During a recent interview with Eonmusic, AC/DC drummer Chris Slade remembered how he parted ways with the band back in 1994, saying he wasn’t happy at all with how the guys treated him. You can check out the conversation below.
Your time in the band came to an end around 1994; how did you find out that you were out of the band, and that Phil Rudd was coming back?
“I got a phone call from Malcolm [Young], actually. I’d been doing demos with the guys in London; Angus [Young], Malcolm, and myself.
“Mal was playing bass, and Angus was playing rhythm – no lead guitar, just rhythm guitar, which seems very strange because Malcolm was one of the greatest rhythm guitarists ever. But he played bass in these sessions, and that went on for weeks, and they were writing as they were going along as well.
“I thought; ‘Well, the guys are in the studio and I wouldn’t mind playing drums,’ and I put that to them, and they said, ‘Yeah, come along,’ so that’s what I did, again, for weeks and weeks.
“I’m terrible with titles, but it was for the next album that came out [1995’s ‘Ballbreaker’], and I demoed every track for that album.”
So you played on all the ‘Ballbreaker’ demos?
“I know this is a fact because after I’d left the band, I went to visit Cliff [Williams, bass] and Brian [Johnson, vocals]. I went to have a pint with them, and they were all in the same apartment complex, and I said, ‘Oh, where’s Phil [Rudd, classic AC/DC drummer]?’
“This is after he’s back in the band, and they said; ‘Oh, he’s upstairs,’ and I heard him playing, learning my drum tracks, which is a turn up for the books because I usually have to learn his tracks! So, he played my parts that I had demoed for the next album, so that was a little bit of satisfaction, actually.
“So, I got a call from Malcolm saying; ‘We’re going to try Phil out. Apparently he’s straightened himself up, and we’re going to try him out,’ and I went; ‘Well, I’m gone then, Malcolm, Thanks very much, but…’, and he said; ‘No, no, we want you to stay on; we don’t even know if he can play drums anymore, because it’s been a while.’
“And I said, ‘And you’re going to try him out?!’, and he said, ‘Yeah, well, we’ve talked to him,’ and I said, ‘Well I’m gone, and if he can’t play drums, that’s your problem now, Malcolm.’
“And he said, ‘No, we’ll keep paying you,’ and I said, ‘I don’t care.’ And that was it, I resigned, right there and then.”
9 comments
Fool
mug… swallow your pride, and just smile. its tough but a drummer is not irreplacable. plenty of session musicians around who would jump for the dollar… what are you doing now? played in any world class touring bands? another guy who overestimated his value and blew the deal. lesson to everyone there.
Sounds like he took it a little too personally rather than professionally. It was just business and unfortunately thats what ACDC became after Scotts death.
I would normally agree if you weren’t talking about AC/DC drummers.
These drummers are audibly indistinguishable from one another, so you should pick the cheaper one – Phil Rudd is not the cheaper one. Fans don’t care/weren’t rallying for a Rudd-Reunion so it doesn’t even make sense to take the extra expense for the greater good of the business.
I know AC/DC says that Slade “was so talented that he was too much for their music” and that as a result they needed Phil back for his less is more approach. I also know that as a result of them saying that, their fans ate it up but in reality they are the same drummer in a different hairdo. You can’t put your own style on playing the exact same beat at a different tempo every song.
Audibly indistinguishable? Then get your ears checked. Just because YOU can’t hear the difference doesn’t mean that Rudd, Slade and Wright all sound the same. When listening to them playing the same song and the same simple beat, that’s exactly where the difference can be heard. Any professional drummer will say that it’s impossible to get Rudd’s feel, because it’s authentic. Rudd’s drumming has a warmth to it, while Slade’s feels like a brand new, shiny car. Slade’s energy was partly responsible for AC/DC’s resurgence with the Razors’ Edge and Thunderstruck, but Rudd has the real AC/DC groove. That’s why AC/DC will always want him back.
AC/DC won the lottery when Phil Rudd walked in – his groove and feel are what made the band work. Nobody can replace him in my opinion
You cant always hear when Phil Rudd plays the drums, i am not saying that Slade is not good but it is’nt the same
Slangs. I’m with you. Even Malcolm said in an interview once that there is a swing to Phil’s groove. Slade and Wright sound nothing like Phil.
I saw Slade first time with Uriah Heep…. very polished strong drummer. Ruud was a good old boy that was Ac/Dc…. a band is like a motorcycle gang. It’s not all about musicianship it’s a brotherhood. Slade is more a session man Ruud is a gangsta !