“Bye For Now”: Former AC/DC Member Chris Slade Announces Retirement From Drumming

Chris Slade is putting down his drumsticks. In a video posted to Facebook, the former AC/DC drummer announced that he is retiring.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing my retirement from drumming,” Slade began. “I’m near enough 80 years old. I’ve been drumming professionally since I was 16 with Tom Jones. I’ve had a good innings. Thank you all for coming to the shows.”

Slade continued by thanking the members of his current band, The Chris Slade Timeline, and the fans who supported them.

“Please stay on The Chris Slade Timeline on Facebook, because we’ll be posting stuff from now and again to try to keep you interested,” he shared.

Slade then turned his attention to the primary reason for his retirement—his health.

“I had a stroke, as you probably know, about seven years ago. [It was] a small stroke, but it’s got worse,” he said. “I’m afraid that has screwed me up.” 

“I’m really jealous of people like The Stones and Paul McCartney, who are going well into their 80s,” Slade admitted. “I wanted to do that, but it looks like I can’t.” 

Slade concluded his message by stating, “So, as I say with a heavy heart, it’s bye for now.”

What to Know About Chris Slade

Slade started his career in 1963. He played in Tom Jones’ backing band, The Squires, for seven years. Then, in 1969, Slade joined a group called Toomorrow, which featured Olivia Newton-John.

From there, Slade recorded albums with Tony Hazzard and Tom Paxton, before becoming a founding member of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in March of 1972. He spent six years with the latter band, with whom he recorded eight albums and achieved three top 10 singles in the U.K.

Over the next decade-plus, Slade toured and recorded with a variety of artists including Jimmy Page and David Gilmour. Then, in 1989, he got the call to join AC/DC. He remained with the legendary band for five years.

He went on to work with Asia between 2000 and 2004. Slade, who launched The Chris Slade Timeline in 2013, once again toured with AC/DC in 2014.

He put out his most recent album, Timescape, in 2024.

Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images

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