For a new cover story in Rock Candy magazine, Chris Slade talked about his time in AC/DC during the band’s ‘The Razors Edge’ era. He mentioned the inner dynamics of the band by revealing the relationship between Angus Young and Malcolm Young:
“What I found out was that there are a lot of things left unspoken in AC/DC. Most of what’s ‘said’ between Angus and Mal isn’t said. They didn’t need to talk.”
Slade joined the band just before they started working on ‘The Razors Edge’ in 1990. He noticed the ‘nonverbal communication’ between the brothers during his auditions as well:
“Malcolm and Angus set up chairs, watched me playing the whole time, and said nothing. 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 Success Slade’s Work With The Band Brought
‘The Razors Edge’ ended up being Slade’s only record with AC/DC, although he appeared in a few stints with them later. The album was a success, going platinum in multiple countries, including the US and Australia, which the drummer mentioned:
“I didn’t spot it… Sometimes, you can spot it; other times, you can’t. 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.”
The Drummer’s Effect On AC/DC’s Sound
Some critics suggested that Slade’s joining the band changed AC/DC’s tempo, but last year, the drummer revealed that he didn’t have much freedom with their sound as the Young brothers were the minds behind the songs. He told Ultimate Guitar:
“You know, people always talk about how I upped the tempo of AC/DC or that I sped the band up. It’s not true, and I’ll tell you why – all the tempos were set by Angus and Mal. I was never in a position to make those types of changes, and if I did, I am sure they would have had something to say about it. [Laughs]”
About his role in the group, he went on:
“The tempos were always set by them, to the point that I had a red flashing light that would cue me in. Now, I didn’t play to that flashing light, but what I did do was I counted into the song from that flashing light. In concert, I’d see the flashing light and be inside my head, ‘Okay, one, two, three, four,’ and then bang, we were off.”
Slade left the lineup when Phil Rudd rejoined AC/DC in 1994. He returned to the band to fill in for Rudd during the ‘Rock Or Bust’ tour in 2014.
