AC/DC Former Member Dead At 77

A founding member of Australian band AC/DC died last week, according to an announcement made by the band on Sunday. Colin Burgess was 77 at the time of his death.

Colin Burgess, AC/DC’s original drummer who played on the hard rock legends’ earliest single, has died at the age of 77 https://t.co/7FzpgQ7Sga

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) December 16, 2023

In a post to its official Instagram page announcing the loss, AC/DC wrote, ”Very sad to hear of the passing of Colin Burgess. He was our first drummer and a very respected musician. Happy memories, rock in peace Colin.”

The cause of his death remains a mystery.

Burgess began with AC/DC in 1973 as a drummer alongside Dave Evans, guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young and bassist Larry Van Kriedt and siblings. AC/DC was and remains one of the most influential rock bands, having sold over 200 million records worldwide. They are most known for the song “Highway to Hell.”

Burgess’ time on the band was, however, short, as he was fired about four months after when the band said he was under the influence of an unspecified drug during a live performance.

After being replaced by a succession of drummers, he would later return to the hard rock band for a brief stint when Bon Scott was their lead singer and Phil Rudd was their drummer in 1975. The late drummer had returned to fill in for Rudd who had injured his wrist.

Before joining AC/DC, Burgess was a drummer in the Masters Apprentices between 1968 and 1972 when the group initially broke up. After leaving the group, he was recruited by Evans and the Young brothers to join AC/DC, which was being formed at the time.

His work for the Masters Apprentices was recognized in October 1998 when the band was inducted into Australia’s ARIA Hall Of Fame. He, however, was not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with some other members of AC/DC in 2003 even though he worked on the band’s first single, “Can I Sit Next To You, Girl.”