Axl Rose celebrates 46th birthday

W. Axl Rose, singer and sole original member of Guns N' Roses, turned 46 years old on Wednesday (February 6th). Born William Bruce Rose Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana in 1962, Rose led a troubled younger life in which he was allegedly sexually and physically abused, arrested numerous times for public drunkenness and assault, yet also sang in a church choir and participated in school chorus. He left Lafayette in 1982 and followed fellow Indiana native Izzy Stradlin to Los Angeles, playing in several bands before forming Guns N' Roses with guitarist Tracii Guns in 1985.

The lineup of the band gradually settled into Rose, Stradlin, guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. The group developed a following on the Hollywood circuit and was signed to Geffen Records, releasing their debut album, Appetite For Destruction, in 1987. Appetite eventually sold 15 million copies in the U.S. as Guns became one of the biggest bands in the world. They also became one of the most notorious for their drug and alcohol abuse, as well as Rose's increasingly erratic behavior. Despite other successful albums like Use Your Illusion I and II, and sold-out world tours, every original member of the band departed over the course of the '90s, leaving Rose to rebuild the entire lineup with mostly unknown musicians.

Rose spoke several years back about the challenge of following up the classic Guns lineup with an entirely new band: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "How do you rebuild something that got so big? And how do you make a whole bunch a guys that were something else into something that already was. I don't know if it's exactly been done like this, and not with the intensity of these players wanting to play the material."

The ever-shifting Guns N' Roses lineup began working on a new album, Chinese Democracy, sometime in the mid-'90s, although the record has yet to surface despite more than a decade of work and a reported $13 million spent. Promised release dates in 2006 and 2007 did not materialize. Recent reports have indicated that the album is finished and Rose is negotiating for more money with his record label.

Guns N' Roses has only toured twice in the last 14 years: an aborted 2002 run that only lasted for a few shows, and a far more successful 2006 trek that took the latest lineup around the world.

Although Rose is considered one of rock's greatest frontmen, his sometimes irrational behavior onstage, reclusive lifestyle and notoriety for feuding with other rock stars has also earned him a reputation as one of rock's true eccentrics.
Submit the above story to:

Del.icio.us   Digg   reddit   StumbleUpon   Facebook