came to Harris looking for relations.
“We got a phone call to meet them in 2012 and it was just great.”
Sandie was a well-known pub singer who was in bands and had made Gaelic music videos for TV.
She said: “We were quite big in the islands. It was mostly rock and pop stuff we did and I had been singing for 30 years or so at that point.
“We were sitting having a meal with Malcolm at the Harris Hotel when someone came into the bar and said ‘is that the singer?’ The barman said ‘yes’ thinking he meant Malcolm and he said ‘it’s Sandie!’
“Malcolm looked a bit shocked but that could have been because other people were laughing and I don’t think he understood the Harris accent.
“We stayed in touch with Malcolm and Linda on emails but we didn’t see them again in person because Malcolm was getting ill then.”
Malcolm died in 2017 after a battle with dementia.
Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young were born and raised in Glasgow before moving to Australia in 1963, where they formed the iconic band in 1973.
The band – who had Angus-born Bon Scott as their singer when they hit the big time – will play 12 dates across 10 countries before concluding their tour at Murrayfield stadium on August 21.
It will be their only UK date and their first Scottish show in a decade – with many fearing it could also be their last.
The upcoming Power Up tour is named after the band’s latest studio album – their first since Malcolm’s death.
Sandie, who have up singing to focus on her work as a photographer, said: “I would love to be able to take photos of the band now.
“Their success shows rock and roll never dies. They’re as big now as they ever were – to all ages. Even the youngsters now are well into them.”
AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
The Record told last week of renewed calls for a permanent monument in Glasgow to the Young brothers, who were born in Cranhill.
Thomas Kerr, former leader of the Conservative Group on Glasgow City Council, is forging on with a previous attempt to gain cross-party backing for a statue.
Sandie backed the call, saying: “There should be one. There’s not enough said about Scottish musicians and these guys ruled the world as rock stars. They were brilliant and still are – they are still rocking. Forever young.”
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