The classic AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, 72, who is not touring with the band although he played on their latest album, “Power Up”, was fined for careless driving in New Zealand, where he has lived since 1983. He drove over a planted roundabout and hit a tree in Tauranga while driving his 2009 Ferrari 599 on Lakes Boulevard in Tauriko, on the outskirts of the city.
Although the accident happened last July, it was only now that he was fined $500 and ordered by community magistrate Shaun Cole to pay another $100 in court costs. Eleven years ago, in July 2015, a judge sentenced him to eight months of home detention after he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man who used to work for him, as well as possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. At the time, the drummer admitted that he offered $200,000, a motorbike and the choice of one of his cars or a house to an associate after asking him to have the victim “taken out”.
He also admitted that he directly told the victim he was going to kill him. Although he was initially charged with attempting to procure a murder, that charge was withdrawn by police. His legal problems caused him to miss several years with AC/DC, including the promotion of “Rock or Bust” (2014). After his legal problems were settled, he returned to the band to record “Power Up”, released in 2020. However, as he told the website Stuff, he wasn’t invited to join the band on tour.
Phil Rudd said:
“There was a time when I thought it was the end of my world. I only knew life with AC/DC. Those people I thought loved me like a brother, they haven’t even picked up the phone. But to me AC/DC was always Bon. My favorite album is ‘Highway To Hell’. My favorite song — his song ‘Touch Too Much’.”
“When Bon died, even in AC/DC I felt alone. But I was never alone. The people who like the music, it always humbles me, but makes me happy too. People always ask me if I will play with AC/DC again. The only people I would do it for would be the fans. And for Bon. I would do it for Bon.”