For Those About To Rock

Phil Rudd may be lounging back in one of Sydney’s most exclusive hotels but it’s clear the bloke hasn’t let fame go to his head. Laconic and quietly spoken, Rudd is supremely proud of his latest endeavour – a fully fledged solo album. “Some of the ideas for these songs have been around for 25 years,” he reveals. “Me and the boys even jammed some of the tracks many years ago, so to finally get in the studio and lay them down was a real pleasure.”

The tracks that Rudd is talking about are the 11 slabs of unashamedly classic Aussie pub-rock contained on the charmingly monikered Head Job LP. “It’s a no-bullshit rock’n’roll record – that’s all we set out to make and I think we did it well,” offers Rudd.  “The vocals, the riffs – everything’s real and comes from things I’ve experienced.”

"Well I’m only about four foot one so my feet are always firmly on the ground."

“That’s definitely the approach I took with the vocals,” chimes in Allan ‘Badge’ Badger, who played bass on the album as well as providing the bulk of the vocals. “I could have hit the high notes but really it wouldn’t have suited the music – so what’s the point?”

As the drummer for AC/DC, Rudd is part of veritable empire of minders, assistants and business managers – not to mention being the focus of high expectations on the part of the band’s fans. Was it hard to come from this background to one where you were out on your own producing and your name was on the cover? “Well I’m only about four foot one so my feet are always firmly on the ground! As for being worried about how people would react – I wasn’t worried at all. There’s no pressure with this project – there’s actually far more pressure being a part of AC/DC. I’m my own worst critic, but this was just a matter of getting into the studio with the boys and going for it. We had a great time in the studio making Head Job and I think that’s reflected in the songs.”

While The Music was ostensibly sitting down with Rudd to talk about his new solo album we couldn’t just ignore his other role – you know, being the drummer for arguably the biggest rock’n’roll band on the planet. Rudd wouldn’t let much out of the bag, but here’s what we managed to extract. “There’s definitely going to be another AC/DC tour, which is part of the reason we can’t do any shows right now to back up Head Job,” he reveals. “As for the new album, I’ve put down my rhythm tracks and I can tell you from what I heard when I was in the studio it was sounding great. I know how many tracks the band had when I was there but that could change with the final album. I keep in touch with Angus [Young] and I know everyone’s pretty happy with how the record is coming along and is looking forward to getting back on the road.”