Chris Slade (formerly of AC/DC) announces retirement 

Chris Slade, a journeyman Welsh drummer who has performed with Tom Jones, Manfred Mann, The Firm, and AC/DC over the past 60 years, has declared his retirement from drumming, as per Blabbermouth. This was said in a video statement that Slade posted on social media on Saturday, August 22.

Hello, everybody. It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing my retirement from drumming. I’m near enough 80 years old. I’ve been drumming, professionally, since I was 16 with Tom Jones. I’ve had a good innings. And thank you all for coming to the shows. And I’d like to thank [the other members of my solo] band also, The Chris Slade Timeline, and all you lot for coming to the shows and having a good time. We know you have, ’cause you told us you have, which was, to get that feedback, is great. So please stay on  The Chris Slade Timeline  on Facebook, ’cause I’ll be posting, we’ll be posting stuff from now and again to try to keep you interested.

So, what happened was that I had a stroke, as you probably know, about seven years ago — a small stroke, but it’s got worse, and I’m afraid that has screwed me up. I’m really jealous of people like The Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney who are going well into their 80s, and I wanted to do that. But it looks like I can’t. So, as I say, with a heavy heart, it’s bye for now.

Rudd was removed from AC/DC when a New Zealand judge sentenced him to eight months of home detention in 2015 after he entered a guilty plea to charges of cocaine use and threatening to kill. Slade, who had played on the record “The Razor’s Edge” as AC/DC‘s drummer from 1989 to 1994, took his spot for the band’s “Rock Or Bust” tour.