New Zealand Police arrested and charged AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd with attempting to arrange the murders of two people.  Cops raided his home in Tauranga this morning, and took him into custody.  Rudd is free on bail until his next scheduled court appearance on 27 November.

Kiwi Judge Louis Bidois suppressed the names of the alleged intended victims and the alleged hitman.  Rudd did not seek name suppression.  His lawyer asked the judge to bar media cameras from the courtroom, but the judge refused.  Other charges against him include possession of methamphetamine, possession of cannabis and threatening to kill.  He left the courthouse in a silver Mercedes.

Russ was missing from the next set of promotional materials the AC/DC distributed last month in advance of the release of the band’s next album “Rock or Bust” in late November in Oz, 2 December everywhere else.  The band also filmed a video for the song “Play Ball” in which Rudd is absent.  Rob Richards from the band Shogun filled in for the video shoot.  At the time, AC/DC said that Rudd was dealing with a “family emergency”. 

This could also affect AC/DC’s plans for a 2015 world tour.  Cofounder Malcolm Young, revealed to be suffering dementia, left the fold earlier this year and was replaced by nephew Stevie Young.  If Rudd is unable to continue, he’d be the second member out following 20 years of stability in the personnel department.

Rudd was AC/DC's drummer for the classic period in the 1970s and early '80s.  He moved to Tauranga in the 1980s, when he was sacked from the band following a reported row with Malcolm Young.  AC/DC brought him back in 1994.