These are early Guns N'Roses pictures taken at a concert at the Marquee. Slash's cool, masculine looks contrast with Axl's glam appearance.
Here's a great picture at left of SLASH doing a little head banging. This photo
was taken in 1988 and was used as a photo disc on a 45. The photo at right
is from a very early GN'R gig. Note the small stage and the background. Looks
like a social hall. Guns always performed like they were in front of the
world - and eventually, that's where they were!
Left: When they first began. SLASH's best friend in the band was Steven
Adler. They had gone to school together and Steven's instrumenents and
albums got SLASH really interested in music. The two formed several bands
together before GNR; the best known is Road Crew. Steven, SLASH and Izzy
became heavy drug users while Duff abused alcohol. Axl got the band to
clean up by threatening to dissolve GNR. Everyone straightened out except
Steven. Steven continued to play erratically. It
was a hard time for SLASH when Steven's performance became steadily worse,
and he had to be fired. Steven retaliated by suing the band for his share
of the "Appetite for Destruction" record sales. The GNR original "family"
was no more.
These are some pictures of SLASH when Guns N'Roses was just starting to
make it big. He was in his early twenties at this time but looks younger
with that sweet smile and those gentle, laughing eyes. Fighting his own
demons of drugs and alcohol didn't take away his professionalism or his
soft expression. SLASH has been off drugs for 8 years now, and his improved
composing and playing are the result.
These three pictures show the image SLASH had when Guns N'Roses began.
He played the part of the drunken, wasted young man living on the streets.
Some parts of this were true.
SLASH lived the decadent rock lifestyle but not at the expense of being
a dependable musician. No matter what state he was in the night before, SLASH
showed up on time for rehearsals and gigs.
He takes much better care of
his health in his mid-thirties. SLASH was married to Renee Suran,
and he became a one-woman man. When that marriage ended in divorce, SLASH
eventually married Perla Ferrar. They are expecting their first child in the
fall of 2002. Days of living on the streets or in
ratholes in L.A. are a thing of the past. SLASH lives very comfortably, but
his street smarts haven't deserted him. It seems he can go anywhere and fit
in. It's nice to have these cute pictures to remember that younger, wilder
SLASH.
To Return to IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK's Main Menu, Click on this early SLASH photo: