Cliff Williams Bids An Emotional Farewell To AC/DC In Post-Tour Video

We knew this moment was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier to say: Cliff Williams has officially retired from AC/DC.

Sad though it may be, the message comes at probably as timely a moment as Williams could have picked. The "unfortunate situation" involving the recent(ish) departure of long-time vocalist Brian Johnson and subsequent introduction of tour replacement Axl Rose is a seemingly distant memory, as are the legal troubles of former drummer Phil Rudd; Malcolm Young's dementia diagnosis is further removed, while even the band's only other remaining founder, Angus Young, is no longer certain about their future.

And, importantly, AC/DC's massive global Rock Or Bust tour is finally, with a little bit of rescheduling effort, in the bag. If there were ever a moment for the bassist to make a smooth and easy exit, this is likely it.

Thanking the band's fans, Williams described the Rock Or Bust run as "a hell of a tour", reflecting on his time with the band and ultimately concluding that he "couldn't ask for anything more" from his career. 

"It's time for me to step out, that's all," he says in the clip. "Not because we've lost Mal, Phil or Brian; I mean ... everything changes when something happens like that. When Bon died, it changed then — everything changes.

"So it's not that, it's just… I'm just ready to get off the road, really, and do what I do in-between tours; we take a few years off. So I know how to do that, I know what I'm gonna do and, again, it's just my time.

"I'm happy, I just need … family time now, [to] just chill out and not do this. I'm all good; I couldn't ask for anything more, being with the people I'm with and have been, and being in this situation with this band, playing this music."

Tour members Chris Slade and Stevie Young also recorded post-tour reflections, though (for obvious reasons) Williams' video has broken out from the pack.  

You can see all three clips, along with a raft of Rock Or Bust Tour footage, at AC/DC's YouTube channel.