Longtime AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams is to quit the band at the end of the Rock or Bust tour.
The rocker admits the retirement of seriously ill bandmate Malcolm Young, the drama surrounding drummer Phil Rudd's arrest, and singer Brian Johnson's hearing issues, which prompted him to pull out of the tour earlier this year, have taken their toll on the Australian group, and he has decided the time is right to retire.
"It's been what I've known for the past 40 years, but after this tour I'm backing off of touring and recording," Williams has told Florida magazine Gulfshore Life.
"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 (to do)."
Rudd was kicked out of the band last year after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession.
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He was sentenced to eight months of house arrest in New Zealand.
Johnson was advised to quit touring with AC/DC or risk permanent hearing loss. His decision to step down threw the band's North American tour into chaos and dates had to be postponed and rescheduled.
Guns N' Roses star Axl Rose was recruited as Johnson's replacement and he fronted the group during its recent European tour.
Rose plans to rejoin AC/DC later this year, when the band returns to the US.
