AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has paid tribute to his former bandmate Malcolm Young, who passed away at the weekend.

Young had been suffering from dementia in recent years and had not toured with the band since 2014. Johnson has also been on leave from AC/DC for hearing-related problems since March 2016, but they had spent over thirty years as bandmates.

He penned an emotional statement saying that he was 'devastated' and said 'I'm going to miss him so much.'

Read it in full below:

“I am saddened by the passing of my friend Malcolm Young, I can’t believe he’s gone. We had such great times on the road.

I was always aware that he was a genius on guitar, his riffs have become legend, as has he.

I send out my love and sympathy to his wife Linda, his children Cara and Ross, and Angus, who will all be devastated…. as we all are.

He has left a legacy that I don’t think many can match. He never liked the celebrity side of fame, he was too humble for that. He was the man who created AC/DC because he said “there was no Rock,n,Roll” out there.

I am proud to have known him and call him a friend, and I’m going to miss him so much.

I salute you, Malcolm Young.”