Axl Rose facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Axl Rose
Rose in 2023
Background information
Birth name	William Bruce Rose Jr.
Also known as	W. Axl Rose William Bruce Bailey Bill Bailey
Born	(1962-02-06) February 6, 1962 (age 63) Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal glam metal blues rock industrial rock
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals piano
Years active	1983–present
Signature

W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and main songwriter for the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He has been the only member of the band who has been there since it started in 1985. Axl Rose has a very unique and powerful singing voice, and many music experts and magazines like Rolling Stone and Billboard have called him one of the greatest singers of all time.

Axl Rose grew up in Lafayette, Indiana. In the early 1980s, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he became part of the local hard rock music scene. He joined several bands, including Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. In 1985, he helped start Guns N' Roses. The band became very famous in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their first album, Appetite for Destruction (1987), sold over 30 million copies around the world. It is still the best-selling first album ever in the U.S. with 18 million copies sold. Rose's relationships with Erin Everly and Stephanie Seymour inspired popular songs like the hit "Sweet Child o' Mine".

Guns N' Roses released two more successful albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991). These albums were very popular, reaching No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and selling a combined 35 million copies worldwide. During the two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour, there were some challenging moments, including crowd disturbances and disagreements with other artists like Metallica and Nirvana. The band's next album, "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993), which featured cover songs, did not sell as well as their previous albums.

After the tour ended in 1994, Axl Rose spent less time in public. Guns N' Roses faced difficulties because of disagreements among the band members, especially between Rose and lead guitarist Slash. By 1998, when they started working on a new album, only Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed remained from the earlier lineup. In 2001, Rose, as the only original member, appeared with a new Guns N' Roses lineup at Rock in Rio 3. They then went on the Chinese Democracy Tour to promote the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy (2008). This album was known for being one of the most expensive rock albums ever made.

In 2012, Axl Rose was honored by being included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses, though he chose not to attend the ceremony. Rose's long-standing disagreements with Slash ended when Slash and bassist Duff McKagan rejoined Guns N' Roses in 2016 for the very successful Not in This Lifetime... Tour. Also in 2016, Rose sang with the band AC/DC for several shows as a temporary singer. The Guns N' Roses lineup from the NITL tour continued touring in 2020 and released new songs.

Early Life and Name Change

Axl Rose was born William Bruce Rose Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, on February 6, 1962. He was the oldest child. His parents separated when he was about two years old. His mother later married Stephen L. Bailey, and Axl's name was changed to William Bruce Bailey. He has two younger siblings, a sister named Amy and a half-brother named Stuart.

Growing up, Axl and his siblings had a difficult upbringing. Their household was very religious, and they attended a Pentecostal church many times a week. Rose later said that he felt his upbringing was very strict. He found comfort in music from a young age. He sang in the church choir starting at age five and performed with his brother and sister as the Bailey Trio. At Jefferson High School, he sang in the school chorus and learned to play the piano. He started to develop different voices during chorus practice. He eventually formed a band with friends, including Jeff Isbell, who later became known as Izzy Stradlin. He also became friends with other future musicians from Lafayette, like Shannon Hoon and Paul Tobias.

When he was 17, Axl discovered that William Bruce Bailey was not his biological father. After this discovery, he started using his birth name, William Rose, but preferred to be called W. Rose. He had some trouble with the law in Lafayette. After authorities suggested he might be charged as a repeat offender, Rose moved to Los Angeles, California, in December 1982. In Los Angeles, he became very focused on his band, AXL. His friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose, and he legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose before signing a record deal in 1986.

Music Career

Early Bands and Guns N' Roses Formation

Soon after arriving in Los Angeles, Axl Rose met guitarist Kevin Lawrence in March 1983 and joined his band Rapidfire. They recorded a five-song demo. After leaving Rapidfire, he formed Hollywood Rose with his childhood friend Izzy Stradlin and guitarist Chris Weber. In 1984, Hollywood Rose recorded a five-song demo. Later, guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler, who would become members of Guns N' Roses, joined Hollywood Rose before it broke up. Rose then joined L.A. Guns. While trying to make it in the Hollywood music scene, Rose worked various jobs, including as a night manager at Tower Records.

In March 1985, Rose and his former L.A. Guns bandmate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses. They combined their bands, Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns, with Stradlin, drummer Rob Gardner, and bassist Ole Beich. By June, after some changes, the band included Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. This lineup played their first show at The Troubadour and quickly gained a strong fan base in Los Angeles. The band attracted the attention of major record labels and signed with Geffen Records in March 1986.

Appetite for Destruction and Rise to Fame

In July 1987, Guns N' Roses released their first album, Appetite for Destruction. At first, the album sold slowly, but it gained popularity because the band toured a lot, and the music video for "Welcome to the Jungle" became popular. The single "Sweet Child o' Mine" also became a huge hit. Eventually, the album reached No. 1 on the charts. To date, Appetite for Destruction has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling debut album in U.S. history.

During a performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in England in August 1988, Axl Rose stopped the show several times to help calm the large crowd. He became known for talking directly to fans and security from the stage to handle problems in the audience. Because of some incidents at the festival, it was canceled the following year.

In November 1988, Guns N' Roses released G N' R Lies, which sold more than five million copies in the U.S. alone. By August 1989, Axl Rose was considered one of rock's most important lead singers. MTV anchor Kurt Loder called him "maybe the finest hard rock singer currently on the scene, and certainly the most charismatic."

Use Your Illusion Success and Challenges

In early 1990, Guns N' Roses went back to the studio to record new music. Recording was difficult at first due to drummer Steven Adler's personal struggles, which caused delays. Adler was later replaced by Matt Sorum, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed also joined the band. Sorum and Reed played their first show with Guns N' Roses in January 1991. The band also changed managers that year.

In May 1991, the band started the two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour. This tour was very successful financially but also had some challenging moments, including shows starting late and some crowd disturbances. Axl Rose received criticism for sometimes taking the stage hours after the scheduled start time. In July 1991, during a concert near St. Louis, Rose left the stage early after an incident with a fan, which led to some damage in the venue.

Rose at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May 1993

In September 1991, Guns N' Roses released two albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. These albums debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, which was a big achievement. However, by the time the albums were released, Rose's relationships with his bandmates were becoming difficult. His childhood friend Izzy Stradlin left the group in November 1991 and was replaced by Gilby Clarke. Stradlin said he left because he didn't like the complications that had become part of daily life in Guns N' Roses, such as the late starts and crowd issues.

On April 20, 1992, Rose performed with Elton John at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. He sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a duet with John and also sang "We Will Rock You".

Another crowd disturbance happened in August 1992 in Montreal during a tour with Metallica. Metallica's set was cut short due to an accident, and then Guns N' Roses also left the stage early because of sound problems and Rose's throat hurting. This led to more damage at the venue. In November of that year, Rose was fined and put on probation for the incident near St. Louis.

Guns N' Roses played the last show of the Use Your Illusion Tour on July 17, 1993, in Buenos Aires. This was Rose's last live performance with the band for over seven years. In November of that year, Guns N' Roses released "The Spaghetti Incident?", an album of cover songs, which was not as successful as their previous albums.

Hiatus and New Lineup

In June 1994, Axl Rose decided not to renew Gilby Clarke's contract with the band. Tensions grew between Rose and Slash when Slash found out Rose had hired his childhood friend Paul "Huge" Tobias as Clarke's replacement. Although the band recorded some music during this time, it was not released.

In August 1995, Rose legally took control of the band's name. Slash left Guns N' Roses in October 1996 due to disagreements with Rose. Matt Sorum was also no longer with the band in June 1997, and Duff McKagan left in August of that year. This left Rose and Dizzy Reed as the only members from the Use Your Illusion era.

As the band's original lineup changed, Rose spent less time in public. The band never officially broke up, as Rose continued to find new musicians to join. By the late 1990s, he was rarely seen in public and spent most of his time at his home. He was said to be working on the band's next album, Chinese Democracy, rehearsing and writing with the new lineups of Guns N' Roses.

Chinese Democracy and Return to Touring

Rose at the Download Festival in Donington Park, England, in June 2006

After a warm-up show, Axl Rose and the new Guns N' Roses lineup appeared at Rock in Rio 3 on January 14, 2001. This marked the start of the decade-long Chinese Democracy Tour. A surprise appearance at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards followed. However, in November, a concert in Vancouver was canceled when Rose did not show up, leading to a crowd disturbance and the tour being canceled by the promoter.

After the tour was canceled, Rose again spent less time in public. He joined Slash and Duff McKagan in a lawsuit against Geffen Records to try and stop the release of the Greatest Hits album. He also lent his voice to the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a radio DJ. In a rare interview in January 2006, Rose said that "people will hear music this year." Guns N' Roses toured a lot in 2006 and 2007, but Chinese Democracy was still not released. His constant bandmates during this time included guitarist Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman. Rose also worked with his friend Sebastian Bach on his album Angel Down in 2007.

Fifteen years after their last album, Guns N' Roses finally released Chinese Democracy in November 2008. The album took a very long time to make and cost $13 million, making it the most expensive rock album ever produced. It received good reviews but did not sell as much as expected. Rose did not help promote the album much. A year after the album's release, in December 2009, Guns N' Roses began another two-and-a-half years of touring, including a performance at Rock in Rio 4.

Hall of Fame and Reunions

Rose performing with AC/DC in 2016

In 2012, Axl Rose and the other members of Guns N' Roses' classic lineup were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rose did not attend the ceremony, explaining in an open letter that he felt it was not a place where he was "wanted or respected." He later joined his band for special shows 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. By mid-2014, a new album and a remix album were finished but not released.

Rose (left) alongside Slash (center) and Duff McKagan (right) performing with Guns N' Roses in 2018

Axl Rose and Slash reunited for the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, which was one of the most anticipated reunion tours in rock history. Along with Dizzy Reed and returning member Duff McKagan, they formed a large part of the band's Use Your Illusion-era lineup. Other members from the Chinese Democracy era, Richard Fortus and Frank Ferrer, joined with new member Melissa Reese. Rose shared a stage with Slash for the first time in almost 23 years during a surprise performance in April 2016, before headlining the Coachella festival. The tour was a huge success, becoming the third highest-grossing concert tour of all time when it finished.

Rose performing in London in 2022.

On April 16, 2016, the Australian hard rock band AC/DC announced that Rose would be their lead singer for the rest of their Rock or Bust World Tour. This happened because their long-time lead singer, Brian Johnson, had to stop touring due to hearing problems. Rose helped AC/DC finish their tour, but he was not a permanent replacement for Johnson, who later returned to the band.

In 2018, Rose appeared as himself in an episode of New Looney Tunes, singing an original song called "Rock the Rock". In 2021, Rose again appeared as himself in a cartoon, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?.

Rose and Guns N' Roses continued touring after the Not In This Lifetime... Tour with the Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour. The group released two new songs in 2021, "Absurd" and "Hard Skool". In 2023, Rose and the band released two more songs, "Perhaps" and "The General". They also performed live at Coachella in October as part of the 2023 tour and headlined the Glastonbury Festival for the first time. The band continued touring in 2025.

Musical Style

Influences

Axl Rose was influenced by many different artists. Early on, he was inspired by Dan McCafferty of Nazareth. He also liked bands like Hanoi Rocks, Queen, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, the Who, and Nirvana. Rose's songwriting style on the Illusion albums, which sometimes sounded like an orchestra, was influenced by Electric Light Orchestra, Elton John, and Queen.

In the early 1990s, Rose became a fan of electronic and industrial music, especially the work of Nine Inch Nails. This influenced him during the making of Chinese Democracy. He also mentioned the U2 and Brian Eno collaboration Original Soundtracks 1 as a big influence.

In a 2016 interview, Rose named Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Janis Joplin, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Roger Daltrey, and Stevie Wonder as some of his favorite singers. He later said Queen was his favorite band and Freddie Mercury was his favorite singer.

Voice

Axl Rose has a voice type known as bass-baritone. A study of singers' vocal ranges on recordings showed that Rose had one of the widest vocal ranges, covering five octaves.

Personal Life

Rose performing "November Rain" at Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, England, in May 2012

In his late teens, a doctor suggested that Axl Rose's behavior might be related to bipolar disorder. However, Rose later questioned this diagnosis, saying that the medication he was given did not help him deal with stress.

Rose was not a heavy user of illegal substances, though he did try them sometimes. In 1986, he intentionally took too many painkillers due to stress, which led him to the hospital. This experience inspired the lyrics for the Guns N' Roses song "Coma".

In the early 1990s, Rose became interested in homeopathic medicine and regularly tried past life regression therapy. He spoke about memories he believed he had uncovered from his childhood, which he felt had affected his emotional growth. He also believed that his dislike of touring was partly due to illnesses he got, which he thought were a form of "self-punishment." During the recording of Chinese Democracy, Rose had a personal psychic who would look at photos of potential employees to "read the auras" and help decide if they should be hired.

Relationships and Friendships

In early 1986, Axl Rose started a relationship with Erin Everly, the daughter of singer Don Everly. He wrote the song "Sweet Child o' Mine" for her, and she appeared in the song's music video. Rose and Everly were married in April 1990 in Las Vegas. They later reconciled after Rose first filed for divorce, and Everly became pregnant. Sadly, she had a miscarriage in October 1990, which greatly affected Rose, who wanted to start a family. Everly left Rose in November, and their marriage was ended in January 1991.

In mid-1991, Rose began a well-known relationship with supermodel Stephanie Seymour. Seymour appeared in the music videos for "Don't Cry" and "November Rain". Rose became very close to Seymour's young son, Dylan, and tried to be a good father figure. Seymour and Rose became engaged in February 1993 but separated three weeks later.

Rose in 2023.

Rose's friendship with Slash became difficult after Slash left Guns N' Roses in 1996. However, in August 2015, Slash stated that he and Rose had become friends again. Slash later explained that many of their issues were caused by misunderstandings and outside influences.

Rose's assistant in the mid-to-late 1990s, Beta Lebeis, became very close to him. Rose compared her to a mother figure in his life. Lebeis and her son Fernando later became the managers of Guns N' Roses in the late 2000s. Rose publicly thanked Beta at Rock in Rio III in 2001, saying she had been like a mother to him and had supported the band for many years.

Rose is close friends with fellow rock musician Sebastian Bach. In 2012, Rose became friends with singer Lana Del Rey. Rose was also close friends with Lisa Marie Presley and performed "November Rain" at her memorial service after she passed away in 2023.

Other Interests

Politics

On April 28, 2015, Axl Rose sent a letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo asking him to reconsider the death penalty for certain individuals, based on humanitarian reasons. Rose later criticized Widodo for "ignoring the international outcry" after two people were executed.

Rose has used Twitter to share his opinions on various public figures. In May 2020, he used Twitter to express his views on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guns N' Roses later released a shirt that made fun of the administration's response to the pandemic.

Discography

With Guns N' Roses

• Appetite for Destruction (1987)
• G N' R Lies (1988)
• Use Your Illusion I (1991)
• Use Your Illusion II (1991)
• "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993)
• Chinese Democracy (2008)

With Hollywood Rose

• The Roots of Guns N' Roses (2004)

With Rapidfire

• Ready to Rumble EP (2014)

As Featured Artist

As Session Musician or Writer

• The End of the Innocence by Don Henley (1989; "I Will Not Go Quietly")
• Fire and Gasoline by Steve Jones (1989; "I Did U No Wrong")
• Pigs by Asphalt Ballet (1993; "Crash Diet")
• Anxious Disease by The Outpatience (1996; "Anxious Disease" feat. Slash)

Other Work

• New Looney Tunes (2018, "Rock the Rock")

Film and Video Game Appearances

Images for kids

• 

  Rose alongside producer Nick DiDia.

See also

In Spanish: Axl Rose para niños