AC/DC drummer charged with plotting murder

The AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been charged in New Zealand with attempting to procure murder, threatening to kill and possession of drugs.

The 60-year-old was the subject of a raid on the North Island on Thursday morning and appeared in Tauranga district court in the afternoon.

He said nothing during his brief court appearance and wore no shoes. He did not apply to suppress his name and was bailed until 27 November.

He had been charged with attempting to procure murder, threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis and has been ordered to stay in Tauranga and to have no contact with anyone related to the charge of procuring murder as part of his bail conditions.

According to court documents, Rudd is accused of attempting to hire one person to kill two others between 25 September and 26 September.

He is also accused of threatening to kill a complainant on 26 September.

Rudd refused to talk to media gathered at the court and left in a late model Mercedes sedan, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Rudd was a notable absentee from AC/DC’s recent promotional material in the lead-up to the release of the band’s first album in six years.

The first image released to promote the album, Rock or Bust, did not feature Rudd and he was absent from two video shoots over the past few months.

Lead singer Brian Johnson reportedly told fans Rudd was not at one of the video shoots because of a “family emergency”.

Biographer Jesse Fink, author of the new book, The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, told the Daily Mail Australia he was “absolutely stunned” by the charges.

Fink said Rudd had “deteriorated” in recent years. “You go back and you see photos of Phil from the ’70s, he’s a beautiful man, a very handsome man.”

Australian-born Rudd has lived in Tauranga for a number of years.

AC/DC have announced they will launch Rock or Bust from the New South Wales town The Rock on 23 November.

Rock or Bust is the band’s first album of original material since Black Ice was released six years ago. Founding guitarist Malcolm Young recently left the band after his family announced he had developed dementia.

Rudd joined AC/DC in 1975. He was dropped in 1983, but rejoined in 1994.