This article has been updated since originally posted on 04/15.
TORONTO — Rock band AC/DC is not calling it quits after four decades, despite reports to the contrary.
In a statement on its website, the group said Wednesday it will continue to make music even though founding guitarist Malcolm Young, 61, is ill.
“After forty years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health,” the message read. “Malcolm would like to thank the group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support.”
AC/DC asked for Young’s privacy to be respected but insisted: “The band will continue to make music.”
No information about Young’s illness was made public but Australian blogger Darryl Mason claimed Tuesday that Young suffered a stroke that left him unable to play.
A radio station in Perth, Australia sparked rumours of the band’s demise Monday when it reported on an anonymous email that claimed AC/DC decided to retire.
The report was fueled by Peter Ford, the self-declared “best informed show business commentator in Australia,” who tweeted “there is some quite sad detail about it all, that I will not be reporting on, but the band/management may choose to reveal this.”
Ford said the band members “played together privately a few weeks back.”
Billboard called rumours of the band’s demise “exaggerated.”
BELOW: Watch the video for “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
AC/DC released several albums with lead singer Ronald “Bon” Scott, including the breakthrough Highway to Hell in 1979. Scott died in 1980 and was replaced by Brian Johnson.
The group’s first release with Johnson, Back in Black, became one of the most successful albums ever.
AC/DC also enjoyed commercial success with 1990’s The Razor’s Edge, which was partly recorded at Vancouver’s Little Mountain Studios with Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn.
The band returned to Vancouver in 2008 to record Black Ice, its last collection of new music.
According to reports, AC/DC has booked six weeks of studio time beginning May 1 in Vancouver to record a new album ahead of the band’s 40th anniversary.
Bryan Gallant, operations manager at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, told Global News on Tuesday he had no comment.
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