AC/DC's ANGUS YOUNG 'Fell Out Of Bed' When He Heard About PHIL RUDD's Arrest

AC/DC guitarist Angus Young and singer Brian Johnson appeared on this morning's edition of "The Howard Stern Show" on SiriusXM satellite radio. You can now listen to clips from the chat below.

Addressing the fact that founding AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young stepped down from the group earlier this year after it was revealed he was suffering from dementia, Johnson said: "Good ol' Malcolm, he had this awful condition, which stunk and all that. Unfortunately, it's a stinking thing that just hits anybody."

Angus confirmed that Malcolm is "pretty much" unable to play guitar due to his illness and said that his brother first began noticing that there were problems during the making of 2008's "Black Ice". "He was always very organized," Angus said. "Then he was kind of disorientated a lot." He added: "He knew something was not right."

According to Johnson, Malcolm didn't need to be talked into stepping away from the group once his condition had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer play with his bandmates. "Malcolm is a straight shooter," Johnson said. "If you ever met Malcolm, he just tells it the way it is. And he knew what was happening and all that. And he [told us] 'Just keep on making music.' And not in a sentimental [way]; he's not like that. [It wasn't] anything dramatic. It was just, 'Keep on making music."

Added Angus: "When he was first diagnosed with this condition, I said to him, 'Do you wanna keep going with this?' And he said, 'Yeah, [I'll] keep going 'till I can't do it.' That was his thing."

Brian and Angus also spoke about the current status of AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, who has been under fire since earlier in the month when it was initially reported that he was arrested in an alleged murder-for-hire plot. Those charges were eventually dropped, but he's still facing charges of "threatening to kill" as well as possession of meth and marijuana. He could end up sentenced to seven years in jail.

Asked what his reaction was when he found out about Rudd's arrest, Angus said: "I fell out of bed, actually. My wife woke me up and they said, 'Hey, Phil's been up to no good.'"

He added: "Somebody said, 'Who was he trying to hit? His dentist or his drug dealer?'"

According to Brian, he found out about Rudd's latest legal troubles while he was preparing to head home after taking part in some of the promotional activities for AC/DC's new album, "Rock Or Bust". "I just got up and I was getting ready to fly home to the States," he said. "I had a cup of coffee in my hand and I said, 'I'm gonna watch the news in the morning.' And the first thing I saw was this guy getting led out of a car with no shoes on."

Regarding whether Rudd is still a member of AC/DC, Angus said: "We've got to resolve that." Johnson added: "The thing is, I don't think we have to do anything… fire him, or anything like that. I think the situation is gonna take care of itself. I mean, he's got himself into a pickle, and there's nothing we can do about it. I mean, we're talking about criminal courts here and we're talking about judges and we're talking about juries. But we are gonna go on tour. And nothing's gonna stop us."

AC/DC last week unveiled the full music video for "Play Ball", the first single from "Rock Or Bust". The clip marks the first official time that guitarist Stevie Young has appeared in a video with the group, and is also notable for the absence of Rudd, who is replaced in the clip by Bob Richards.

"Rock Or Bust" will be released on December 2.