AC/DC’s PHIL RUDD Announces Return To Live Performance

Stuff‘s Annemarie Quill reports that AC/DC‘s veteran drummer, Phil Rudd, is slated to play with the “Full Metal Orchestra” at Auckland’s Spark Arena on July 26. This event, led by conductor Sarah-Grace Williams and producer Jol Mulholland, will fuse the intensity of rock and metal with the power of a 29-piece orchestra.

“Think METALLICA meets Mahler, AC/DC a deux, and [BLACK] SABBATH with strings — this is a symphonic experience like no other,” organizers Duco Touring and Liberty Stage said.

“You’ll witness massive metal anthems from the likes of METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH and AC/DC and more — amplified by soaring orchestral arrangements, searing guitars, powerhouse vocals, and epic visuals.”

David Higgins, founder of Duco Touring, shared with Stuff regarding Rudd‘s involvement in the event: “Phil Rudd was always in my mind as the dream ‘get’ as one of the world’s best known rock stars, living right here in New Zealand.”

Rudd’s setlist will include AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll),” the 1975 hard rock classic “Black Eyed Bruiser” by Stevie Wright—former frontman of THE EASYBEATS—and “Rock ’n’ Roll City” by Billy Thorpe.

Rudd told Stuff: “It’s going to be massive, fueled, we’ll take off the roof…you wait. It’s going to be thumping, boom boom, bang. It’s exciting, like nothing else I’ve ever done, putting the best raw banging rock songs with a classical orchestra.”

Rudd revealed in a 2023 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 at the time. “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.