Phil Rudd, drummer for AC/DC, has been acquitted in a New Zealand court of lying about a drug conviction.
Rudd faced the Tauranga District Court over accusations that he lied on a medical form when he was renewing his pilots licence.
Rudd argued that he did not need to admit to the drug charges after he was caught with 23 grams of cannabis because the charges had been later dropped. Under New Zealand law pilots are required to admit if they have had a history of drug use. Rudd had his charges dropped and no conviction registered in order to go on the Black Ice world tour with AC/DC. A drug conviction may have led to a refusal of entry into the USA.
However the court did find that Rudd failed to keep an accurate pilots log and he was fined $NZ750 plus court costs.
Phil Rudd was already an Australian rock veteran when he joined AC/DC in 1974. He had previously played with Angry Anderson in Buster Brown and left that band to join the Coloured Balls with Lobby Loyde.
When AC/DC bass player Mark Evans left the band in 1977 Rudd became the only Australian born member of AC/DC.
Rudd was sacked from AC/DC in 1983 and was replaced by Simon Wright then Chris Slade. When Slade left in 1993, Rudd rejoined the band.
Phil Rudd moved to Tauranga, New Zealand in 1983 and has lived there ever since.
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