AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams to retire after Rock Or Bust tour

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By ( Classic Rock ) published

Cliff Williams says the loss of Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd and Brian Johnson from the AC/DC lineup has led to his decision to retire

A photograph of AC/DC bass player Cliff Williams who says he will retire soon
Cliff WIlliams (Image credit: Getty)

AC/DC bass player Cliff Williams will retire once the band’s Rock Or Bust tour comes to an end.

The band – fronted by Axl Rose since Brian Johnson was ordered to stop touring or risk going deaf – have just 10 dates left on the tour.

The shows are those postponed and rearranged when Johnson’s hearing problems came to light.

Williams says his decision to hang up his bass was influenced by the triple blow of guitarist Malcolm Young being diagnosed with dementia, drummer Phil Rudd’s imprisonment for threatening to kill someone, and Johnson’s forced retirement.

Williams tells Gulfshore Life: “It’s been what I’ve known for the past 40 years, but after this tour I’m backing off of touring and recording.

“Losing Malcolm, the thing with Phil and now with Brian, it’s a changed animal. I feel in my gut it’s the right thing.”

His announcement comes just hours after he appeared in an official AC/DC video, praising his bandmates and guest vocalist Axl Rose.

He said in the video: “It’s just what I’ve always done, I thoroughly enjoy it.”

AC/DC Rock Or Bust US dates 2016

Aug 27: Greensboro Coliseum, NC
Aug 30: Ft Lauderdale BB&T Center, FL
Sep 01: Atlanta Phillips Arena, GA
Sep 04: Columbus Nationwide Arena, OH
Sep 06: Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, OH
Sep 09: Detroit The Palace, MI
Sep 11: Buffalo First Niagara Center, NY
Sep 14: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Sep 17: Washington Verizon Center, DC
Sep 20: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.