Chris Slade announced his retirement from drumming on August 22, posting the news to the Facebook page for his solo project, The Chris Slade Timeline. The Welsh drummer cited his age, saying he is "near enough 80 years old," along with the lingering effects of a stroke he suffered seven years ago that he said has gotten worse over time.
Slade is best known for anchoring AC/DC's 1990 album "The Razor's Edge," one of the defining records of his six-decade career in rock music. "It's with a heavy heart that I'm announcing my retirement from drumming," he wrote, thanking his Timeline bandmates and fans for years of shows and adding that he plans to keep posting updates on the band's Facebook page.
The announcement follows a rough physical stretch. Last month, Slade revealed that his band had to cancel a performance at Italy's Brudstock Festival, the first cancellation in 15 years of Timeline shows, after he fell and injured his ribs badly enough to require hospitalization. "I can't lift my arms to play drums," he said at the time, adding that he couldn't even hold his drumsticks.
Slade's career began roughly six decades ago backing Tom Jones, whose opening slot put him onstage in front of the Rolling Stones early on. He went on to play with Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Uriah Heep, Asia, The Firm and David Gilmour before his two stints with AC/DC: first from 1989 to 1994, when he replaced Simon Wright and recorded "The Razor's Edge," and again in 2015, when the band brought him back for the Rock or Bust tour after Phil Rudd's legal troubles forced him out.
Slade had been passed over once before, in 1995, when Rudd first returned to the band, an offer from Malcolm Young to stay on as Rudd's understudy that Slade turned down. "I wasn't very happy about it. Who would be, right?" he told LouderSound of that decision. AC/DC again looked elsewhere in 2024, tapping Matt Laug for its Brian Johnson-fronted tour, but Slade said he held no resentment and would have returned if the band had called.
The facts
- Announced retirement in an Aug. 22 Facebook post
- Cited nearing 80 and effects of a stroke from 7 years ago
- Played on AC/DC's 'The Razor's Edge' from 1989 to 1994
- Returned to AC/DC for the 2015 Rock or Bust tour
- Fronts solo project The Chris Slade Timeline
- Canceled a festival date last month after a rib injury
How this checks out
Single source
Reported by a single outlet
Only one outlet has reported it so far, so it stays a single source.
Cited sources 1
Every outlet that reported this, linked to what it published. Equal credits, in alphabetical order.