A phone call in which Phil Rudd allegedly threatened to kill a man and his daughter is the basis for the AC/DC drummer's court charges, reports Sarah Dean of Daily Mail Australia.

Rudd, 60, is before the courts on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. The Tauranga-based drummer has denied the charges.

In a summary of facts released to media, the Crown has given a brief outline of what led to the charges. It says Rudd made a phone call to a man he knew, whose name is suppressed, on September 26th, threatening to kill both him and his daughter.

This was consistent with another phone call made by Rudd earlier that morning, according to the summary of facts. It says Rudd denied threatening to kill anybody and denied making any of the phone calls he was alleged to have made when he was interviewed by police. Further details and photos can be found here. 

Adding to his legal troubles, Rudd was involved in an aggressive fracas at Columbus Coffee Cafe in Gate Pa, Tauranga, according to David Fisher of The New Zealand Herald. 

Cafe  Rojas owner Leo Rojas was drawn outside his cafe and confronted by the sight of an altercation between Rudd, who he did not immediately recognise, and a much larger man, who was almost 2m tall. "I thought the big guy was trying to abuse an old man. Then I released it was the old man trying to fight the big guy. The big guy lost his cool. He pushed Phil really strongly. Phil fell to the floor and shouted out, 'that's why you don't work with the mafia'. It was weird. The big guy is saying 'Phil, get out of my way. That's why I don't work for you anymore." Mr. Rojas said Rudd's bodyguard then tried to hold his employer back to allow the larger man to get to his car. "Phil started punching and kicking his own bodyguard, which I don't understand."

The altercation saw Rudd back in court, where he was bailed again on condition he not consume illicit substances. His lawyer said Rudd had a "chance meeting" with someone he was barred from contacting under his previous bail conditions. Crown solicitor Greg Hollister-Jones said this was a serious breach because it involved potential inference with a Crown witness and urged the breach to be noted on the court record. Judge Geoghegan agreed that was appropriate, and readmitted Rudd to bail after varying his bail conditions to include a further condition, which bans him from consuming illegal drugs. Rudd is due back in court on February 10th for a case review hearing. Additional info available at this location.

Meanwhile, AC/DC has just released their brand new album, Rock Or Bust. It was produced by Brendan O’Brien, with Mike Fraser mixing at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, BC.  The album’s cover art uses a developed 3-D lenticular technology, which gives the illusion of the band’s iconic logo exploding as the album is moved. Rock or Bust is the band’s first album of new material in six years, following their immensely successful Black Ice, which entered charts at #1 in 31 countries and has sold nearly 8 million copies worldwide.

Rock Or Bust tracklisting:

"Play Ball"
"Sign Of The Times"
"Ain't The Way"
"Rock Or Bust"
"Done Her Good"
"Steal My Meal"
"Watching Games"
"Cardhouse Blues"
"Bulletride"
"Rumble"
"Back In The Zone"