“AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd on New Zealand murder plot charge,” the BBC reports, in a short, cryptic article:
Mr Rudd, who was born in Australia, will also face charges of possessing the drugs methamphetamine and cannabis, and of threatening to kill.
The musician’s house in Taraunga, on New Zealand’s North Island, was raided on Thursday morning.
AC/DC is due to release a new album later this year.
The band’s [rhythm] guitarist, Malcolm Young, was recently diagnosed with dementia.
The New Zealand-based Website Stuff adds that “According to the charges laid by police, Rudd had tried to get two men killed — their names and that of the intended hitman were all suppressed by the judge.”
Rudd “entered no plea to the charges and will reappear in court in three weeks,” according to Stuff, which notes that “AC/DC has a new album, Rock or Bust, due out on December 2.” With Malcolm and now possibly Rudd on the sidelines, no word yet how that will impact the road warrior group’s tour plans.
Update (11/6/14): “AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd’s charge of attempting to procure murder has been withdrawn,” Stuff is reporting today, though the charges involving possession of methamphetamine and pot remain, along with the change of “threatening to kill,” the Website adds.
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