DISGRACELAND - AC/DC Pt. 2: Dirty Deeds, Dead Friends, and Murder for Hire

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

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. For a full list of contributors, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Twitter)  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is exactly right. Double Elvis. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When like young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that.

David O'Yellowo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things, Tana Monsu, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your husband is not who you think he is.

Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Danny Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to Season 14 of Family Secrets, starting May 7th on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Disgrace Land is a production of Double Elvis. 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 ears 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 Melotron called Jack and Bloke, MK.K.1. 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-Kelsea cheese, 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 and one of the band's best songs, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheat.

On this episode, Concrete Shoes, cyanide, neckties, contracts, high voltage, and part two of our ACBC story. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is disgrace land. Chapter 1, do anything you want me to. To transmitters in Queensland and the Northern Territory, this is ABC. Meet this on his John, the villain of the year. A crumb me crumb, no good bum whose ports a sneaky sneer. Yeah, ha, ha.

Watch the birdie. Do you think I was kidding when I said I'd be glad to knock you up? I hope. Some Gorgonzola for his little schnazola. Yeah, ah, ha. Shazmat. 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, and 73. In the environment that Angus and Malcolm were raised in, hard work and discipline 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 on stage 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' favorite cartoon growing up, the Beanie and Cecil show. Even this type of work requires. discipline. But for Angus and Malcolm, who in 1975 were putting together the lyrics with ACDC singer Bon Scott for the third album, contract killings and the like were just violent fantasy. Typical of the type of transgressions demonstrated by the characters dreamed up by Bonn. Men on the outer edge of society, thieves, broke down dreamers, schemers,

stalkers, and yes, even killers. Men on the fringe, like the main main. character in the title track from their forthcoming album, Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheat. A song inspired partly by Bond's vivid imagination, partly from Angus' childhood infatuation 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 Bond's bad bad man hiring himself out to solve his cover. customers' problems with all manner of criminal violence and in typical bond humor to do so cheaply. Beneath all of that, there was a killer riff and a rhythm that swung.

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.

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 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. 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 on stage. ACDC was that good. And a big reason why was because in addition to Angus' schoolboy guitar hero, Antixon, Bond's bad boy soul strip and Malcolm's Iron Fist behind it all, ACDC had a drummer who could swing. Phil Rudd. 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. But Atlantic Records didn't hear a single. And dirty deeds done dirt cheap were 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. 977'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 Poweridge. 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. With Poweridge 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. People think that the lives of touring musicians are glamorous, and to some extent it is dancing girls and champagne on ice, as Bon 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.

Bonn 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. Valerie, Bonn wrote on Hilton Stationery. Well, as you can see, Bonn's in downtown Pittsburgh today. I've just come over from the West Coast

where I spent a couple of days in L.A. doing midnight special. Bon 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. Bonn 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. Bon goes on to say that Phil had to spend a lot of time with a shrink, and that it was real bad, but luckily he got over it quickly enough not to upset the band. And we had to treat him with kid gloves for a bit, but he's okay now. According to Bon Scott, Phil Rudd had gone a bit off the rails. A loose canon drummer was exactly the type of drummer,

a 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. 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 toward 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, and for this next record, ACDC would need to part ways with their longtime producer, their brother, George Young, and work with some of the

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. Atlantic suggested legendary producer Eddie Kramer, he of Jimmy Hendricks 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 smoking 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 Boom Town rat singing for the charts. Mutt then went in and sang the suggested vocal part perfectly. Malcolm took the note and so did Bond. 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. 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 blow the rest of the world wide open for ECDC. 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 running. writing in and enclosed 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. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And Rule 2, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends...

Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care, so they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever,

and my first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do. Rather be. He's disappointed in. Do that. Dennis Leary. I wake up and I'm hitting him in the head with a water bomb. And Bruce Jenner is on the aisle in a karate stance.

Like he's about to attack me. Like making karate noises. And his entire the Kardashian family over there, everybody's going. And the air marshal is trying to grab my arms and screaming. And I immediately know that I've been asleep walking. David O'Yellowo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or really. relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts.

Guy Branham. So anyway, Nicole Kidman broke up with Keith Durbin. Being half of a country couple was always a hat she was going to wear, not like a life she was going to lead. Oh, interesting. I like that. Did you practice that on your way over? Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things. Tena, Mongeau, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to you. Listen to to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, host of the Wicked Words podcast. Each week, I sit down with the true crime writers behind some of the most compelling true crime stories and discuss their years

spent investigating and why it still matters. He sees his father coming out of the woods with his hands over his face, and he knows something happened. His father just grabs him and says, gone. She's gone. These are the cases that leave survivors, families, and the journalists who cover them changed forever. Working in national television, it'll push you to your limits and you'll end up doing things you never thought you do. You know, you look back at it and you're like, I can't believe that really happened. Join me and step inside the investigation. New episodes drop every Monday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Chapter 2. Neckties. There are no handbooks in rock and roll. There's no index you can leave 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 Bond Scott, had died. One of Bond's girlfriends at the time, Silver Smith, claims that Bonn finished writing the lyrics for ACDC's next album in the London flat that he was renting and went out afterward to celebrate with his friends from the band UFO at a club called The Music Machine. Bond then blacked out drunk in the back of a Renault 5,

choked on his own vomit and died 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 Bond'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 Bonn Scott was buried. And then the band moved on through their grief. Each band member, Malcolm, Angus, Phil, and bassist Cliff Williams worked tirelessly.

The first order of business was to find a replacement for Bonn, 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 Bond's death. And when they emerged from the studio, they were wielding a tribute to Bond 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 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. And that's when the pressure of it all started to grind the gears on Malcolm's well-oiled rock and roll machine. Chapter 3. 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. Bond Scott, all while enjoying the trappings of success Bonn 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.

Of course, in rock and roll, drinking is not only tolerated, it's encouraged, but for a band leader like Malcolm Young, the only thing that was sacred was here 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 Bond's voice. 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 Bonn question him. When two guys near the bathroom nearly came to blows over her girl sitting on Phil's bed, Phil heard Bonn 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 white heat, filling the atmosphere within these four walls with the 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.

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. Bonn was gone. And these fuckers in the room had to go next. But Phil was helpless. He called his road manager Ian. Ian would know what to do. Road managers always knew what to do. Ian had its straight over to Phil's room to clear out the groupies and the fans so that ACVC's drummer could get some rest. Ian entered the room. It was empty. Empty with the exception of Phil. There were no groupies and 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 Bond Scott until on October 8, 1983, Phil walked on stage in Uniondale, New York, wasted, sat down behind his kit, and bashed away 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. That was it. Phil could fuck off. He was out of the group. And ACDC was now just another rock band. We'll be right back after this world.

There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist.

I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests, like Amelia Clark. When like young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in.

Do that. Dennis Leary. I wake up and I'm hitting him in the head with a water bomb. And Bruce Jenner is on the aisle in a karate stance like he's about to attack me. Making karate noises. And his entire the Kardashian family over there, everybody's going. And the airmanian family. is trying to grab my arms and screaming.

And I immediately know that I've been at sleepwalking. David O'Yellowo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Guy Branham. So anyway, Nicole Kidman broke up with Keith Thurban. Being half of a country couple was always a hat she was going to wear, not like a life she was going to lead.

Oh, interesting. I like that. Did you practice that on your way over? Gaten Madarazzo from Stranger Things. Tana Monsu. Camilla Marone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, host of the Wicked Words podcast. Each week I sit down with the true crime writers behind some of the most compelling true crime stories and discuss their years spent investigating and why it still matters. He sees his father coming out of the woods with his hands over his face, and he knows something happened. His father just grabs him and says she's gone.

She's gone. These are the cases that leave survivors, families, and the journalists who cover them changed forever. Working in national television, it'll push you to your limits, and you'll end up doing things you never thought you'd do. You know, you look back at it, and you're like, I can't believe that. really happened.

Join me and step inside the investigation. New episodes drop every Monday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Chapter 4. The High School Head. Who said you needed a swing? Plenty of bands who merely rocked had enjoyed massive success. It was 1990. The billboard charts were peppered with rock bands turning on teenage heads all of

over the world. John 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, Hart, and Skid Row, all competed on the charts alongside ACDC's single Thunderstruck, the band's biggest hit since you shook me all night long, which drove their new album, The Razors Edge, to multi-platinum staff. the band's best-selling record since Back in Black. All of these songs were rock. Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, Nelson, Hart, Skid Row, etc.

They weren't rock and roll. The 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 rest of the record. Razor's Edge or followed the last album to feature Phil, which was Flick at the Switch, those albums being fly on the wall and blow up your video.

Simon Wright replaced Phil Rudd on those albums, and Chris Slade of the firm replaced Simon on the Razors Edge. This was a creative era of inconsistency for ACDC. Some fans, the purists, blame Bond Scott's replacement singer Brian Johnson 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. And that something was brought on by the dirtiest of deeds. Murder. Chapter 5. We'll get round him.

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. 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. The head trauma likely came first from a blunt instrument. Then the punches, the kicks. When you fell, then 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. Holding on is no longer a tangible challenge. It's metaphysical. 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. there's a trade-off, nothing's free. Slipping into that piece 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. 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 Die, was murdered. They never caught his killers. In 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. But the death was investigated as a robbery, not a hate crime. And nothing came of it. Until in 2003, 30 years later, it was revealed that the forensic testing of dies, bloodstained clothing have 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. It was a 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.

What isn't a mystery, however, is what this murder, this unfortunate event, did for the ban that Crispin die managed. At his funeral, members of ACDC passed 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. 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 not be toppled by an outside force, and that meant staying true to what he and his brother believe 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. 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 70s, 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, George Young. 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 70s. 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 for ACDC and became a real-life character ripped from the lyrics of dirty deeds done dirty cheap. A true dishonest John. We'll get back into this story to a couple seconds, guys, but I wanted to bring up what you may have heard me mention in the last block.

The fact that Bond Scott's girlfriend claimed that he actually finished the lyrics for ACDC's next album before he died. that would be the back-and-black album. But Bon Scott isn't credited as a lyricist or songwriter on Back-and-Black. This controversy has been debated by ACDC fans for years. Did Bond-Scott actually write some of the lyrics for the massively successful Back-and-Black album? And was Brian Johnson credited instead? There's too much to get into about this story in this full episode of Disgrace-Hand. 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 slash membership to become a member today for just $5.99. And we're going to get back to our full ACDC story right now. Chapter 6. Just ring 362436. Hey, I lead a life of crime. On April 16th, 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 asked 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 be. keep ACDC moving forward. 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. 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. 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 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, an 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 higher charge that could stop ACDC from moving forward.

The show, as they say, must go on. 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 20th, halfway across the world in New Zealand, Phil Rudd went before the judge, and by then the murder for higher charge had been dropped due to insufficient evidence, but the death threats and drug charges stuck, and Phil pleaded guilty. He was released on bail to await sentencing, and the judge noted Phil's fragile mental health and his drug addiction. Meanwhile, ACDC tore a path across the United States in 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 as softy. 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. 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 Bond Scott. Everyone, even Malcolm Young, was replaceable. So Phil Rudd was sentenced and out of the band, where he remains to this day.

While 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 Bond Scott used to write about in his songs, specifically in dirty deeds done dirt cheap, like a real dishonest John and a true disgrace. Jake Brennan is Disgraceland. All right, thanks for listening to this episode of Disgraceland. If you want to hear more about the controversy around Bond 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, add free listening in uncensored music history you will not get anywhere else. Here's the kicker. Bond 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 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 617-90666-3638.

Let me know, leave a voicemail. Send me a text. You can also hit me on the socials at Disgraceland Pod or get me direct on the Patreon chat. Credits are coming up right now. Disgraceland 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 disgracelampod.com. Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at Disgracelandpod, and on YouTube at YouTube.com slash at Disgracelandpod.

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On the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? I'd rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yello.

I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Moderato from Stranger Things, Tena Monsu, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the stunning stories

I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets starting May 7th on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you can. get your podcasts.