Former AC/DC Drummer Chris Slade Announces Retirement at 79 After Decades Behind the Kit

Chris Slade, the veteran Welsh drummer whose career included two separate stints with AC/DC as well as work with some of rock’s biggest names, has announced his retirement from drumming at the age of 79.

Slade said the decision comes as the effects of a stroke he suffered around seven years ago have worsened, preventing him from continuing the career he began professionally as a teenager.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing my retirement from drumming,” Slade told fans in a social media message.

“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.”

Chris Slade explains why he is stepping away

Although Slade had hoped to remain active well into his 80s, he explained that his health has made that increasingly difficult.

“So, what happened was that I had a stroke, as you probably know, about seven years ago,” he said. “A small stroke, but it’s got worse. And I’m afraid that has screwed me up.”

Slade admitted he had hoped to follow performers such as The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney by continuing to perform at an advanced age.

“I’m really jealous of people like The Stones or Paul McCartney who are going well into their 80s, and I wanted to do that,” he said. “But it looks like I can’t.”

He concluded his announcement by telling fans: “So, as I say, with a heavy heart, it’s bye for now.”

From Tom Jones to AC/DC

Slade’s professional career stretches back to the mid-1960s, when he played drums for fellow Welsh star Tom Jones.

From there, he built an extensive résumé across several decades. He became a member of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and went on to work with a wide range of musicians and groups, including Frankie Miller, Asia, Uriah Heep, Gary Numan, David Gilmour and The Firm, the post-Led Zeppelin band featuring Jimmy Page.

One of the defining chapters of Slade’s career began when he joined AC/DC following Simon Wright’s departure in 1989.

Slade played on the band’s 1990 album The Razor’s Edge and joined AC/DC for the subsequent world tour. His first period with the group ended in 1994 after Malcolm Young indicated that AC/DC wanted former drummer Phil Rudd to return.

Slade returned to AC/DC more than two decades later

Slade’s association with AC/DC was not over.

He returned to the band in 2015 during a turbulent period surrounding Rudd. The drummer had encountered serious legal problems in New Zealand after his home was raided, with accusations including possession of amphetamine and cannabis as well as allegations involving hiring a hitman and attempting to kill two people.

The more serious charges were subsequently dropped, but Rudd was unable to participate in AC/DC’s Rock or Bust world tour.

Slade stepped back behind the kit, more than 20 years after his first departure, and remained with the group until 2020.

That year, it was announced that he had once again left AC/DC ahead of the release of the band’s Power Up album.

Now, after a professional career that began when he was 16 and eventually took him onto stages with artists spanning multiple generations of rock and popular music, Slade has confirmed that his time behind the drums has come to an end.