Axl Rose

Background

William Bruce Rose Jr. was born on February 6, 1962, to Sharon Elizabeth and William Bruce Rose in Lafayette, Indiana. Rose’s parents were 16 and 20 respectively when he was born, and his mother was still in high school. Rose had a tough childhood. His father was a troubled delinquent, and the pregnancy was unplanned. When he turned two, his parents separated, which led to him being abducted and molested by his father, before he disappeared. His mother remarried and changed his last name to Bailey — his stepfather’s name. Although Rose thought Bailey was his biological father, he and his half-siblings were often beaten despite being in a religious household. To get away from his childhood trauma, Rose found solace in music.

He moved to Los Angeles in December 1982, started the band AXL, and legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose. Rose formed the band Hollywood Rose in 1983 and recorded a five-track demo in 1984 before its disbandment the same year. Thereafter, Rose joined L.A. Guns. Guns N’ Roses was formed in March 1985 by merging Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. The band had several lineups by June and attracted several record labels. They eventually signed with Geffen Records in March of the following year. In July 1987, the band released their debut album “Appetite for Destruction” and it sold 500,000 copies in its first year and 30 million copies worldwide. In November 1988, the band released “G N’ R Lies,” which catapulted Rose into the limelight as one of the most prominent rock stars.

Following a disagreement with some bandmates, Rose legally purchased the full rights to Guns N Roses in 1997. The band soon went on a hiatus as the original bandmates were fired or they resigned. In 2008, 15 years after the band’s last album, “Chinese Democracy,” was released. In 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N’ Roses. However, he declined to attend. In 2016, he toured with AC/DC as a fill-in vocalist for two dozen shows.

In terms of his personal life, he married Erin Everly in April 1990 but the marriage was annulled in January 1991. He got engaged to Stephanie Seymour in February 1993, however, the couple separated three weeks later.