Former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade is featured in a career-spanning in-depth interview with Andrew DiCecco. An excerpt from the chat is available below.

Q: What prompted your initial exit from AC/DC?

Chris: "We were doing demos in London, just Angus, Malcolm, and myself. This went on for months, actually. I got a call from Malcolm saying, 'It’s nothing you’ve done, it’s nothing you haven’t done, but we’re going to try Phil (Rudd) out again.' And I went, 'Wow, where did that come from? That was left-field.' And I resigned on the spot. I said, 'Well if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.' He said, 'Oh, we’ll keep you on and keep paying ya.' I said, 'No. I’m not interested. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.' And this is true. It was Malcolm himself that called, which was a tough call for him, of course.

Now, if I’d been my father and that was my son, I would have said, 'Just hang around. They already said they want you.' Because Malcolm said, 'We don’t even know if [Phil] can even play.' I said, 'Well, that’s your problem now, guys, sorry.' It was probably a bit stupid of me or a fit of pique, but I don’t like being messed around."

Q: You obviously departed on relatively good terms with AC/DC in the mid-1990s because they eventually brought you back into the fold for the Rock Or Bust Tour. Who reached out to bring you aboard?

Chris: "The manager called from New York; I was in Switzerland. At the end of the conversation, I said, 'Did this come from the band?' And he said, 'Of course it came from the band. Do you think I’d be calling you if the guys didn’t ask me to call you?' And I went, 'Oh, okay. That’s nice. That’ll do it, then.' Because I was so shocked that they were asking me again, I was really, really pleased to get that call because the timing dragged on. My friends and people used to say, 'Oh, you’ll be getting that call any day now from AC/DC.' I’d go, 'No, they ain’t gonna call me, okay? They’re just not gonna call me. That bridge is burned.' But there it was; they did. It’s always been an honor and a privilege to play for AC/DC."

Q: Brian Johnson was limited on that tour, which ultimately led to Axl Rose filling in. How did the band arrive at that decision and who else was considered?

Chris: "Yeah. Well, for me, it was quite a long time. Me and my Mrs. had to spend a lot of time in Miami, Florida. Towards that break, which ended in Florida, Brian was really unhappy with what he was doing. And I could hear him perfectly; I was using in-ears and I could hear the band, and him, perfectly. To me, it didn’t sound as bad as he thought it was. I kept saying to him, 'Brian, you’re doing fine.' But he didn’t like it. I don’t know the circumstances, but all I knew is that Tim the tour manager said, 'Brian’s not here anymore. We just gotta hang around.' I went, 'Oh, okay.' It took some time; maybe a month or more. Then we went to Atlanta, Georgia and there was some auditions. I said to Dick Jones, 'What’s tomorrow? Is it a day off?' He said, 'No. It’s Axl Rose tomorrow.' I went, 'What!?' I couldn’t believe it; I heard all the stories about Axl. The next day, there he is. I shook his hand and thought, 'This guy’s not bad at all,' and he was telling jokes. And then he sang and I didn’t know he had that voice. I really had no idea he could sing like that. It was tremendous from the start. Within the next day, he was in the band."

Read the copmplete in-depth interview here.