Them not performing together, to me, would only be slightly less sad than all of them not showing up.

Totally agree there, on Ozzy's input. My point was more to who "won" (or could have won) in each situation.

For years after, Ozzy totally came out ahead in that exchange, regardless of who the creative forces were. In Axl's case, he could have come out even more ahead, because of his creative juice.

GnR kicking Axl out could have easily gone the way it went for Ozzy when he got the boot.  And today, Axl would have been agreeing to the RNR HOF and anything else they asked for, as long as they met his conditions. Exactly like how Sabbath had to go by Heaven and Hell when Ozzy wasn't involved.

But the truth is, Axl could never have given up the name once the CD journey began. CD is the story of replacing a house slat by slat and brick by brick until there's nothing remaining of the original house. There was never a single point when you could point and say, "Ok, NOW that isn't GNR anymore", at least from Axl and the record company's perspective.

Goodbye SBQM.

Here's a link to the Shackler's ringtone I created. Haven't put it on my phone yet- I don't have the cable with me, so I'll bluetooth it over when I get a few minutes.

Let me know what you think, it's super simple but I think it makes a good ringtone.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O4F0FRHZ