AC/DC Pt. 2 (Rewind): Dirty Deeds, Dead Friends, and Murder for Hire

This is the story of the greatest rock ’n’ roll band on earth. AC/DC was forged in discipline, sharpened by grief, resurrected by obsession … and nearly undone by one final dirty deed that no one saw coming: murder. This episode was originally published on November 4, 2025. For a full list of contributors, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.disgracelandpod.com/ To listen to Disgraceland ad free and hear an exclusive mini-episode about the making of Back in Black, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠ disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://mailchi.mp/doubleelvis/disgraceland-email-newsletter Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/disgracelandpod/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@disgracelandpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/disgracelandpod (formerly Twitter) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/groups/491024204626127/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok https://tiktok.com/disgracelandpod See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:13Speaker 00

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• 0:44Speaker 01

  Join me, Cyndi Lauper, with Chef Michelle Bernstein and Dr. Panico to talk about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the potential connection and risk of developing permanent joint damage.

• 0:58Speaker 02

  Cosentyx secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis 300-milligram dose, and adults with active psoriatic arthritis 150-milligram dose. Don't use if you're allergic to Cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur, like tuberculosis or other serious bacterial, fungal, or viral infections. Some are fatal. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough, had a vaccine or plan to, or if inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentyx.com/cindy.

• 1:43Jake Brennan?

  Hey guys, time to dust off your detective skills while unwinding in the Caribbean on Virgin Voyages' second true crime voyage. It's back by popular demand, this five-night, adults-only escape sets sail March 20, 2027, to Grand Turk in the Beach Club at Bimini. The difference between this year and last will be that I will be on the cruise this year, along with Zeph, and he and I will be taping a live version of Disgrace Land, along with podcast hosts from Exactly Right's Buried Bones, Podcast of the Year Award winners, Waiscrack, and other fan favorites. Get on this cruise with us, guys, and enjoy live podcast recordings, behind-the-scenes storytelling, exclusive meet-and-greets, and immersive

• 2:25Jake Brennan?

  true crime programming throughout this one-of-a-kind voyage. Head over to www.virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot. All right, guys, we're dipping into the archive again, into our ACDC story. This is part two. This was released about a year ago, November of 2025, a couple of years after part one. I decided that there was more left on the ACDC bone. ACDC is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I really wanted to tell the story of Phil Rudd, their drummer, and the murder-for-hire saga that was going on. And I wanted to get more into Malcolm Young as well, who was really the engine behind ACDC, who passed away some years ago. Just one of the greatest, greatest rock and roll guitarists of all time. Angus gets a

• 3:10Jake Brennan?

  lot of the attention, but Malcolm was the engine. Anyways, this story's crazy, as is the story of ACDC's manager and his murder, and of course, the whole Phil Rudd of it all. ACDC's still out there touring, still out there doing it. You ever seen ACDC? What do you think? Seen them lately? Let me know. Let me know what you think of the episode. Here's ACDC, part two, in Disgrace Land. Disgrace Land is a production of Double Elvis.

• 3:47Jake Brennan?

  This is a story about contract killings, death threats, drinking with ghosts, rock, and roll, and a part-two continuation of our story on one of the greatest bands of all time, ACDC. A band that made great music. Yes, some of the greatest rock and roll music these years have ever heard. Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my Mellotron called "Jack and Bloke MK1." I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift. And why would I play you that specific slice of pre-Kelsey cheese?

• 4:29Jake Brennan?

  Could I afford it? Because that was the number-one song in America on November 16, 2014, and that was the day ACDC's Phil Rudd was arrested on charges that would make the musician seem strangely alike one of the murderous characters in one of the band's best songs, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap." On this episode, concrete shoes, cyanide, neckties, contracts, high voltage, and part two of our ACDC story. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgrace Land.

• 5:32Jake Brennan?

  Chapter one, Do Anything You Want Me To.

• 5:38Speaker 04

  To transmitters in Queensland and the Northern Territory, this is ABC. Dishonest John, the villain of the year. A crummy crumb, a no-good bum who sports a sneaky sneer.

• 5:50Speaker 05

  Ah, ah, ah. Watch the birdie. You think I was kidding when I said I'd be glad to knock you off? I have Some gorgonzola for his little schnozzle. Ah, ah, ah.

• 6:04Speaker 05

  Shagmat. No, no, no, no.

• 6:11Jake Brennan?

  Angus and Malcolm Young of ACDC never forgot where they came from: the working class, the kind of home where the television babysat the kids because there was no other option. And they never forgot what made them: family. The two brothers launched their band in the early '70s under the guidance of their older brother, George, who, along with his friend, Harry Vanda, had already achieved pop chart success with his band, The Easy Beats. The Easy Beats' single, "Friday on My Mind," reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in America in 1966, and was covered by David Bowie on his album, Pinups, in '73. In the environment that Angus and Malcolm were raised in, hard work and discipline

• 6:55Jake Brennan?

  were of utmost importance. It didn't matter if you were mixing cement, as their father had done, or playing guitar in a band with your brother onstage and your other brother behind the board. Concrete shoes, cyanide, neckties, contract killings, this kind of work, the dirty deeds, the kind that Dishonest John promised to deliver dirt cheap. Dishonest John was a character from Angus's favorite cartoon growing up, The Beanie and Cecil Show.

• 7:25Jake Brennan?

  Even this type of work required discipline. But for Angus and Malcolm, who in 1975 were putting together the lyrics with ACDC singer Bon Scott for their third album, contract killings and the like were just violent fantasy, typical of the type of transgressions demonstrated by the characters dreamed up by Bon. Men on the outer edge of society, thieves, broke-down dreamers, schemers, stalkers, and yes, even killers. Men on the fringe, like the main character in the title track from their forthcoming album, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," a song inspired partly by Bon's vivid imagination, partly from Angus's childhood infatuation

• 8:09Jake Brennan?

  with the Dishonest John cartoon character, and partly from those bad, bad men Humphrey Bogart portrayed in his early films. The song, "Dirty Deeds," was great, no doubt about it. Beneath the story of Bon's bad, bad man hiring himself out to solve his customers' problems with all manner of criminal violence, and in typical Bon humor to do so cheaply, beneath all of that, there was a killer riff and a rhythm that swung.

• 8:40Jake Brennan?

  ACDC is often categorized as being a hard rock band, but that couldn't be more untrue. ACDC is a rock and roll band. The rock part of the equation is the part that sounds hard, and the roll part is the part that's hard to do. It's the part that swings. Think of the Rolling Stones. Hard riffs from Keith, but songs that feel good and make you want to dance because of Charlie. Because Charlie Watts knew how to swing. The swing is subtle. Most rock bands get it wrong. And well, they're not rock and roll bands. They're just rock bands.

• 9:21Jake Brennan?

  Malcolm Young was hell-bent on being a rock and roll band. Being just a rock band wasn't good enough. You might as well be hauling concrete or watching cartoons. Being in a great rock and roll band was something that would last. And finally, on this album, on Dirty Deeds, Malcolm had what he wanted. That's because now, after a series of early releases with different bandmates, inconsistent repertoire, and distribution issues, ACDC seemed to finally be putting it all together on one great, full-length album that was bound to break the band in America. Malcolm knew what anyone who saw ACDC back in the 70s quickly learned. ACDC was the greatest rock and roll band on the planet.

• 10:07Jake Brennan?

  Pete Townsend from The Who saw them live and loved them. Cheap Trick found other brothers from Down Under. Kiss was intimidated by them. And Van Halen was afraid to follow them onstage. ACDC was that good. And a big reason why was because in addition to Angus's Schoolboy Guitar Hero antics, and Bond's Bad Boy Soul Strip, and Malcolm's Iron Fist behind it all, ACDC had a drummer who could swing. Phil Rudd.

• 10:38Jake Brennan?

  With Phil now behind the kit, Malcolm Young was on his way to building a band that was the rock and roll representation of raw, working-class power. A machine that could withstand fame, addiction, death, and even murder.

• 10:56Jake Brennan?

  But Atlantic Records didn't hear a single. And Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was shelved in America. It disappeared into limbo unreleased. Not until years later did American audiences get to hear it. For the time being, partly to prevent being dropped by their label, and partly as a giant fuck you to the label that clearly didn't believe in his band, Malcolm Young took ACDC back into the studio and created a masterpiece. 1977's Let There Be Rock. Let the label try to ignore this. They couldn't. Neither could audiences. The band toured relentlessly through Europe and America. ACDC quickly followed Let There Be Rock with 1978's Powerage.

• 11:41Jake Brennan?

  Quite literally, the greatest rock and roll album of all time, by the way, but I'm not here to start arguments you can't win. I'm here to tell you a story about Dirty Deeds, so I'll just keep going.

• 11:52Jake Brennan?

  With Powerage came more touring and plans for another record. This one to hopefully do what others hadn't. Break the band in America. But touring was taking its toll, as touring does.

• 12:06Jake Brennan?

  People think that the lives of touring musicians are glamorous, and to some extent, it is Dancing Girls and Champagne on Ice, as Bond Scott once sang, but it's also incredibly taxing physically and mentally. It'll drive even the best of them crazy. And people also think that being in a band is being part of a brotherhood, and it most definitely is. But the part that often gets left out is, what if one of your brothers goes shithouse nuts every now and again? What then? Every band knows what I'm talking about. Bond Scott definitely knew about this. So much so that in 1978, he took some time off from partying on the road to write a letter to his sister.

• 12:49Jake Brennan?

  Valerie, Bond wrote on Hilton Stationery. Well, as you can see, Bond's in downtown Pittsburgh today. I've just come over from the West Coast, where I spent a couple of days in LA doing midnight special. Bond goes on, and you can feel the natural charm in his words and the sweetness he has in reserve for his sibling. You can also instantly feel his concern for a friend. Bond is telling Valerie that he's scouting drummers to fill in for ACDC's Phil Rudd, saying, quote, "Phil had a bit of a nervous breakdown." And Bond goes on to say that Phil had to spend a lot of time with the shrink, and that it was real bad, but luckily he got over it quickly enough not to upset the band.

• 13:33Jake Brennan?

  And we had to treat him with kid gloves for a bit, but he's okay now.

• 13:39Jake Brennan?

  According to Bond Scott, Phil Rudd had gone a bit off the rails. A loose cannon drummer was exactly the type of drummer or musician as serious-minded as Malcolm Young could not abide. Yet Malcolm needed Phil. Malcolm had played with other drummers, and other drummers were a dead end. Phil swung in a special way. And Malcolm couldn't go back to the way it was, to be in just a rock band. So Malcolm closed ranks, dealt with Phil's problem internally, and kept trudging towards success in America with Phil behind the kit for the recording of the band's next album, again, the one they hoped would break them in the States. But now the label was interfering once more.

• 14:21Jake Brennan?

  And for this next record, ACDC would need to part ways with their longtime producer, their brother, George Young, and work with someone who better understood what American audiences were looking for. The meddling stung. Being forced to break the bond with their older brother stung even worse.

• 14:40Jake Brennan?

  Atlantic suggested legendary producer Eddie Kramer, key of Jimi Hendrix's fame. Eddie Kramer suggested Malcolm and Angus record the young rascals Good Lovin' as their first single. Malcolm called his manager and told him to get Eddie Kramer the fuck out of the studio and on the first thing, smoke him back to wherever the hell he came from. Atlantic then shipped in Mutt Lang, fresh off crafting a number-one hit for the Boomtown Rats. Mutt told Malcolm and Bond that the backing vocals on the demos needed to be sung in a certain way. Malcolm told Mutt he wasn't no dirty Boomtown Rat singing for the charts. And Mutt then went in and sang the suggested vocal part perfectly. Malcolm took the note, and so did Bond.

• 15:24Jake Brennan?

  Mutt was on another level, and he understood what made ACDC work. For the most part, he just got out of the way and let them cook. And what emerged was a masterpiece. Highway to Hell. The album did for the band what it and Atlantic had long hoped to achieve. It broke them in America. To date, the album has sold almost 8 million copies in the United States and more than 15 million worldwide. But if ACDC was going to be built to last, there was another mile marker on the highway to pass. Even greater success. International success. Malcolm was relentless, a workhorse. He and Angus wrote tirelessly for what they were certain would be an album that would

• 16:09Jake Brennan?

  blow the rest of the world wide open for ACDC. As 1980 progressed and high school kids across the United States dug into the massive riffs on Highway to Hell, the band was already set to record a follow-up. Now it was Bond's turn. He looked up from the notebook he was writing in and closed it. It was February in London, cold and dreary, but Bond was feeling celebratory. He'd done it. He'd finished writing the lyrics for ACDC's next album. Finally. And so it was time to get drunk.

• 17:13Speaker 00

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• 17:47Speaker 06

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• 18:26Speaker 01

  The truth about these suspicious symptoms. Connect the dots and crack the case. Talking to your doctor about your symptoms can make all the difference. Don't let mysterious symptoms go unsolved.

• 18:42Speaker 02

  Cosentyx secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and adults with active psoriatic arthritis. Don't use if allergic to Cosentyx. Get checked for TB before starting. Increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Like TB or other serious bacterial, fungal, or viral infections. Some were fatal. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough. Had a vaccine or plan to. Or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentyx.com.

• 19:27Speaker 01

  Discover Cosentyx for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

• 19:34Speaker 02

  Watch the full mystery series, Unpredictable Symptoms Squad, at cosentyx.com.

• 19:42Speaker 05

  I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast. The true crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scam them. What? I could talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 20:14Jake Brennan?

  Chapter two, neckties. There are no handbooks in rock and roll. There's no index you can leaf through, no dead singer section filed under D. Therefore, there were no instructions for ACDC when they learned in February 1980 that their singer, the inimitable and seemingly irreplaceable Bon Scott, had died. One of Bon's girlfriends at the time, Silver Smith, claims that Bon finished writing the lyrics for ACDC's next album in the London flat that he was renting in, went out afterward to celebrate with his friends from the band UFO at a club called The Music Machine. Bon then blacked out drunk in the back of a Renault 5, choked on his own vomit, and died

• 20:58Jake Brennan?

  senselessly. And now Malcolm, Angus, and everyone else in the ACDC camp was trying to figure out how to get their dead singer back to Australia. From first class on the plane while they waited to fly out, you could see Bon's coffin coming down the baggage conveyor belt, mixed in with the rest of the luggage. Fuck this. Angus wouldn't have it. He wasn't flying home first class with his friend being hauled underneath the plane with the rest of the cargo. The band moved back to coach and back to Australia, and Bon Scott was buried. And then the band moved on through their grief.

• 21:41Jake Brennan?

  Each band member, Malcolm, Angus, Phil, and bassist Cliff Williams worked tirelessly. The first order of business was to find a replacement for Bon, a task that seemed impossible, but somehow was accomplished when they found Brian Johnson, a singer who once impressed Bon and a singer who, as it's long been rumored, was recommended to ACDC by a fan. Next up, they needed to complete the album they started putting together before Bon's death. And when they emerged from the studio, they were wielding a tribute to Bon called Back in Black, an album that would sell ungodly amounts of records, largely on the strength of the band's new songs, songs that fit their new singer perfectly, and also on the strength

• 22:24Jake Brennan?

  of the group's relentless touring. When all was said and done, Back in Black did what Malcolm intended it to do: broke the band beyond America, throughout the rest of the world. It was a global smash, one that would go on to sell 50 million copies and become the second biggest selling full-length album of all time, behind only Michael Jackson's Thriller. Back in Black's follow-up, For Those About to Rock, We Salute You, sold incredibly well also, deepening ACDC's connection with American gearheads and FM radio listeners. They continued to tour and became, quite literally, the biggest band on the planet before hunkering down to create their next album, Flick of the Switch.

• 23:05Jake Brennan?

  And that's when the pressure of it all started to grind the gears on Malcolm's well-oiled rock and roll machine. Chapter three, Pick Up the Phone, Leave Her Alone. Phil Rudd, ACDC's drummer, the man who rolled and swung mightily, was coming apart again. He played nightly to tens of thousands of adoring fans and did his best to outrun the death of one of his best friends, Bon Scott, all while enjoying the trappings of success Bon always wanted but never achieved. It was a lot, and the guilt was no doubt white hot. Phil cooled it with alcohol, gallons and gallons of alcohol.

• 23:48Jake Brennan?

  Of course, in rock and roll, drinking is not only tolerated, it's encouraged. But for a bandleader like Malcolm Young, the only thing that was sacred was your playing. If the drink impacted the gig, then you could get fucked. Offstage in a hotel room in Nebraska, Phil Rudd was drinking with ghosts. They were right there at the edge of his bed. Who were these people pulling from the same bottle that he was? Groupies, fans. Some spoke in adoring, kiss-ass tones, some taunted Phil. They talked of ACDC songs and fast cars, and all Phil heard was Bon's voice.

• 24:28Jake Brennan?

  When one of them, just a high school head, asked Phil for a light, Phil heard Bon ask for a light. When the lady with the dude who was icing her got frustrated and wanted to know where the coke was, Phil heard Bon question him. When two guys near the bathroom nearly came to blows over a girl sitting on Phil's bed, Phil heard Bon arguing with himself. Phil had a thought. Was this it? Were the distractions, the gigs, the sessions, the responsibilities, were they no longer enough? Phil may have been pissed drunk, but he knew what this was. Unresolved grief finally coming to the surface, bleeding out all over the room in ghostly

• 25:11Jake Brennan?

  white heat, filling the atmosphere within these four walls with a pressure he'd never imagined. Manifest in the words of the fans, his new fair-weather friends, speaking in Bon Scott's voice, and now increasingly in tongues. The sound of it filled his head with dense pressure. It was intense, more intense than the pressure of being on stage in front of tens of thousands, and more intense than staring down Malcolm, stronger than the fear of letting Angus down. It was the pressure of admitting he was gone and that there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. Bon was gone. And these fuckers in the room had to go next. But Phil was helpless.

• 25:55Jake Brennan?

  He called his road manager, Ian. Ian would know what to do. Road managers always knew what to do. Ian headed straight over to Phil's room to clear out the groupies and the fans so that ACDC's drummer could get some rest. But when Ian entered the room, it was empty. Empty with the exception of Phil. There were no groupies, no fans, only a ghost. Phil Rudd had tripped beyond some invisible line, and things would not get better. Phil Rudd continued drinking with the ghost of Bon Scott until on October 8, 1983, Phil walked onstage in Uniondale, New York, wasted, sat down behind his kit, and bashed away

• 26:40Jake Brennan?

  until he fell off his stool in a pissed-drunk stupor. He recovered, sort of, and finished the set. Afterward, Malcolm Young walked up to his drummer backstage and walloped him in the face with his fist. And that was it. Phil could fuck off. He was out of the group, and ACDC was now just another rock band.

• 27:06Speaker 05

  We'll be right back after this word, word, word.

• 27:12Speaker 00

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• 27:44Speaker 01

  Hi, I'm Cindy Lauper, Cosentyx's lead detective in the new mystery series, Unpredictable Symptoms Squad. My team and I are on a curious case to gather clues about plaque psoriasis. And psoriatic arthritis and to learn how Cosentyx treats both and can help stop further joint damage in psoriatic arthritis. Join Michelle Bernstein. Wow, I didn't even know this place was here. Gary. Yeah, it makes sense. Something mysterious would happen here. And me, as we team up with the experts, Dr. Farley and Dr. Panico, who help us uncover the truth about these suspicious symptoms.

• 28:28Speaker 01

  Connect the dots and crack the case. Talking to your doctor about your symptoms can make all the difference. Don't let mysterious symptoms go unsolved.

• 28:39Speaker 02

  Cosentyx secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and adults with active psoriatic arthritis. Don't use if allergic to Cosentyx. Get checked for TB before starting. Increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Like TB or other serious bacterial, fungal, or viral infections. Some were fatal. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough, had a vaccine or planned to, or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentyx.com.

• 29:24Speaker 01

  Discover Cosentyx for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

• 29:31Speaker 02

  Watch the full mystery series, Unpredictable Symptoms Squad, at cosentyx.com.

• 29:37Speaker 06

  I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast, the true crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scam them. What? I could talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 30:07Jake Brennan?

  Scam Goddess. Chapter four, The High School Head. Who said you needed a swing? Plenty of bands who merely rocked had enjoyed massive success. It was 1990, and the Billboard charts were peppered with rock bands turning on teenage heads all over the world. Jon Bon Jovi made Jersey Girls swoon with Blaze of Glory, which went to number one. Billy Idol rocked the cradle of love all the way up to number two. Faith No More soared into the top 10 at number nine with their single Epic. And in the same year, Nelson, Heart, and Skid Row all competed on the charts alongside

• 30:49Jake Brennan?

  ACDC's single Thunderstruck, the band's biggest hit since You Shook Me All Night Long, which drove their new album, The Razor's Edge, to multi-platinum status, the band's best-selling record since Back in Black. All of these songs were rock. Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, Nelson, Heart, Skid Row, et cetera, they weren't rock and roll. And Thunderstruck by ACDC wasn't rock and roll either. It's about as meat and potato as hard rock as you can get. It's great, don't get me wrong, but it isn't Highway to Hell or Let There Be Rock. It doesn't come anywhere near the greatness the band achieved creatively when Phil Rudd was in the band. Neither were the full-length recordings that preceded The Razor's Edge or followed the last album to feature Phil, which was Flick of the Switch.

• 31:34Jake Brennan?

  Those albums being Fly on the Wall and Blow Up Your Video. Simon Wright replaced Phil Rudd on those albums, and Chris Slat of The Firm replaced Simon on The Razor's Edge. This was a creative era of inconsistency for ACDC. Some fans, the purists, blamed Bon Scott's replacement singer Brian Johnston for the band's lackluster recordings during this time, specifically Fly on the Wall and Blow Up Your Video. But Brian wasn't the issue. The drumming was the issue. Sure, Malcolm made it work with Thunderstruck, but deep down, I think he knew. They weren't the same band without Phil Rudd. They weren't a rock and roll band. And something needed to change.

• 32:18Jake Brennan?

  And that something was brought on by the dirtiest of deeds: murder. Chapter five, We'll Get Round 'Em, We'll Have Ourselves a Ball. Christmas, 1983. ACDC is once again on top. One of the biggest bands in the world, and their manager, Crispin Dai, had many reasons to celebrate that evening in Sydney, Australia. There was the success of the band he managed, and then there was the joy he felt over releasing his own debut album. So Crispin went out to hit the pubs.

• 32:58Jake Brennan?

  Upon leaving one of those watering holes in the Darlinghurst neighborhood, he was attacked. Three men, or was it just one? It's doubtful Crispin ever saw the attack coming. And the head trauma likely came first from a blunt instrument, then the punches, the kicks. When you're felt and your brain has been so severely bashed that you can feel it loosening itself from the inside of your skull, the hits to the body don't really register. You're in shock, confused, and you know something's happening to you, but you're not sure what. There's fear, yes, but that fear isn't of your attackers. It's deeper now. You can feel yourself slipping away.

• 33:42Jake Brennan?

  Holding on is no longer a tangible challenge, it's metaphysical. And you try to concentrate, but the hits keep on coming, and your mind is pulling you into a darkness you've never known. A darkness with a promise of peace so real, you can feel it wrap itself around you and shield you from the pain being inflicted upon your body. But there's a trade-off. Nothing's free. Slipping into that peace means slipping into oblivion. So you fight. If not physically, then mentally. You will yourself to survive. But when they find you, you're unconscious, bloodied, broken, lying in the street like a Christian thrown to the lions. And they gather up what's left of you, because remarkably, you're still breathing.

• 34:26Jake Brennan?

  And they bring you to the hospital where you do your best to hang on. But that pull towards something better than what you've been given, it's too strong. So you give in and succumb to your injuries the next day. Christmas, the day you meet your maker at the age of just 41. ACDC's manager, Crispin Dai, was murdered. They never caught his killers. And this case is steeped in hate. First, there was the supposed eyewitness accusation that three Pacific Islanders were seen standing over Crispin's body, a lead that went nowhere. And then there was the fact that Crispin was gay, walking late at night in an area known for its gay nightlife.

• 35:10Jake Brennan?

  But the death was investigated as a robbery, not a hate crime. And nothing came of it. Until in 2023, 30 years later, it was revealed that the forensic testing of Dai's bloodstained clothing had been botched by authorities. And when the forensics were run again, a DNA match linked the crime to a violent convicted felon with a criminal history, including a 1993 assault with an iron bar, a blunt instrument, and another attack of a tourist in Sydney. That convicted felon killed himself in 2002, and the case of the murder of ACDC's manager remains unsolved.

• 35:52Jake Brennan?

  What isn't a mystery, however, is what this murder, this unfortunate event, did for the band that Crispin Dai managed. At his funeral, members of ACDC, past and present, were in attendance. And this was where Malcolm Young ran into Phil Rudd for the first time in years and was reminded of what he'd been missing in ACDC, that dirty swing that only Phil was capable of bringing. You would think that a guy in Malcolm Young's position in 1994 would be content. He was a guitarist in a massive band, a band he built with his brothers. So it was more than a band, it was a giant, successful family business.

• 36:33Jake Brennan?

  He'd written and recorded iconic music that would outlive him for decades. He had the respect of his peers and heroes, The Rolling Stones. They famously offered ACDC millions of dollars to open up for them for one show, and Malcolm said no, because ACDC opened for no one, not even his heroes. Malcolm's band made him more money than he'd ever be able to spend, so why mess around with what was clearly working? Because true artists never rest. There's always a fear that if what you're making isn't great, then everything, all of it, will disappear. Malcolm Young, from his earliest days in ACDC, wanted a band that could last, that could

• 37:16Jake Brennan?

  not be toppled by an outside force. And that meant staying true to what he and his brother believed was the best version of rock and roll they grew up on and set out to make. Thunderstruck wasn't enough, because Malcolm knew there was a version of ACDC that was better, and that version had to include the wild card, Phil Rudd, on drums.

• 37:39Jake Brennan?

  The encounter at the funeral set off a chain of events that would end with Phil replacing Chris Slade and taking back his rightful seat behind the kit in 1994. First with an informal jam session with Angus and Malcolm, and then in rehearsals for the band's next album, Ballbreaker, produced with Rick Rubin. The idea was that with Phil back, Rubin would shepherd the band to its stripped-down 70's sound, but that didn't really work out. Rick Rubin and Malcolm and Angus clashed creatively, and the album suffered as a result. ACDC's real return to form didn't come until the next album, 2000's Stiff Upper Lip, produced by Malcolm and Angus's brother, Georg Young.

• 38:22Jake Brennan?

  After Atlantic Records forced George out before Highway to Hell, his reunion with the band was a reset Malcolm had been waiting for. With Phil Rudd anchoring the rhythm and George behind the board, ACDC once again sounded exactly as Malcolm always knew the band should. Stiff Upper Lip may be an overlooked record from ACDC's catalog, but it's the band's best record with Brian Johnson that's not named Back in Black. And after nearly two decades of creative inconsistency, the band was ready to charge into the new millennium with the same white-hot intensity they'd owned in the 70's. But along the way, Malcolm would face challenges to that vision. And none of those challenges was more shocking than when Phil Rudd once again stopped drumming

• 39:07Jake Brennan?

  for ACDC and became a real-life character ripped from the lyrics of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: A True Dishonest John.

• 39:37Jake Brennan?

  We'll get back into this story in a couple of seconds, guys, but I wanted to bring up what you may have heard me mention in the last block, the fact that Bon Scott's girlfriend claimed that he actually finished the lyrics for ACDC's next album before he died. That would be the Back in Black album. But Bon Scott isn't credited as a lyricist or songwriter on Back in Black. This controversy has been debated by ACDC fans for years. Did Bon Scott actually write some of the lyrics for the massively successful Back in Black album? And was Brian Johnson credited instead? There's too much to get into about this story in this full episode of Disgrace Land,

• 40:16Jake Brennan?

  but we do dive in more fully in this week's accompanying mini-episode, which Disgrace Land All-Access members can hear in their Apple Podcasts or Patreon apps. Go to disgracelandpod.com/membership to become a member today for just $5.99, and we're going to get back to our full ACDC story right now.

• 40:37Jake Brennan?

  Chapter 6. Just ring 362436. Hey, I lead a life of crime.

• 40:46Jake Brennan?

  On April 16, 2014, ACDC issued a statement that read in part, "After 40 years of life dedicated to ACDC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. ACDC asks that Malcolm and his family's privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music. ACDC will get together in May in Vancouver to record." It seemed that not even Malcolm Young's own sickness, which was revealed six months later in September of 2014 to be dementia, could deny him of his goal to keep ACDC moving forward.

• 41:27Jake Brennan?

  So it was no surprise when a few months later, on November 6, 2014, that the band would pledge to continue on in the face of even more unbelievable news from the ACDC camp.

• 41:38Speaker 04

  The drummer of the rock band ACDC is accused in an alleged murder plot. Phil Rudd was charged in a New Zealand court with attempting to hire a hitman to kill two people. If convicted, Rudd could face 10 years behind bars.

• 41:53Jake Brennan?

  Drummer Phil Rudd had just been arrested for offering a hitman large amounts of cash to have two men taken out, murdered, a contract killing, by a real-life Dishonest John. Phil was also charged with possessing large amounts of methamphetamine and cannabis. The victims, the men the police were charging Phil Rudd for threatening to kill, were supposed business associates. These men, the identity of the victims has never been disclosed, were allegedly responsible for the existence and, from Phil's point of view, the failure of his solo album, Head Job. The record bombed, and Phil was pissed, and most likely way high on meth, and that drug-induced

• 42:36Jake Brennan?

  thinking caused Phil Rudd to threaten to kill the two men who had worked for him. On the day of Phil Rudd's arrest, ACDC wasted no time. A statement was issued. It read, "We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment. Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album, Rock or Bust, and upcoming tour next year." Rock or Bust, indeed. There was nothing, not the sickness of their band's founding and most influential member, not even the arrest of their drummer on a murder-for-hire charge, that could stop ACDC from moving forward. The show, as they say, must go on.

• 43:20Jake Brennan?

  Two weeks after Phil's arrest, Rock or Bust, an album he played on alongside Angus, Brian Cliff, and Malcolm and Angus's nephew Stevie Young, was released. Five months later, on April 10, 2015, at Coachella, ACDC kicked off the band's latest tour with Chris Slade back behind the kit in place of Phil. Again, Rock or Bust, not Rock and Roll or Bust. 10 days later, on April 20, halfway across the world in New Zealand, Phil Rudd went before the judge, and by then, the murder-for-hire charge had been dropped due to insufficient evidence, but the death threats and drug charges stuck, and Phil pleaded guilty.

• 44:01Jake Brennan?

  He was released on bail to await sentencing, and the judge noted Phil's fragile mental health and his drug addiction. Meanwhile, ACDC toured a path across the United States and Europe. On July 9, 2015, Phil Rudd went before the judge again, this time for his sentencing. He was given just eight months of home detention in order to abstain from drugs and undergo rehab. The judge warned that a breach of these orders could land the drummer in jail. But the judge was apparently a softie, because just days after Phil was confined to house arrest, he was arrested for associating with prostitutes at his house. And the judge let him off with a warning.

• 44:44Jake Brennan?

  There was no getting around the house arrest, though. The entire eight-month sentence would have to be served. Phil's lawyer argued this would mean that Phil would miss ACDC's Japanese tour. His attorney voiced Malcolm Young's point of view. Phil's drummer was integral to the band's sound. Why should the band suffer because of Phil's actions? The judge disagreed and replied that "Queen" replaced Freddie Mercury. Apparently, the judge wasn't aware that ACDC replaced Bon Scott. Everyone, even Malcolm Young, was replaceable. So Phil Rudd was sentenced and out of the band, where he remains to this day, while

• 45:26Jake Brennan?

  the band continues to tour, even after Malcolm Young's death in 2017. And of course, they're touring without their best drummer, Phil Rudd, who lives out on the fringe, just like one of those characters his friend Bon Scott used to write about in his songs, specifically in Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: Like a Real Dishonest John and a True Disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgrace Land.

• 46:13Jake Brennan?

  All right, thanks for listening to this episode of Disgrace Land. If you want to hear more about the controversy around Bon Scott allegedly writing the lyrics for Back in Black, what? The second biggest-selling album of all time? You're going to need to check out today's mini-episode, okay? All-Access and Apple subscribers already have it in their fees. Everyone else, head to disgracelandpod.com and sign up for All-Access to unlock mini-episodes, ad-free listening, and uncensored music history you will not get anywhere else. Here's the kicker: Bon Scott's friends and girlfriends swore he finished writing the lyrics for Back in Black before he died, but the notebook he wrote them in disappeared the night he was found dead. So where did it go? And why hasn't it ever resurfaced? That's what we're digging into in the mini-episode. Now, this week's question of the week: If Back in Black is the greatest-selling rock

• 46:58Jake Brennan?

  and roll record of all time, what's the one record you put above it? You can only pick one. Is it Exile on Main Street, London Calling, Abbey Road, something else? Maybe another ACDC record? Call me, 617-906-6638. Let me know, leave a voicemail, send me a text. You can also hit me on the socials, @disgracelandpod, or get me direct on the Patreon chat. Credits are coming up right now.

• 47:21Jake Brennan?

  Disgrace Land was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes page at disgracelandpod.com. Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook, @disgracelandpod, and on YouTube at youtube.com slash @disgracelandpod. Rock or roll.

• 47:46Jake Brennan?

  He's a bad, bad man. All right, guys, that's ACDC Part 2. Let me know what you think, 617-906-6638. Voicemail and text, get at me with your thoughts on this archive episode of Disgrace Land.