In the video below from Chris Akin Presents, drummer Chris Slade tells the story of being removed/fired from AC/DC, but asked to hang around to see if Phil Rudd would work out.
Chris Akin Presents: "Now, one of the rumours, and this is purely a rumour, so tell me if it's just nonsense, but the rumour that I always heard was that after Razor's Edge and after the touring and everything, the band or management or somebody wanted to try to bring Phil (Rudd) back, but they wanted you to, kind of, wait in the wings in case it didn't work out. The rumour I always heard was you said, 'Nope, I'm not standing by for anybody.' And you walked. Is that true?"
Chris Slade: "Yes, that's true. Very stupid of me, to be very honest. If I'd been my father at the time, I would have said, 'Look, just sit there and take the money, OK?' Because they wanted to keep me on in case. Malcolm called me actually. And was a very nice guy. But he is a genius guitarist by the way. I mean genius. I don't mean he was very good. He's the best rhythm player I have ever worked with in my life, and I doubt if there'll be another rhythm player that could possibly touch sides with Malcolm. He called me personally, not a manager or anything, and he said 'look, it's nothing bad.' I remember it very well. 'There's nothing you are doing or have not done, but we're going to trying Phil out again, OK?' And I said, 'oh, well, that's it. I'm gone.' Then he said, 'no, no. We'd like you to stay around.' I said 'No. If it ain't broke, don't fix it Malcolm.'"
Chris Akin Presents: "Did you take it as an insult?"
Chris Slade: "Sort of, yes. I wasn't very happy about it. Who would be, right? And I'd done the demos for what was it, Black Ice? I can't remember the one after one."
Chris Akin Presents: "Black Ice or Ballbreaker. One of them, I think."
Chris Slade: "Ballbreaker, It was the demos for Ballbreaker. I'd played all the demos. I knew that because I went to visit the guys after I was out of the band in London. They were staying there and I knew they were there and I went into Cliff's apartment. They all had an apartment. Of course, I went to his apartment and I could hear my demos being played upstairs. So that was Phil's apartment above Cliff's. I said 'Who's upstairs?' He said, 'Phil's up there.' So anyway, Brian, me and Cliff went out to the nearest pub and had a few pints. We had a really good time."
The Chris Slade Timeline recently announced that their new album, Timescape, will be released worldwide on July 19. Timescape contains completely original new tracks and some of Chris Slade's favourite covers.
"Metal" Tim Henderson from BraveWords Records states, "The legendary Chris Slade continues to leave us thunderstruck as he reinvents the rock world with a unique proggy orchestral vision of intense magnitude. To put it simply, the drummer still means business nearly 60 years into his remarkable music career."
Speaking about Timescape, Chris Slade said, “I am delighted to join BraveWords Records headed up by my old associate Brian Adams to release our new The Chris Slade Timeline album of completely original new tracks and some of our favourite covers. I hope you will listen to and enjoy this latest offering of new music to all fans of Timline and all fans from my past musical career."
The Chris Slade Timeline album, Timescape, can be pre-ordered here. The physical pre-order includes a limited edition postcard autographed by Chris Slade. Watch a video trailer below.
Chris Slade launched the band, The Chris Slade Timeline, in 2012 to mark 50+ years as a professional rock drummer. For this project, Slade took on phenomenal vocalists Steve Glasscock and Paul "Bun" Davis with the added stunning musical techniques of guitarist James Cornford along with keyboard and guitar player Michael J. Clark you most certainly have a band to be reckoned with and worthy to mark Slade’s illustrious musical career.
This is a concept for Slade that will include performances from a varied set list from Tom Jones, Manfred Mann’s Earthband, Uriah Heep, The Firm, ASIA, MSG, David Gilmour, Gary Moore along with a fair degree of AC/DC numbers and many surprises to be unwrapped along the way.
"After all these years recording and playing with some of the world’s greatest rock musicians such as Tom Jones, Manfred Mann's Earthband, Gary Moore, Gary Numan, Denny Laine, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers, David Gilmour, Uriah Heep, Asia and of course AC/DC.
Timescape tracklisting:
Disc 1:
"Sundance"
"We Will Survive"
"Joybringer"
"Living The Dream"
"Freedom Song"
"Back With A Vengeance"
"Questions"
"Time Flies"
"End Of Eternity"
Disc 2:
"The Razors Edge"
"Free"
"Blinded By The Light"
"July Morning"
"Thunderstruck"
"Big Gun"
"Hells Bells"
"High Voltage"
Trailer:
The Chris Slade Timeline is:
Paul "Bun" Davis - vocals
Stevie Gee - vocals, bass
James Cornford - guitar, vocals
Mike Clarke - keyboards, guitar, vocals
*Andy Crosby play bass on "Sundance", "Back With A Vengeance", "Questions"
About Chris Slade:
Slade started his career at the age of 16 with Tom Jones before he changed his name to Tom Jones, this included World tours and recording throughout the 60's.
Chris Slade was a founding member of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in January of 1971. He was to spend seven years with the band, recording eight albums and achieving three UK Top Ten singles in the process: "Joybringer" (No. 9, October 1973), "Blinded By The Light" (No. 6, September 1976 & a multi million selling #1 in the USA) and "Davy’s On The Road Again" (No.6, June 1978). After 'Earthband' he spent two years with Uriah Heep, a Year with Gary Numan, and a year with David Gilmour in 1984.
He later teamed up with Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and bassist Tony Franklin to form The Firm. They produced two excellent albums for Atlantic in 1985 and 1986 that gave them a few radio hits including "Radioactive" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed".
Then Chris joined Gary Moore, taking over from Cozy Powell just four days before the start of the 1989 After The War tour. It was at one of Gary Moore’s gigs in The UK that Malcolm Young saw Chris Slade play. After the tour it was Chris’s intention to put together a band with ex-Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay. But the call from AC/DC scuppered those plans as he was destined to tour and record with them over the course of the next five years, playing on their acclaimed Razors Edge album, and giving a killer performance on their concert DVD Live From Donington.
After his stint with AC/DC Chris joined the prog-rock band Asia, who (even with the many personnel changes over the years) had still been managing to churn out some excellent music. Chris recorded with them on their 2000-2004 studio recordings, Aura and Silent Nation, and put forth his 'trademark' energy-filled live performances on all the subsequent tours that ensued over five years in total.
In the 21st Century, for a period of five years, Slade played drums for German guitarist Michael Schenker before forming The Chris Slade Timeline in 2012.
