Yeah...people mock him here cos the bike accidents and stuff, but Billy Idol is a very cool singer vocally....I didn't really know his stuff back in the day except for "Rebel Yell" but I picked up his greatest hits cd at cash converters (a pawn store) for like $5 - cos I wanted that song - and I'm pretty impressed with a few of his songs.

It does sound to me like they're not doing good business though. I think a lot of making a record with a big label seems to go to if the people running the show at the time are business based or music based, and if they understand your music.

Aliens
Casino
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Heat

The problem to me is that all of these guys have musical genius, but none of them have acted like saints.

I don't think it's so much that Slash trashed Axl, it's more that slash stoped doing his previous role of apoligising for GNR's dramas. I love Axl's work dearly, he's an inspiration to me, but I think it's fair to say that by 1993 he already had a turbulent relationship with the media: There is 'Get in the Ring', the is 'one in a million', there is the st louis incidents, the other Axl arrests, the public rants, the canceled shows. he was already a controversial figure without any help from Slash. Now this isn't to suggest the resy of the guys are saints either, slash was a junkie, duff a drunk...they all had their issues. But prior to Slash leaving...you get almost any Slash interview and he's asked questions about Axl's behavior, and he'll always answer them in ways to defend GNR and defend Axl. Once he left the band he stoped doing that. He'll call a spade a spade and not defend stuff like cancelations, delays and other things that he used to help make excuses for. But that's also not the same as really trashing Axl, usually when interviewers  really get into the bashing he starts to look uncomftorable and eitehr changes the subject or says about how he and axl were friends for a long time first. Anyway my point is theres a difference beteen Axl bashing, and just not helping out anymore.

Also...some of the things people say are slash lies are matters of perception. Like Axl wanting to do techno and industrial - maybe that's not true in the scheme of things - but to a guy like Slash who is raised on aerosmith maybe anything with a synth strikes him that way. Him saying Axl wanted to make it a solo project - prob not true overall - but then maybe in slash's head that's how he reconciles some of the decisions Axl's made that are unfathomable to him - like having a guy like Huge come in and overdub over Slash's solo. I mean look at it from his perspective, slash plays on AFD and built the band with Axl, who the fuck is huge to come in and redo stuff? of course Axl sees things differentlly...Axl is working on making a brilliant song that bit better and not limiting himself to strict ideas of who a guitarist is or whatever. But do you see how each of them can not be lying but both have an entirely different view about what happened and what the other could think.

I'll grant the name story doesn't make sence cos it would be duress. However...there's the long term issues too. Maybe axl didn't directly theaten those things - but the long term history of the band did. I mean - he gets in fights, no-shows at times, and was known for being tempremental at the time. Would you expect it to go well if you rejected his offer? or even if that's all bullshit. What is axl's version of the story then? It seems to be that Slash just made that up to cover for being dumb enough to sign over the rights. Still doesn't make Axl a saint...if  slash is really so dumb as to sign over control of the brand he helped create for nothing, no finance, all cos he didn't give a shit, what kind of guy does that make Axl to take advantage of the stupidity of his bandmate, friend, and 'gang member' that way? Yet apparently slash is the asshole according to GNR. I'm not saying either of them is right. I'm just saying none of it makes any sence to me at all. And there's clearly either a lot more going on behind the scenes. Or it's that both their personalities are just so imcompatable that neither of them has really ever understood what the other was thinking or saying and its just got way out of hand.