Axl Rose

W. Axl Rose (born February 6, 1962) is an American hard rock singer and songwriter, born as William Bruce Bailey in Lafayette, Indiana.

Guns N' Roses/Musical Influence

The music scene in Los Angeles during the early 1980s featured both punk and hair metal/heavy metal bands. Rose wanted to meld the two styles into a unique musical form. Rose moved through a number of bands, including Hollywood Rose, L.A. Guns, Rapidfire, Axl, and Rose. Then, after bringing in his former L.A. Guns bandmates Tracii Guns (who was soon replaced by Slash) and Rob Gardner (who was soon replaced by Steven Adler), Rose formed Guns N' Roses around 1985. With Rose (vocals), Stradlin (guitar), Slash (real name Saul Hudson/lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), and Steven Adler (drums), Guns N' Roses signed a recording contract with Geffen Records in 1986. The band released its first full-length album, Appetite for Destruction, in 1987. Mixing blazing power chords with Rose's shrieking vocals, the album represented a new musical style that took some time to catch on. But catch on it did, and by 1988, Guns N' Roses shot to the top of rock music, helped by the massive popularity (as radio singles and as MTV videos) of the songs "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine." 'Child' was written for his then girlfriend (later ex-wife) Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers; she was also featured in the video for the song.

Related Topics:
Punk - Hair metal - Heavy metal - L.A. Guns - Tracii Guns - Slash - Rob Gardner - Steven Adler - Guns N' Roses - 1985 - Geffen Records - 1986 - Appetite for Destruction - 1987 - 1988 - MTV - Welcome to the Jungle - Paradise City - Sweet Child O' Mine - Erin Everly - Don Everly - Everly Brothers

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Famous first for its music, the band soon gained notoriety for a wild lifestyle fueled by prodigious use of drugs. Instability followed, with concert cancellations and rumors of a breakup. In 1988, the band released G N' R Lies, which also was hugely popular. But criticism also came for the song "One in a Million", which was interpreted as insulting to gays, blacks, and immigrants. After a string of delays, the group released two albums called Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II in 1991. These albums were also huge hits, but the band soon ran into trouble. Rose jumped off stage to attack a fan in St. Louis, Missouri during the 28 month-long Use Your Illusion Tour, and sparked a riot. Another riot was spawned on October 8, 1992 at the Montreal Stade Olympique when Rose, late for the band's stage appearance, walked out after playing only a couple songs. These incidents, along with the appearance of a new stripped-down musical style known as grunge, led to a growing impression of Guns N' Roses as a self-indulgent and out-of-date act. Rose himself came to be seen as erratic and strange when he caused long performance delays and challenged Kurt Cobain to a fight during the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, after Cobain and his wife, Courtney Love, egged him on. Axl Rose was a huge Nirvana fan and asked Cobain to have Nirvana open up for GN'R. Kurt turned Axl down and taunted him in the press. This hurt Axl a great deal. Although most people consider the fight between Axl and Kurt to be due to Axl's violent behavior, all evidence points toward Kurt as being the one who "started" the fight. In an interview during the early 1990s, after turning down the opening gig for GN'R (and prior to their backstage squabble), Cobain claimed that GN'R was the most talentless band in the world and a complete waste of music - despite the fact that prior to becoming famous he was photographed wearing numerous Appetite for Destruction T-shirts, and according to his ex-girlfriend, was a massive fan of the band.

Related Topics:
G N' R Lies - One in a Million - Gays - Immigrants - Use Your Illusion I - Use Your Illusion II - 1991 - St. Louis, Missouri - Use Your Illusion Tour - Riot - October 8 - 1992 - Montreal Stade Olympique - Grunge - Kurt Cobain - MTV Video Music Awards - Courtney Love - Nirvana

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