NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd's comment to media: a middle finger

Jamie Morton
By Jamie Morton
Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
19 Jul, 2015 11:38 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

AC/DC rocker Phil Rudd has been remanded on bail after being caught allegedly consuming and possessing alcohol while on home detention. The 61-year-old drummer appeared in Tauranga District Court this morning over a breach in conditions of an eight-month home detention sentence handed down to him this month.

Clad in a leather jacket bearing the name of his former band, AC/DC, Phil Rudd had just one thing to pass on to waiting media as he left Tauranga District Court this morning - a raised middle finger.

After refusing to comment on his alleged breaching of home detention conditions, by possessing and consuming alcohol, an under-pressure Rudd appeared to lose his temper at an assistant amid the media throng, demanding he give him the keys to his waiting Jaguar F-Type.

The 61-year-old drummer then hugged a well-wisher and stepped into the sports car, from which he briefly waved to journalists as he drove back past the courthouse again.

The appearance that followed his arrest on Saturday night, less than a week after he was warned not to re-offend when sentenced on threatening to kill and drugs charges, lasted just five minutes but was still characteristic of his odd and sometimes angry behaviour in previous appearances.

Not long after he stepped into the dock in Courtoom One, dressed in a cream jersey, the drummer began to sink down into his seat.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Judge Louis Bidois told him "stand up Mr Rudd ... just get on TV for nothing, eh", adding the stunt would "just make you look foolish".

As Judge Bidois allowed news photographers to take his picture, the rocker first turned sideways in the dock, then turned to face the cameras, appearing tired and expressionless.

Crown Prosecutor Anna Pollett requested that as a new condition for Rudd's bail, he undergo drug and alcohol testing when police requested.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This was in addition to conditions of his eight month sentence confining him to his Harbour Drive home and banning him from taking any drugs not prescribed to him.

When Ms Pollett sought to confirm the order with Judge Bidois, Rudd was seen to lean over in the dock and scowl at her, while muttering swear words.

Rudd's lawyer, Craig Tuck, did not oppose the order and the rocker was remanded to re-appear on August 3.

Judge Bidois sternly told Rudd that any further offending could mean his home detention sentence being changed.

Discover more

Entertainment

Musicians on the wrong side of the law

09 Jul 01:30 AM
Entertainment

AC/DC rocker lodges appeal

09 Jul 03:10 AM
New Zealand

Blind corner could be a killer

19 Jul 11:06 PM
New Zealand

Car crashes into bus-stop

19 Jul 11:46 PM

"I remind you that your home detention order continues and we will revisit this whole matter on the third of August," he told him.

"The only warning I can give you, obviously, is if there is another alleged breach, the department's position may well be different - they may well seek to cancel the sentence of home detention."

Rudd had spent Saturday night and all of yesterday in police cells after he was arrested at his home on Saturday night.

It is understood prostitutes were present at Rudd's home at the time of his arrest.

Just nine days before, Rudd was convicted and sentenced having earlier pleaded guilty to charges of threatening to kill an employee, and for methamphetamine and cannabis found in his home during a police raid last year.

Mr Tuck has appealed Rudd's sentence and conviction.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Bay of Plenty police have refused to comment on the arrest, with a spokesperson telling the Herald she could not discuss individual cases.

The last time Rudd was in court, Judge Thomas Ingram warned the rocker that he would go to prison if he breached the terms of his sentence.

"I stone cold guarantee that's where you'll end up - I'm not your headmaster, I'm not your father, I'm a judge," Judge Ingram told him at the time.

Judge Ingram also remarked that home detention had been his sole alternative to sending Rudd to jail.

At the sentencing, the court heard there was no direct evidence to suggest Rudd was actually still a member of AC/DC, which is scheduled to perform in New Zealand in December with Chris Slade in the drummer's seat.

Judge Ingram also challenged the idea Rudd was an integral part of the band, coldly remarking: "Queen replaced Freddie Mercury."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

HIGHWAY TO HELL: The Phil Rudd saga

• 2007: Pleaded guilty to common assault after an incident with his former wife aboard his luxury launch Barchetta
at Tauranga Marina.
• 2011: Pleaded guilty to possession of 25g of cannabis found on Barchetta.
• 2014: Acquitted of deliberately lying about his prior drug use to obtain a medical certificate to enable him to renew his private pilot licence. The Court of Appeal last month rejected an appeal by the Civil Aviation Authority.
• November 2014: Charged with attempting to procure the murder of two people following a police raid. The charges were soon withdrawn by police, who also charged him with threatening to kill an employee, and for methamphetamine and cannabis found in his home during a police raid last year.
• April 21: Unexpectedly changed plea of not guilty to guilty. It emerged he told an associate he wanted a former employee "taken out" and offered him $200,000, a motorbike, and the choice of one of his cars or a house.
• July 9: Convicted and sentenced to eight months' home detention and warned by Judge Thomas Ingram he would be sent to jail if he re-offended. His lawyer Craig Tuck lodged an appeal soon after.
• July 18: Arrested at his Tauranga home for breaching conditions of his home detention sentence by possessing and consuming alcohol.
• July 20: Remanded on bail to re-appear on the new charge on August 3.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Reviews

Highlights from the last days of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival

24 May 04:00 AM
Entertainment

Lorde, life and the empowering legacy of Kiwi producer Joel Little

24 May 02:00 AM
Entertainment

Watch: Trailer released for documentary about former PM Jacinda Ardern

24 May 12:37 AM

Sponsored: How much is too much?

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Highlights from the last days of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival

Highlights from the last days of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival

24 May 04:00 AM

The NZ International Comedy Festival is under way in Auckland and Wellington.

Lorde, life and the empowering legacy of Kiwi producer Joel Little

Lorde, life and the empowering legacy of Kiwi producer Joel Little

24 May 02:00 AM
Watch: Trailer released for documentary about former PM Jacinda Ardern

Watch: Trailer released for documentary about former PM Jacinda Ardern

24 May 12:37 AM
Premium
Rising costs, shifting habits: Why is going to the movies so expensive?

Rising costs, shifting habits: Why is going to the movies so expensive?

24 May 12:00 AM
Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year
sponsored

Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP