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Artist News Legal
Phil Rudd given eight months home detention over death threat charge
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 9 July 2015
Former (still, I think) AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been sentenced to eight months home detention after pleading guilty to threatening to kill a man and drug possession. But at least he’ll be able to stream his own records via his streaming service of choice while confined to his house in New Zealand.
As previously reported, Rudd was arrested last November and was originally accused of attempting to hire a hitman, before the charges were reduced to simply making threats against another man. The drummer originally pleaded not guilty, but then changed his plea in April, admitting that a dispute over the promotion of Rudd’s solo album had got out of hand.
The threatening to kill charge could have resulted in up to seven years in jail, but the judge at Tauranga District Court instead opted for both a significantly less dramatic term and house arrest rather than prison. Though the drummer will also have to stick to a drug and alcohol rehab programme, and could still face jail if he fails to do so.
Rudd’s lawyer had pushed for no restrictions to be placed on his client, saying the drummer hoped to rejoin his band, and being limited to his home would prevent this and cost him millions in possible income. But the judge said that was not a convincing argument; anyway there was no sign Rudd’s AC/DC bandmates wanted him back on tour; and he wasn’t too integral to the band because, after all, “Queen replaced Freddie Mercury”.
Which I think means Rudd’s sentence is all Adam Lambert’s fault.
