CHRIS SLADE: ‘There Are A Lot Of Things Left Unspoken In AC/DC’

Speaking exclusively to Rock Candy magazine as part of an in-depth 20-page AC/DC cover story analyzing “The Razors Edge” period of the band’s history, drummer Chris Slade told writer Andrew Daly about the group’s mysterious inner workings.

“What I found out was that there are a lot of things left unspoken in AC/DC,” explained the 77-year-old musician. “Most of what’s ‘said’ between Angus [Young, AC/DC guitarist] and Mal [late AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young] isn’t said. They didn’t need to talk.” Slade was new into the band before the recording of “The Razors Edge” in 1990 and he found that things were left unspoken in his audition too. “Malcolm and Angus set up chairs, watched me playing the whole time, and said nothing,” he recalled. “Afterwards they asked me if I wanted anything. I asked for a cheese sandwich and a coffee — and that was it. I was in AC/DC.”

The Welshman played on “The Razors Edge” album and enjoyed two separate stints with AC/DC. He had previously been in MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND and THE FIRM with Jimmy Page. But did he know that “The Razors Edge” was going to be such a big album?

“I didn’t spot it… Sometimes you can spot it, other times you can’t,” he admitted. “I felt very much like that when we did ‘Blinded By The Light’ with MANFRED MANN. But it wasn’t that way with ‘The Razors Edge’ at all. I had no idea that ‘Thunderstruck’ was going to be AC/DC‘s biggest song ever, and I had no idea that we’d made a special album.”

You can read Rock Candy‘s 20-page AC/DC special, together with many other fascinating stories about Jesse James Dupree, THE ALMIGHTY, Jim Vallance, TRUST, and more in issue 41 of Rock Candy.

For more details, visit www.rockcandymag.com.

Rock Candy is a 100-page, full-color bi-monthly rock magazine, created in the U.K. It covers the sights, sounds and smells from the greatest era in hard rock music, the ’70s and ’80s. It is the brainchild of respected U.K. rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson and Malcolm Dome — all frontline writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine in the golden era.

After his first stint with AC/DC, Chris joined up with 1980s prog-rock band ASIA. Chris recorded with them on their 2000-2004 studio recordings, “Aura” and “Silent Nation”. Having parted ways with ASIA in 2005 to pursue other musical ventures, Chris made an album with English power trio DAMAGE CONTROL featuring Pete Way of UFO and Robin George. Slade then worked with legendary guitarist Michael Schenker of UFO and MSG off and on between 2005 and 2010, as well as touring extensively worldwide. He later launched a new band called THE CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE to mark 50 years as a professional rock drummer.