AC/DC Drummer PHIL RUDD Charged With 'Attempting To Procure A Murder'

November 5, 2014

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been charged by New Zealand police with attempting to procure a murder. Rudd also faces charges of possessing the drugs methamphetamine and cannabis, and of threatening to kill.

The 60-year-old drummer's home in New Zealand was raided Thursday morning (November 6) and he entered no plea to the charges when he appeared in the Tauranga District Court later that afternoon. He was released on bail and will reappear in court on November 27.

He is alleged to have tried to hire a hitman to kill two men. Their names and that of the intended hitman were not released to the media.

The alleged offenses are said to have taken place between September 25 and September 26 this year.

If convicted, Rudd faces a maximum of ten years in jail.

A video report from SunLive can be seen below. Also available is an audio wrap of the day's events from Tony Wall, a reporter for Fairfax New Zealand.

Rudd was missing from AC/DC's new publicity photo and was also a no-show at the group's video shoot on October 3 and October 4 for their two new singles, "Play Ball" and "Rock Or Bust". Rudd was replaced for the filming by drummer Bob Richards (who had previously played with SHOGUN and IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith),with singer Brian Johnson reportedly telling fans at the shoot that Rudd was unable to participate due to an undisclosed "family emergency."

Phil's solo album, "Head Job", was released on August 29 via Universal Music Australia.

Rudd joined AC/DC in 1974. He had previously played with Angry Anderson in BUSTER BROWN and left that band to join the COLOURED BALLS with Lobby Loyde.

When AC/DC bassist Mark Evans left the band in 1977, Rudd became the only Australian-born member of AC/DC.

Rudd exited AC/DC in 1983 and was replaced by Simon Wright, then Chris Slade. When Slade left in 1993, Rudd rejoined the band.

According to Noise11.com, Rudd moved to Tauranga, New Zealand in 1983 and has lived there ever since.

AC/DC's new album, "Rock Or Bust" will be released on December 2. The 11-song set is AC/DC's first without guitarist Malcolm Young, who is suffering from dementia. He has been replaced by nephew Stevie Young.

Fairfax New Zealand reporter Tony Wall speaks to Australia's Triple M radio station about Rudd's charges (audio):

Find more on Ac/dc
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).