AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd charged with murder plot in New Zealand

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd leaves Tauranga District Court after being charged with attempting to procure murder at a New Zealand district court on November 6, 2014. Joel Ford/Getty Images

WELLINGTON // The drummer of legendary rock band AC/DC, was charged on Thursday with trying to hire a hitman to kill two men in New Zealand.

Police swooped on Phil Rudd’s waterfront house at Tauranga in the North Island in the early hours and charged him with “attempting to procure murder” and threatening to kill.

They also charged Mr Rudd, 60, with possessing methamphetamine and cannabis after allegedly finding the drugs in his property.

Mr Rudd, a long-time member of one of the world’s highest grossing bands, was granted bail and ordered to reappear on November 27.

He looked tired and tousled as he appeared in court without his shoes and wearing a baggy grey jumper. His lawyer unsuccessfully argued that media should not be allowed to take images of him because they just wanted to capture his client “at his worst”.

Mr Rudd was not required to enter a plea during his brief appearance but court documents reveal he is accused of trying to organise a hitman to kill two men in late September.

Judge Louis Bidois suppressed the identities of those involved.

Mr Rudd, who has played on hits including Dirty Deeds Done Dirty Cheap and Highway to Hell, refused to comment when he left court.

Under New Zealand law, attempting “to procure any person to murder any other person” is punishable by up to 10 years in jail, while threatening to kill can attract a seven-year sentence.

Stunned fans reacted on social media, expressing concerns about the future of the band, which is still reeling from the retirement of founding member Malcolm Young in September after he suffering from dementia.

“This is so shocking I hope its not true but I will be praying for u guys and I hope yalls pull through this and bring him back,” Joseph Anderson wrote on the band’s Facebook page.

Tina Durst Van Gundy posted: “No matter ... still one of my all time favourite bands ... hang in there guys.”

Born in Australia, Mr Rudd joined the band in 1975 and left in 1983 after arguing with Mr Young.

He moved to New Zealand at the time, settling in the coastal community of Tauranga, about 150 kilometres south-east of Auckland.

He remained in the area even after reconciling with the band in 1994, using it as his base as he followed a punishing global touring schedule with the notoriously hard-living heavy metal pioneers.

Mr Rudd was part of the AC/DC line-up inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and won a Grammy for best hard rock performance with the band for War Machine in 2010.

Later that year he was convicted of cannabis possession after police raided his boat, receiving a fine of NZ$250 (Dh710).

AC/DC is one of the best selling music acts of all time, amassing sales estimated at 200 million albums worldwide featuring songs that remain staples on classic rock radio, including Back in Black, Jailbreak and High Voltage.

Mr Rudd, who released a solo album Head Job in August, said this year that Mr Young's illness would not spell the end for the band.

“It’ll never happen. Angus [Young] will never retire and as long as Angus never retires I won’t retire either,” he said then.

The band has since announced a new album, Rock or Bust, will shortly be released. They were due to undertake a world tour in 2015.

* Agence France-Presse