Phil Rudd, the notorious AC/DC drummer, is no longer on charges of ‘attempting to procure the murder of two men’.
Rudd was arrested at his home near Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday and charged with the ‘attempting to procure murder’ but today the charges were dropped after the Crown Solicitor said their was insufficient evidence to continue with prosecution.
Rudd was also charged with possession of cannabis and amphetamines but those charges have been described as ‘minor’.
The AC/DC, who performed on the new album ‘Rock Or Bust’ due later this month, was unable to attend the video shoot for the first two singles as well as the first photo shoot for the band without founding member Malcolm Young, who is now in a Sydney home suffering from dementia.
“Mr Rudd has suffered unnecessary and extremely damaging publicity as a result of widespread and sensational reporting of a very serious allegation, which on any basis was never justified”, Rudd’s lawyer Paul Mabet QC told the court.
Melbourne born Phil Rudd is the only Australian born member of AC/DC. He joined the band in 1975 and played on all of the Bon Scott albums as well as the first two Brian Johnson albums ‘Back In Black’ and ‘For Those About To Rock’.
He rejoined the band in 1993 for the ‘Ball Breaker’ album and has been with AC/DC ever since for ‘Stiff Upper Lip’, ‘Black Ice’ and now ‘Rock Or Bust’.
Rudd released his solo album ‘Head Job’ in August, 2014.
