The veteran drummer on his storied career working with AC/DC, Dio and other musical titans.
Simon Wright’s résumé reads like a playlist of the greatest hard rock bands ever. The drummer has manned the skins for AC/DC, Dio, UFO, Geoff Tate’s Queensryche and more. We met up with the veteran stickman at the Hollywood Show recently. Unassuming and humble, Wright spoke to us about his time in all those legendary bands and shared details about a special place for groupies on the road called the “Just in Case” room.
HUSTLERMagazine.com: How did you end up as AC/DC’s drummer?
Simon Wright: I was 19 years old, living in London. Not much going on. A female friend saw an ad in a music paper. In those days, in the back of the music papers, bands ran ads. The ad read, “Drummer Needed. If you don’t hit hard, don’t apply.” She said, “You hit hard, right?’ Somehow, a few days later I got the audition, not knowing who it was for.
What was the audition like?
It was really two auditions. The first audition was with a drum tech named Dickie Jones in this rehearsal space, and all that was there was a set of drums and a PA system. He asked me to play three songs: “Shoot to Thrill,” “Black Dog” and “Tush” by ZZ Top. After, he said, “That was great. We’ll be in touch.” Later that very same day I got the call. He asked me to come back the next day. The next day he showed me to another part of the rehearsal space. As we were walking down the hall there were all these flight cases lining the walls with “AC/DC” painted on them. I said, “You’re fucking kidding me, right?” I had just turned 19.
Were AC/DC in the other part of the studio?