Phil Rudd Prepares for April 21 Trial Date

Phil Rudd's legal fate will soon be decided.

As previously reported, the embattled former AC/DC drummer faces an array of serious allegations stemming from his arrest last November. Although authorities quickly dropped charges accusing him of attempting to procure a murder, he could still be found guilty of a number of other offenses, including drug possession and threatening to kill.

Rudd's April 21 court date, which will find him standing in a "judge-alone trial," was initially scheduled to take place in February, but had to be postponed after his lawyer suddenly withdrew from the case — just one in a series of post-arrest embarrassments that includes a somewhat chaotic first court appearance that ended with Rudd making rude gestures at paparazzi as well as a pair of public fights that ended with him in handcuffs again.

The Waikato Times reports that Rudd's rescheduled date remains on track for tomorrow in Tauranga District Court, and given the format of the trial, it seems likely that once court convenes, things could move along fairly swiftly. He continues to deny allegations that he placed phone calls threatening to kill a former contractor and the contractor's daughter.

Of course, this isn't the first time Rudd's faced legal troubles, as we've outlined here, but it's easily the most serious — which no doubt contributed to AC/DC's quick decision to rehire former drummer Chris Slade for their tour in support of the band's new Rock or Bust LP. Rudd's gone on record as saying he wants his job back, but regardless of the judge's verdict, his former bandmates may have moved on.

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