Former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright says that he was never approached about playing drums for the band after Phil Rudd was arrested for drug possession and threatening to kill an employee. “The phone didn’t ring at all,” Simon told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”. “I get asked that quite a lot. No, it didn’t ring. I wasn’t looking for it. I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting a call — put it that way — and I didn’t pursue it, I must admit. I did hear some things about what was going on, but to have put my foot in it wouldn’t have been cool. So, that’s it. That’s the way it goes. They didn’t call. That’s no problem for me. I’ve got lots of stuff to do.”
Chris Slade ended up playing drums for AC/DC on the legendary hard rock band’s “Rock Or Bust” world tour. Since then, AC/DC has recorded and released a new album, “Power Up”, with Rudd sitting behind the kit in the studio.
Wright, who played drums for AC/DC in the 1980s, went on to say that he has no contact with his former bandmates anymore. “No, I haven’t been in touch for years,” he said. “I did text [AC/DC bassist] Cliff Williams four or five months ago. I don’t know why. I just congratulated him on his retirement and wished him well. And he texted me back and said, “Thanks. It’s good to hear from you. I hope you’re well.’ But no, I don’t really keep in touch with them. They’ve got their lives, and I’ve had my life for quite some time now. But if I ran into ’em, I’m sure we’d say hello.”
According to Wright, fans shouldn’t be surprised to know that he is no longer in regular communication with the AC/DC camp. “There’s people that I’ve played with that I haven’t kept in touch with,” he explained. “And it’s not a problem. You just move on. They’ve got their lives, and I’ve got mine. And I’m busy trying to figure stuff out and keep moving forward and all the usual stuff. I don’t think it’s unusual.”
Wright, who joined AC/DC after the departure of Rudd in 1983, also reflected on his time with the iconic hard rock group. “It was just a working band,” he said. “There were long, hard shows — obviously very enjoyable. And it was possible back then, being that young. There were some fantastic shows. I mean, come on — it’s, like, Rock In Rio, there was three hundred thousand [people] there. And then lots and lots of other big, big shows. And it was very comfortable. You were looked after. It was an amazing time. I will always thank them for the time that they gave me and let me play that stuff. So, yeah, it was an amazing time — no doubt — and I have total respect in the world for them.”
Wright, currently of DIO DISCIPLES and also known for his work in DIO, RHINO BUCKET and UFO, lasted in AC/DC for six years. Wright, a then-unknown drummer whose first credits included Manchester, England metal outfit A II Z, joined AC/DC in time for the touring cycle for “Flick Of The Switch” and played with the Australian rockers throughout the ’80s before leaving to join DIO in 1989.
Slade originally followed Wright in AC/DC‘s lineup, joining in time to play on 1990’s “The Razor’s Edge” album. When Rudd returned in 1995, Slade was shown the door and harbored some bad feelings about that for a while.
