Angus Young of AC/DC. photo by Ros O'Gorman, Noise11, photo

Angus Young of AC/DC. photo by Ros O'Gorman

AC/DC Confirm Phil Rudd Departure And Chris Slade Is New Drummer

by Paul Cashmere on February 12, 2015

in Live,News

AC/DC have announced that Chris Slade will be the drummer for AC/DC throughout 2015 therefore confirming Phil Rudd is out of the band.

“Chris Slade will be on drums for the upcoming Rock or Bust World Tour,” the statement from AC/DC reads.

Slade reunited with AC/DC for the band’s first public appearance since the release of the ‘Rock Or Bust’ album at the Grammy Awards on the weekend.

Slade was the AC/DC drummer from 1989-1994 and played on ‘The Razors Edge’ album (1990) as well as the hits ‘Thunderstuck’ and ‘Big Gun’. He left in 1994 to join Dio and was replaced by Rudd who had been earlier fired by the band in 1984.

Rudd played on the recent ‘Rock Or Bust’ album but then trouble brewed in this hometown of Tauranga, New Zealand in November when he was charged for “attempting to procure a murder”.

AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Charged With Attempting To Procure A Murder

He will next face court in April, effectively forcing AC/DC to find the alternate drummer for the world tour.

In November, singer Brian Johnson and founder guitarist Malcolm Young told Howard Stern that they would not need to fire Rudd from the band, that “the situation will take care of itself”. “I don’t think we need do any firing,” he said. The situation will take care of itself. He has gotten himself into a pickle.

AC/DC announced the first leg of their American Rock Or Bust tour will begin in Foxborough, MA on August 22 and conclude at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on September 28.

The band will also perform at Coachella in April and then embark on a European tour.

The Rock Or Bust tour is expected to reach Australia in March 2016.

AC/DC dates

The complete tour itinerary:
04/10 – Indio, CA – Empire Polo Club
04/17 – Indio, CA – Empire Polo Club
05/05 – Arnhem, Netherlands – GelreDome
05/08 – Nuremberg, Germany – Zeppelinfeld
05/10 – Dresden, Germany – Rinne Dresden
05/14 – Spielberg, Austria – Red Bull Ring
05/16 – Hockenheim, Germany – Hockenheimring
05/19 – Munich, Germany – Olympic Stadium
05/21 – Munich, Germany – Olympic Stadium
05/23 – Paris, France – Stade de France
05/26 – Paris, France – Stade de France
05/29 – Barcelona, Spain – Estadio Olimpico
05/31 – Madrid, Spain – Estadio Vicente Calderon
06/02 – Madrid, Spain – Estadio Vicente Calderon
06/05 – Zurich, Switzerland – Letzigrund Stadium
06/19 – Cologne, Germany – Janhwiese
06/21 – Hannover, Germany – Messe
06/25 – Berlin, Germany – Olympiastadion Berlin
06/28 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – Hampden Park
07/01 – Dublin, Ireland – Aviva Stadium
07/04 – London, United Kingdom – Wembley Stadium
07/09 – Imola, Italy – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
07/12 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany – Veltins Arena
07/15 – Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival Grounds
07/17 – Oslo, Norway – Valle Hovin Stadium
07/19 – Solna, Sweden – Friends Arena
07/22 – Hameenlinna, Finland – Kantola Event Park
07/25 – Warsaw, Poland – Stadion Narodowy
08/22 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
08/26 – E. Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
08/28 – Quebec City, ON – Plains Of Abraham
08/31 – Montreal, QC – Olympic Stadium
09/03 – Ottawa, ON – TD Place
09/05 – Moncton, NB – Magnetic Hill
09/08 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
09/10 – Toronto, ON – Downsview Park
09/15 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
09/20 – Edmonton, AL – Commonwealth Stadium
09/22 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place
09/25 – San Francisco, CA – AT&T Park
09/28 – Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium

Phil Rudd, the Noise11 interview

Related Posts

Large Mirage perform during their 2026 Australian rock campaign
Large Mirage Link AC/DC Experience To New Single Wildfire

Large Mirage have released Wildfire, a song shaped by bushfire, resilience and the Sydney band's rapid rise, following two sold-out AC/DC support shows and ahead of a national run of dates.

August 27, 2026
Bon Scott 80 gold AC/DC
Bon Scott 80th Anniversary Honoured With New Perth Mint Collectible Bars

Bon Scott's 80th birthday is being marked with a new series of limited edition gold and silver minted bars from The Perth Mint, extending the partnership between the Mint and the Scott family following last year's sell-out commemorative coin release.

July 8, 2026
Bon Scott letters 2
Bon Scott Letters Reveal AC/DC Life On The Road During Crucial 1978 Tour Period

A collection of personal correspondence written by AC/DC frontman Bon Scott during 1978 is providing a rare firsthand account of the band's relentless touring life at a pivotal stage in its international breakthrough. The archive, assembled by road manager and tour director Dawn M. Blouin and now being offered through RR Auction, contains seven signed letters and cards written from tour stops across the United States and Europe, revealing Scott's reflections on travel, friendships, drinking and the pressures of life on the road.

June 17, 2026
Rose Carleo Band Photo Tania Smith
Rose Carleo Finds Personal Loss, Rock History And Family Ties In New Album 42 Days

Rose Carleo has returned with ‘42 Days’, an album that combines personal grief with classic Australian rock influences, while drawing inspiration from figures including AC/DC's Malcolm Young family and Elvis Presley.

May 27, 2026
AC/DC Who Made Who
AC/DC Who Made Who Turns 40 As Soundtrack Outlives The Film It Was Created To Serve

AC/DC's Who Made Who reaches its 40th anniversary this week, marking four decades since the soundtrack project for Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive became one of the band's most enduring catalogue titles and delivered one of its defining songs of the 1980s.

May 26, 2026
Stevie Young rhythm guitarist for AC/DC performs at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on Sunday 6 December 2015. They are in Australia on the final leg of their Rock Or Bust World Tour.
AC/DC’s Stevie Young Hospitalised in Buenos Aires but Expected to Perform

AC/DC guitarist Stevie Young has been admitted to hospital in Argentina, but the band says the veteran rhythm player remains on track to return to the stage for upcoming shows.

March 21, 2026
Andrew Farriss of INXS photo by Ros O'Gorman
INXS Lead Australia’s Push In 2026 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominations

INXS are among the first-time nominees for the 2026 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, placing the Sydney band alongside Mariah Carey, Phil Collins and Joy Division/New Order on this year's ballot.

February 26, 2026