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
