Axl Rose is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in 1985.
57 Facts About Axl Rose
2.
Axl Rose's father has been described as "a troubled and charismatic local delinquent," and the pregnancy was unplanned.
3.
Axl Rose's parents separated when Rose was approximately two years old, prompting his father to abduct and allegedly molest him before disappearing from Lafayette.
4.
Axl Rose's mother remarried Stephen L Bailey, and changed her son's name to William Bruce Bailey.
5.
Until the age of 17, Axl Rose believed Bailey was his natural father.
6.
Axl Rose never met his biological father as an adult; William Rose Sr.
7.
Axl Rose did not learn about the murder until years later.
8.
Axl Rose sang in the church choir from the age of five, and performed at services with his brother and sister under the name the Bailey Trio.
9.
Axl Rose eventually formed a band with his friends, one of whom was Jeff Isbell, later known as Izzy Stradlin.
10.
Axl Rose befriended a girl called Anna Hoon, who would later introduce him to her little brother, Shannon.
11.
At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Axl Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name.
12.
Axl Rose legally changed his name to W Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.
13.
Shortly after his arrival in Los Angeles, Axl Rose met guitarist Kevin Lawrence outside The Troubadour in West Hollywood in March 1983 and joined his band Rapidfire.
14.
Axl Rose had halted the show several times to calm the audience.
15.
Axl Rose was replaced by roadie Doug Goldstein, whom Izzy Stradlin described as "the guy who gets to go over to Axl's at six in the morning after he's smashed his $60,000 grand piano out of the picture window".
16.
Axl Rose received much criticism for his late appearances at concerts, sometimes taking the stage hours after the band was scheduled to perform.
17.
Axl Rose had included the hidden track "Look at Your Game, Girl", a song written by convicted murderer Charles Manson, which he intended as a personal message to his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour.
18.
Axl Rose continued to recruit new musicians to replace band members who either left or were fired.
19.
Axl Rose did collaborate with his friend Sebastian Bach on his album Angel Down.
20.
Axl Rose, who had long been on bad terms with several of his former bandmates, wrote that the ceremony "doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected".
21.
Axl Rose subsequently joined his band in residencies at The Joint in Las Vegas in 2012 and 2014, as part of the Appetite for Democracy Tour celebrating the anniversaries of Appetite for Destruction and Chinese Democracy.
22.
Axl Rose and Slash reunited for the Not in This Lifetime.
23.
Axl Rose shared a stage with Slash for the first time in nearly 23 years during the group's surprise performance at The Troubadour in April 2016, ahead of its headlining shows at Coachella.
24.
In 2018, Axl Rose appeared in an episode of New Looney Tunes as himself, singing an original song "Rock the Rock".
25.
In contrast to his public image, Axl Rose was not a heavy drug user, though he did not disavow the use of illicit substances entirely.
26.
Axl Rose expressed his belief that these health problems were caused by him unconsciously lowering his own resistance as a form of "self-punishment".
27.
In early 1986, Axl Rose began a relationship with Erin Everly, the daughter of singer Don Everly of The Everly Brothers.
28.
Axl Rose wrote the song "Sweet Child o' Mine" for her, and Everly appeared in the accompanying music video.
29.
Less than a month later, Axl Rose first filed for divorce.
30.
Axl Rose suffered a miscarriage in October 1990, which deeply affected Rose, who had wanted to start a family.
31.
Everly left Axl Rose the following November after an altercation; they annulled their marriage in January 1991.
32.
In mid-1991, Axl Rose became involved in a tumultuous high-profile relationship with supermodel Stephanie Seymour.
33.
Axl Rose became deeply attached to Seymour's young son, Dylan, and tried to be a good father figure for the child, as there had been none in his own life.
34.
Seymour and Axl Rose became engaged in February 1993, but separated three weeks later.
35.
Axl Rose then criticized Widodo for "ignoring the international outcry" after two were executed.
36.
Axl Rose has used Twitter to criticize various figures in the Trump administration, as well as other figures such as Apple CEO Tim Cook.
37.
Axl Rose was arrested over 20 times as a teenager in Indiana.
38.
In November 1987, Axl Rose was arrested onstage after assaulting a security guard during a show.
39.
Axl Rose was held backstage and allowed to leave if he apologized to the guards, but refused and was arrested.
40.
In 1990, Axl Rose was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly hitting his next-door neighbor on the head with an empty wine bottle.
41.
Axl Rose stated that the neighbor swung a wine bottle at him after he responded to her yelling.
42.
In 1992, Axl Rose was arrested for his role in the Riverport Riot.
43.
Axl Rose was fined $50,000 and given two years probation.
44.
Axl Rose was arrested in 1998 at an airport in Phoenix, Arizona for threatening an airport guard who was searching his luggage.
45.
Axl Rose was charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
46.
Axl Rose was arrested in Sweden in June 2006 for biting a security guard in the leg.
47.
The guard had confronted Axl Rose who was arguing with a woman in a hotel lobby.
48.
Axl Rose was deemed too intoxicated to be questioned right away by police.
49.
Axl Rose was fined $5,500 for the incident as well as ordered to pay $1,360 in damages to the guard.
50.
Axl Rose has been involved in many lawsuits involving fans, former bandmates, partners, and managers.
51.
In 1992, the audience member who Axl Rose attacked during the Riverport Riot sued him for $210,000 in damages.
52.
Later that year, Axl Rose was joined by former bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan in unsuccessfully suing to prevent the release of Greatest Hits.
53.
In 2010, former band manager Irving Azoff sued Axl Rose, seeking $1.87 million in unpaid fees related to touring.
54.
In November 2010, Axl Rose sued Activision, the publishers of the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, for $20million, claiming Activision had violated an agreement with him to not include any reference to Slash or his band Velvet Revolver in the game in return for a license to use the song "Welcome to the Jungle".
55.
Axl Rose's claim was summarily dismissed in February 2013, when the judge ruled that Axl Rose had not brought suit on the contract, which relied on oral promises, within the two-year statute of limitations that began with the game's October 2007 release.
56.
In March 2013, Axl Rose was sued by an audience member who got hit by a microphone Axl Rose threw into the crowd at the end of a show.
57.
Axl Rose threatened legal action in 2014 over the release of Rapidfire recordings, keeping them from digital storefronts for a period of time.