AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd allegedly tried to have two men killed.
He appeared in the Tauranga District Court this afternoon, charged with attempting to procure a murder. According to the The Guardian, Rudd was also charged with threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.
Rudd, 60, dressed in jeans and a grey sweater, said nothing during his short stint in the dock of the court, before being released on bail.
He entered no plea to the charges and will reappear in court in three weeks.
Media applied for permission to film and photograph Rudd in the dock.
His lawyer Tony Rickard-Simms argued against that saying the media just wanted to get photos of Rudd “at his worst.”
But Judge Bidois allowed filming of Rudd.
One of the alleged victims told Fairfax this afternoon he didn’t want to comment before speaking to his lawyer. He was with his children and not in a position to speak.
Rudd had been in custody since 7am when his house was raided by police.
In releasing Rudd on bail he ordered that he should have no contact with the man he allegedly tried to hire to carry out the murder.
According to the charges laid by police, Rudd had tried to get two men killed between the dates of September 25th and 26th – their names and that of the intended hitman were all suppressed by the judge.
Rudd was driven from court by a blonde woman in a silver Mercedes Kompressor convertible.
He refused to talk to gathered media.
Rudd’s arrest comes after police raided the drummer’s home on the Tauranga waterfront at Matua this morning.
He is also charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of cannabis and threatening to kill.
Michael Browning, AC/DC’s former manager, told the Daily Mail the situation was a “bit of a shock.”
Rudd is the only Australian-born member of the AC/DC band. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the other members of AC/DC.
Rudd moved to New Zealand in 1983 after he was kicked out of the band
He re-joined the band in 1994 and has since been in and out of New Zealand while touring and recording.
He also opened a restaurant in Tauranga which attracted publicity when a group of staff took a case to the Employment Relations Authority.
AC/DC has a new album, Rock or Bust, due out on December 2nd.
The band has sold more than 200 million albums, feature at or near the top of highest grossing tour lists whenever they play live and were the standard bearers for Australian music years before the likes of INXS, Kylie Minogue or 5 Seconds of Summer.
The sound of pub rock, the defining mainstream sound of Australian music in the 1970s and ’80s, could be said to have emerged from the stages, and the studios AC/DC inhabited.
Picture of Phil Rudd in court:
sources: stuff.co.nz. Video: stuff.co.nz
57 Responses
This isn’t the kind of story you read everyday.
I am so shocked. Acdc have been my favorite rock band since the 70s when I was in junior high. I just can’t wrap my head around this. Im just crushed and I feel so bad for angus, Brian, cliff, Malcolm, and even Stevie. To just finish a record which could be their last, and have to deal with this. Move on with a new drummer fellas, you won’t have any problem finding anybody to get behind the kit for you.
This is just terrible. We have known, since the video shoot, that something wasn’t right. We have also known that Phil has been giving some pretty erratic interviews to promote his solo album Head Job. He has been looking under weight and obviously hasn’t been making regular trips to the dentist.
It is a shame that a guy that is such an integral part of the band is having these kinds of issues. I can’t imagine he is touring or even in the band at this point.
Look for Bob Richards to possibly fill the spot on tour. Just a hunch.
With all that has happened with Malcolm this year and now this, truly terrible news.
If he wants blood… Does “Dirty Deeds” get retired from the setlist now?
Two out. No wonder he was not in the video shoot or publicity photo.
It would be really terribe if we were to to “lose” the real AC/DC in one year due to two, if totally different, totally desastrous events. I was actually shocked by this new photo taken in court (would not have recognized him without the caption), he looks like he has suddenly grown old and miserable. Hope this isn’t true ….
The “real” AC/DC was lost when Dave Evans left the band.
The look of meth.
He looks like he’s hooked on meth. So very very sad.