PURE 107.8FM
●●Chris Ridgway who presents music show Smokestack and hosts Pure County on Stockport’s radio station Pure 107.8FM recently got to talk to one of his heroes: Phil Rudd from AC/DC.
Stadium-filling, record breaking, no frills rock ‘n’ roll kings AC/DC have achieved everything there is to achieve in the music business, and last week former drummer Phil Rudd joined me on Pure 107.8 FM’s ‘Smokestack.’
As a band, the Aussie rockers are arguably one of the most recognisable names on the planet, but as individuals they tend to keep themselves under the radar.
This was, of course, until the seismic shifts within the group last year, when the band hired rock star Axl Rose as frontman and Rudd himself was fired over sensationalist media headlines, turned the spotlight onto the men behind the music.
It was a little surreal at first.
I’m in a role where I’m fortunate enough to speak to incredibly talented and accomplished musicians and sports stars on an almost weekly basis, but this was the first time in a long time I felt genuinely starstruck – I suppose the strangest part was – so did he!
He introduced himself as ‘a man of few words’ – and at first he was just that. It appears that even being the stick man in rock ‘n’ roll’s dominant group, Phil didn’t have much time for interviews, and was happy just playing his drums.
The more the interview went on, however, the more we both grew into it – and by the end it seemed like we could have spoken all night! The man is incredibly humble, and despite achieving everything a boy could dream of, he is eager to get back on the road with his self-titled new act – coming to Manchester on May 21 – and hearing his no-nonsense style on the album ‘Headjob’ it promises to be quite a show. It’s moments like this that remind me why I love music and being part of the team on Stockport’s radio station Pure 107.8FM.
You can hear the interview in full on Pure’s podcast page – www. podcast.pureradio.org.uk