Phil Rudd

Phil Rudd
Phil Rudd with AC/DC.
Background information
Birth name	Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis
Born	(1954-05-19) 19 May 1954
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Hard rock, blues rock, rock and roll
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Drums
Years active	1970–present
Associated acts	Buster Brown, AC/DC
Website	www.acdcrocks.com
Notable instruments
Sonor Drums, Paiste Cymbals

Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd (born Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis;^[1] 19 May 1954) is an Australian drummer, best known for his membership in Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1975 until 1983, and again from 1994 to the present. Upon the 1977 departure of bass guitarist Mark Evans from AC/DC, Rudd became the only Australian-born member of the band. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other members of AC/DC.

Biography

Born to Lithuanian parents on 19 May 1954, in Melbourne, Rudd began playing drums in his teens and became quite serious about pursuing a career in music.^[2] He played in several bands in Melbourne before joining Buster Brown with future Rose Tattoo vocalist Angry Anderson.^[3] They went on to release one album, Something To Say, in 1974, before Rudd left to join the Coloured Balls with Lobby Loyde.

In 1974 Rudd was told about AC/DC's rhythm section auditions by his former Coloured Balls bandmate Trevor Young (no relation to AC/DC's Young brothers). He asked Buster Brown bassist Geordie Leach to accompany him to the auditions, but Leach refused due to other commitments. Rudd auditioned and was hired immediately.^[4] Rudd's drumming style suited the band's style of music and became an integral part of AC/DC's sound from 1975 to 1983.^[5] The band relocated to the UK in 1976 and followed a heavy schedule of international touring and recording.

Leaving AC/DC

In 1980, AC/DC's vocalist Bon Scott died. The band continued on, recruiting new vocalist Brian Johnson and subsequently recording their most successful album, 1980's Back in Black. Good friends, Rudd took Scott's death badly, but continued on with AC/DC until he left the band during the recording of the Flick of the Switch album in 1983. Rudd had completed his contributions to the album, and although session drummer B.J. Wilson was recruited to help complete the recording, Wilson's drum parts were ultimately not used. Simon Wright was soon hired as Rudd's permanent replacement, and featured in the videos that accompanied the singles released from the album.

Rudd's 1983 sacking from AC/DC was partly the result of his own personal problems as well as a conflict with the band's rhythm guitarist and founder Malcolm Young, which allegedly escalated to become physical. Following his firing, Rudd retired to Tauranga, New Zealand where he purchased a helicopter company.^[6] Rudd's departure from AC/DC didn't become widely known until the eve of their North American tour in 1983. In the last few pages of Circus Magazine's October 1983 edition it stated "Phil Rudd exits AC/DC"..."to spend more time with his family and his cars". Guitarist Angus Young was quoted in the same article as saying "We're a rowdy bunch, but we don't fight with each other".^[7] Vocalist Brian Johnson added in a Hit Parader interview from the same period that "You couldn't find a more solid person or drummer than Phil Rudd. None of us would have to work if we didn't want to....Phil chose that option".^[8]

On his years away from AC/DC, Rudd has said, "I raced cars, flew helicopters, became a farmer and planted some crops. I lived in New Zealand which was great; nice and quiet with nobody bothering me." Rudd also continued to play drums, "when I wanted to rather than when I had to", and built his own recording studio.^[6]

Rejoining AC/DC

Phil Rudd with AC/DC on 23 November 2008 in St. Paul, MN.

When AC/DC toured New Zealand in 1991 in support of their Razors Edge album, they called Rudd to see if he would be interested in joining them for a casual jam session. Rudd accepted their offer. Though there was no discussion of him rejoining the group at the time, Rudd would be invited to permanently rejoin AC/DC in late 1993 following the recording of the Big Gun single for the Last Action Hero movie soundtrack.^[2]

AC/DC welcomed Rudd back following Chris Slade's term as the band's drummer. The band praised Slade for his performance and technical ability, but maintained that a certain groove had been missing from AC/DC's music since Rudd's departure in 1983. Since rejoining the band, he has performed on three AC/DC studio albums, Ballbreaker, Stiff Upper Lip, and Black Ice which was the band's biggest hit on the charts since For Those About to Rock We Salute You in 1981.

Personal life

On 1 December 2010, Rudd was convicted of possessing 25g of marijuana on his boat in Tauranga, New Zealand,^[9] but later had his cannabis conviction quashed on the grounds that it would have stopped him from continuing to tour with AC/DC.^[10]

On 30 July 2011, it was announced that the drummer had purchased and would open a marina restaurant at Bridge Marina in Tauranga, where he resides. He named it "Phil's Place", and planned on selling seafood and top-quality steak.^[11] The restaurant closed temporarily in July 2012, and was scheduled to reopen before the end of the year.^[12] It was still closed at end of March 2013,^[13] but reopened on 10 April.^[14]

Equipment

Rudd uses Sonor drums, Paiste cymbals, Evans drumheads and Easton Ahead drumsticks.^{[citation needed]}

Tour kit (2008-2010)

• Drums:^[15]
  • Sonor Designer Series, Maple Light Shells, Solid Black Finish:
    • 22×18" Bass Drum
    • 13×13" Tom Tom
    • 16×18" Floor Tom
    • 18×18" Floor Tom
  • Sonor Signature Series Horst Link 14×5" Snare (Brass Shell, Die Cast Hoops)
  • Sonor Phil Rudd Signature 14×5" Snare (Chrome over Brass Shell, Die Cast Hoops)

• Cymbals:^[16]
  • Paiste 2002:
    • 14" Paiste Sound Formula Reflector Heavy Hi-Hat
    • 20" Crash
    • 19" Crash
    • 20" Crash
    • 20" Crash
    • 19" Crash
    • 19" Crash
    • 19" Crash

On their earlier albums, notably Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,^{[citation needed]} Rudd occasionally used a Ride cymbal, but quit using one later in his career.

• Drumheads:
  • Evans Drumheads:
    • Bass Drum: EQ2
    • Toms: Clear G2 on the batter side, EC Resonant on the resonant side
    • Snare: EC Reverse Dot on the batter side, Hazy 300 on the resonant side, PureSound "Blasters" Snare Wire

• Hardware:^[15]
  • Sonor 600 Series:
    • DT 670 Drum Throne
    • SS 677 Snare Stand
    • CBS 672 Cymbal Boom Stands (6x)
    • CBA 672 Cymbal Boom Arm
  • Sonor GSP 3 Giant Step Bass Drum Pedal
  • Sonor 5000 Series Double Tom Stand
  • Sonor 5000 Series Hi-Hat Stand
• Past Kits:

His Back in Black Touring kit:

• • • 22×14" Bass Drum
    • 12×9", 13×10", and 14×11" Toms
    • 16×16 and 18×18" Floor Toms
    • 14×5.5 Snare
• Past Drum Heads REMO
  • • Coated Emperors on the batter
    • Coated Ambassadors on the resonant
    • Clear Controlled Sound over a Hazy Ambassador on the snare "Phil's known for having a clear dot snarehead."

Further reading

• Walker, Clinton (1994), Highway to Hell: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott, Verse Chorus Press, ISBN 0-283-06263-0 
• Stenning, Paul; Johnstone, Rob (2005). AC/DC: Two Sides to Every Glory: The Complete Biography. Chrome Dreams. ISBN 1-84240-308-7.  Cite uses deprecated parameters (help)

References

• Circus Magazine, October 1983: 'Phil Rudd Exits AC/DC'
• Hit Parader, November 1983: 'AC/DC - To Hell And Back'

External links

• ACDC.com official site
• ACDCRocks.com
• Phil's Place