Cliff Williams bass 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.

Cliff Williams bass 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 photo by Ros O'Gorman

Cliff Williams To Retire From AC/DC

by Paul Cashmere on July 8, 2016

in News

AC/DC’s long-time bass player Cliff Williams is the latest member to depart the band.

Williams has cited the loss of Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd and Brian Johnson from AC/DC is the reason he too has decided to call it a day.

Cliff broke the news to gulfshorelife.com, a lifestyle magazine for Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast where Williams has lived for the past three decades. “It’s been what I’ve known for the past 40 years, but after this tour I’m backing off of touring and recording,” he told Gulf Shore Life. “Losing Malcolm, the thing with Phil and now with Brian, it’s a changed animal. I feel in my gut it’s the right thing.”

The departure of Williams surely brings an end to the iconic Australian band that has plodded along despite its massive line-up changes.

Cliff Williams replaced Australian bass player Mark Evans in time for the ‘Powerage’ album of 1978.

He has played on every album since up to and including the recent ‘Rock Or Bust’.

Rob Bailey was the bass player for AC/DC’s first album ‘High Voltage’. Mark Evans was recruited for ‘TNT’ and played on ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ and ‘Let There Be Rock’. Mark left in May 1977.

Cliff was around for the band to break internationally with the 1979 ‘Highway To Hell’ album and its follow-up tribute to Bon Scott ‘Back In Black’ (the first album with Brian Johnson).

Williams exit once again raises the question “is it still AC/DC with only Angus?”

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