Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, William Axl Rose is the pure embodiment of decadent late 1980s rockerdom. Brash, slightly misogynistic and notoriously wild, Rose grew up in a maniacally dysfunctional household - molested by his own stepfather at age two. When Axl was 17 he fled Indiana on a Greyhound bus destined for Los Angeles (the haven for all that embodies sinnin' and grinnin'). After auditioning for a lion's share of punk bands (many of which he was turned down for because of his uncanny vocal resemblance to Robert Plant) he joined the seminal rock band L.A. Guns before ultimately forming Guns N' Roses. After Guns N' Roses met with the unprecedented success of their debut album "Appetite For Destruction", massive stadium tours soon became a reality, and Axl's status as a bona fide sex symbol was officially cemented. However, internal troubles with the band members and the heavy drug use among them eventually rendered Guns N' Roses obsolete until only recently. Comeback? We'll see.


Has been arrested over 30 times for various offenses, mostly drunk and disorderly and assault charges. Was born William Bruce Rose, but when his parents split his mother changed his name to William Bruce Bailey, taking his step-father's last name. Axl claims that when he was 17 he learned of his real father and changed it back to William Bruce Rose, but this is disputed. One of Rose's first music managers in L.A. claims that in the early 1980s Rose was still legally William Bailey. His mother, Sharon E. Bailey died on May 28th, 1996. His ex-wife, Erin Everly, is Don Everly's daughter. When compiling song selections for the 1999 Guns N' Roses live album "Live Era", he communicated with Slash and Duff McKagan only through intermediaries. Was found guilty in November 1992 of property damage and assault at a 1991 Guns N' Roses concert in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Was given two years probation and ordered to pay $50,000 to community groups. Grew up in a strict Pentecostal (fundamentalist Christian) household. Was kicked out of his house at age 16 for not cutting his hair. Has kicked off Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" world tour in Hong Kong, China. The band will play a series of shows in East Asia and Europe before resuming their tour in Spring 2003, and will keep the tour going for "two or three years" according to Rose. The album they're supporting, "Chinese Democracy", is in its finishing stages. [August 14, 2002] "Welcome to the Jungle" is played in The Dead Pool (1988). Released two albums at the same time with Guns N' Roses. This was the first time a band had ever released more than one album on the same day. Played in a band called Hollywood Rose prior to Guns And Roses. Is of Scottish, German, and Irish descent. Is the oldest member of Guns N'Roses, being two months older than Izzy Stradlin. Is a huge fan of Queen.