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Axl Bows Out
Axl Rose has announced he will not be attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony alongside his former Guns N’ Roses bandmates. In fact, he’s “respectfully declining” his induction altogether.
The ceremony is scheduled for April 14 at the Cleveland museum. The lead singer of the re-formed version of Guns N’ Roses released a long letter through his publicist, implying his absence is in part due to comments made five years ago by former drummer Steven Adler, who said he would love to reunite with Rose as singer but that would be up to the mercurial frontman.
“Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in ’06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned,” Rose said.
Photo: Rod Tanaka / TanakaPhoto.net
1st Bank Center, Boomfield, Colo.
He added that he does not want to be inducted.
“I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf,” Rose said. “Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of ‘Guns N’ Roses.’”
He wished the Hall “a great show” and congratulated all. He added that he knows there will be fallout to his decision but does not begrudge “the Guns their accomplishments.”
However, the long letter doesn’t spell out his motivations for declining in one big, clean sentence. That may have been left to Slash to decipher.
“He hates my guts,” Slash told Rolling Stone recently. “It’s over a lot of different stuff; I don’t even know. There’s just no communication between us.”
Rose, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in December, was noncommittal to his intentions but didn’t want to cause a scene.
“I think about it in terms of Marlon Brando getting up at the Academy Awards and talking about Indians … or when Michael Moore got up at the Academy Awards and said whatever about George Bush. People don’t want that associated with their awards shows, even if you have a big audience. In one way it might be right, but it usually backfires on whoever does it. So I really don’t want to spoil it for everybody else – and take the beating.”