AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd returned to the live stage on November 2, joining a local New Zealand party band to perform the classic hit “T.N.T.”
Rudd revealed in an interview with New Zealand’s Stuff that he was unable to join his bandmates at the last year’s Power Trip festival in California.
“I look forward to playing with them again in the future,” he told Stuff. “Rock on.”
AC/DC didn’t provide any clarification regarding why Phil Rudd, the band’s long-term drummer who returned to AC/DC to record their comeback album Power Up, released in November 2020, was not present the performance at Power Trip festival. However, numerous sources claim that it’s possible it may be related to his previous legal issues. His replacement was Matt Laug.
In 2015, Rudd pled guilty to charges of threatening to kill a former employee and drug possession. As a result, he was sentenced to eight months of home confinement.
Rudd‘s legal team fought this sentence, arguing that it was disproportionately damaging to his music career. They pointed out that Rudd‘s inability to travel due to the sentence was preventing him from reuniting with his band, AC/DC. However, the judge was unsympathetic to these arguments, implying that bands can replace members.
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