[citation needed] He is a great-grandson of the prolific English painter and artist Walter Hayward-Young, who was commonly known as "Jotter".

He toured frequently with peers Laura Marling, Slow Club and Johnny Flynn, and opened for acts such as Okkervil River, Tilly & The Wall and Jay Reatard.

In 2010, he started his current band, The Vaccines, along with bandmates Freddie Cowan, Árni Árnason and Pete Robertson and gained worldwide success.

In late 2019, Young announced his side project, Halloweens, with his bandmate Timothy Lanham, also from The Vaccines.

[9][10] In 2011, Young underwent three separate throat operations to treat haemorrhaging due to recurrent vocal polyps.