Back in April, Phil Rudd plead guilty to threatening to kill, and possession of cannabis and methamphetamine in a New Zealand court. The former AC/DC drummer faced seven years in prison, but he was just sentenced to eight months of home detention. Rudd admitted that he threatened to kill a former employee, but he stated he was under the influence of drugs when he called and threatened the victim. At one point, Rudd was also charged with murder-for-hire, but the charge was dropped due to lack of evidence. According to reports, Rudd initially hired someone to kill his former employee and he offered the person large amounts of cash, a house, and a vehicle in order to have the victim murdered.
Rudd’s days with AC/DC are presumably over, and he has since been replaced by Chris Slade. This is second time the drummer has replaced Rudd- Slade initially replaced Rudd from 1989 to 1994. Rudd returned to AC/DC in 1994, and he remained the band’s drummer up until his legal woes sidelined him from AC/DC this year. Slade made his return to the legendary band during the 2015 Grammy Awards, and now the drummer is touring with AC/DC on their Rock or Bust World Tour.
Rock or Bust is AC/DC’s 17th studio album. The project was dropped in 2014, and it reached Number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also impacted the charts in Switzerland, the UK, Italy, New Zealand, Germany, France, and Australia. Rock or Bust has been certified Gold in the US, after selling more than 500,000 copies. The album has also sold over two million copies worldwide. “Play Ball,” “Rock or Bust,” and “Rock the Blues Away” have all been released as singles from the platinum-selling project.
AC/DC’s Rock or Bust World Tour upcoming dates: July 9th in Imola, Italy; July 12th in Gelsenkirchen, Germany; July 15th in Roskilde, Denmark (Roskilde Festival); July 17th in Oslo, Norway; July 19th in Solna, Sweden; July 22nd in Hameenlinna, Finland; July 25th in Warszawa, Poland; August 22nd in Foxborough, Massachusetts; August 26th in East Rutherford, New Jersey; and August 28th in Quebec City, Canada.