Former ‘AC/DC’ drummer ‘Phil Rudd’ has been fined following a careless driving charge in Tauranga, New Zealand, where he has lived since 1983. The 72-year-old musician, whose legal name is Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke, drove his 2009 Ferrari 599 over a planted roundabout and hit a tree last July while driving on Lakes Boulevard in Tauriko, on the outskirts of Tauranga.
According to a police summary of facts, skid marks and gouges in the road were consistent with the vehicle becoming airborne over the planted roundabout before leaving the road up a curb and colliding with a small tree. Community magistrate Shaun Cole fined ‘Rudd’ $500 and ordered him to pay $100 in court costs.
The incident adds another chapter to ‘Rudd’s’ long and complicated history with the law. The most serious of his legal troubles came in July 2015, when a New Zealand judge sentenced him to eight months of home detention after the drummer pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man who used to work for him, along with possession of methamphetamine and marijuana.
The circumstances behind that case were deeply troubling. ‘Rudd’ admitted that he had offered $200,000, a motorbike, and the choice of one of his cars or a house to an associate after asking him to have the victim “taken out.” He also acknowledged that he had directly said to the victim he was going to kill him. Although prosecutors had originally charged ‘Rudd’ with murder-for-hire, they later dropped that charge, citing lack of evidence. The guilty plea on the threatening to kill and drug possession charges was enough to result in the home detention sentence that would effectively end his time in ‘AC/DC’ for years.
It was the release of his 2014 solo debut album “Head Job” that led indirectly to ‘Rudd’s’ arrest. The drummer was allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed. The fallout was immediate and severe, with ‘Rudd’ being ousted from ‘AC/DC’ and replaced on the band’s “Rock Or Bust” tour by ‘Chris Slade’, who had previously served as ‘AC/DC’s’ drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album “The Razor’s Edge.”
Despite the legal troubles, ‘Rudd’ did eventually return to ‘AC/DC’ for the recording of the group’s 2020 comeback album “Power Up,” with the seed for his return planted at the funeral of ‘AC/DC’ rhythm guitarist ‘Malcolm Young’ in 2017. ‘Rudd’, singer ‘Brian Johnson’, and bassist ‘Cliff Williams’ all attended the ceremony, at which point all three were considered former members of the band.
‘Rudd’ later recalled the moment that led to his return: “Angus and I had a good chat at Mal’s funeral and caught up. The guys knew I was still playing, so when I caught up with Angus at the funeral, we were sort of chatting away and somehow, he just sort of asked me if I was up for doing a new AC/DC album. And he started writing the next day.”
‘Angus Young’ confirmed the account, telling Rolling Stone that ‘Rudd’ had been in good shape at the funeral. “He was keeping himself well together. He was getting therapy and sorting himself out. It was really good,” ‘Young’ said. ‘Johnson’ added: “I speak for all the boys with Phil. We defend Phil to the hilt. What happened up there, that’s not the Phil we know. That was just something else. He’s really looking brilliant now and doing everything great.”
However, despite laying down the drum tracks on “Power Up,” ‘Rudd’ was not part of the accompanying tour. ‘Matt Laug’ took over drum duties for the band’s Power Trip festival appearance in 2023 and all subsequent 2024, 2025, and 2026 dates, with no official explanation offered by the band for ‘Rudd’s’ absence.
In a 2025 interview, ‘Rudd’ reflected on his complicated relationship with the band he helped define: “There was a time when I thought it was the end of my world. I only knew life with AC/DC. Those people I thought loved me like a brother, they haven’t even picked up the phone.” He also spoke about his enduring connection to the band’s legacy and his admiration for late frontman ‘Bon Scott’: “To me AC/DC was always Bon. My favorite album is Highway To Hell. My favorite song, his song, Touch Too Much. When Bon died, even in AC/DC I felt alone. But I was never alone. The people who like the music, it always humbles me, but makes me happy too.”
On the question of whether he would ever play with ‘AC/DC’ again, ‘Rudd’ was characteristically direct: “People always ask me if I will play with AC/DC again. The only people I would do it for would be the fans. And for Bon. I would do it for Bon.”
‘Rudd’ appeared on all but three of ‘AC/DC’s’ 18 previous studio albums, making him one of the most important figures in the band’s history despite the turbulent final years of his tenure.
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