AC/DC drummer pleads guilty to threat to kill

Australian hard rock band AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a charge of a threat to kill, at a court in New Zealand.

Rudd, 60, pleaded guilty in Tauranga District Court to one charge of threatening to kill, as well as possession of cannabis and methamphetamine -- charges he had earlier pleaded not guilty to, The New Zealand Herald reported.

A second threatening to kill charge was withdrawn by police. He has been remanded on bail to re-appear for sentencing on June 26.

The court heard how Rudd asked for a former employee to be "taken care of".

The matter stemmed back to August last year, when Rudd was angry over the launch of his solo album, 'Head Job' which did not perform well on the music charts, leading him to sack a number of employees -- including his would-be victim with whom he was "particularly angry" with.

On September 25, Rudd called an associate holidaying in Australia and said he wanted the victim "taken out".

Rudd, the only Australian-born member of AC/DC, moved to New Zealand in 1983 after leaving the band, to which he later returned in 1994.

In November 2014, AC/DC released their 15th album "Rock or Bust".