AC/DC, Phil Rudd Exchange Barbs On TV

After drummer Phil Rudd’s legal problems in New Zealand, AC/DC recalled Chris Slade to hit the sticks on their current Rock Or Bust world tour. The relationship between the two camps is fractious, according to an interview Rudd gave to Australia’s free to air Nine Network show“A Current Affair.”

Photo: Christine Cornege/New Zealand Herald via AP

Standing in the dock at a court in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Rudd said he told guitarist Angus Young his bail conditions allowed him to rejoin the band on tour. But, “They haven’t called me. I wrote them a letter and I tried to get in touch with Angus but I have had no contact from anybody. I’m very disappointed, but that’s life.”

Young responded in a statement: “Phil created his own situation. It’s a hard thing to say about the guy. He’s a great drummer, and he’s done a lot of stuff for us. But he seems to have let himself go. He’s not the Phil we’ve known from the past.” Rudd returns to court June 26.