SLASH...The Cat in the Hat

The VERY first riff that Slash EVER played within earshot of me was the opening to Sweet Child O Mine and to say that I was won over virtually straight away is an understatement...sadly Axl ruined my love for Guns n Roses BUT my love for the OTHER greatest Top Hat, Noddy Holder being the first,  in rock n roll has not wavered, hell, even if you dont like Slashes tunes, you got to admit his got an interesting charisma about him..his definatly got a vibe going on.

I've got a goodly percentage of his stuff ..all three solo albums ( if they can truly be called solo albums, the first one maybe, but the last two with Myles and the lads, their band albums for sure, anyway, have to admit Snakepit didnt do a whole lot for me and the Velvet Revolver stuff onlyn had its moments (Dirty little thing for instance)...it was when Slasher decided to do get stuck in and go truly solo, that I truly dug it,  the resulting album [Slash RnfnR] has lived on the mp3 gizmo ever since.

As the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses, Slash established himself as one of hard rock's finest and most soulful soloists during the late '80s, technically adept yet always firmly grounded in the gritty Aerosmith and Stones licks he loved. Slash was born Saul Hudson on July 23, 1965, in Stoke-on-Trent, England, his mom was a clothing designer who worked on David Bowie's film The Man Who Fell to Earth, and his dad drew album art for such artists as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. The family eventually moved to Hollywood, where Hudson attended junior high, received his first guitar, and met future GNR drummer Steven Adler.

With Hudson adopting the nickname Slash, given to him by a family friend, the two formed a band called Road Crew; although it proved unsuccessful, it was the vehicle through which they met and eventually joined up with the other members of Guns N' Roses

Slash has received critical acclaim as a guitarist. Time named him runner-up on their list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009, while Rolling Stone placed him at No. 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011. Guitar World ranked his solo in "November Rain" No. 6 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" in 2008, and Total Guitar placed his riff in "Sweet Child o' Mine" at No. 1 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Riffs" in 2004.  In 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with other members of Guns N' Roses.

The Gunners debuted in June 1985, and even before Appetite for Destruction was released in 1987, the bandmembers acquired a reputation as notorious alcohol and drug abusers. As their popularity soared, the reserved Slash established himself as an important part of the band's visual image, with a top hat and a mound of shaggy black hair covering his face as he typically staggered around the stage with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. .In 1992, Slash courted controversy again with a product endorsement for Black Death vodka. Later that year, he was married to actress and model Renee Sorum, a union that lasted five years.

Meanwhile, in spite of controversy and personnel turnovers, Guns N' Roses had actually continued to record music. After the Use Your Illusion sets of 1991 and the 1993 punk covers album The Spaghetti Incident?, the band went on hiatus. Slash formed a side project called Slash's Snakepit, which consisted of fellow Gunners Matt Sorum (drums) and Gilby Clarke (guitar), plus bassist Mike Inez and vocalist Eric Dover.

 The group released an album in 1995 titled It's Five O'Clock Somewhere; Slash hit the road with a slightly different touring lineup, with Brian Tichy and James LoMenzo signing on as the rhythm section. In 1996, Slash put together a different band to play at a blues festival in Budapest, an endeavor that evolved into Slash's Blues Ball. 

Featuring vocalist/harmonica player Teddy Andreadis, rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, saxophonist Dave McClarem, bassist Johnny Griparic, and drummer Alvino Bennet, Slash's Blues Ball devoted themselves primarily to a repertoire of classic blues covers, plus occasional GNR and Snakepit material.

In October 1996 it was confirmed that Slash was no longer a member of the band, its said he split due to Axl sudden fondness for electronic and industrial music, this went against his Keef and Joe fkn Perry influences so he split

He gigged off and on with the Blues Ball into 1998, although a rumored live album never materialized. Instead, Slash decided to re-form the Snakepit in 1999 with an entirely different lineup (the original members were by this time involved in other projects, and the Blues Ball was more suited to touring than developing original material). Raspy-voiced singer Rod Jackson and ex-Venice drummer Matt Laug came on board, along with Blues Ball bassist Griparic (now Johnny Blackout) and Teddy Andreadis, who contributed keyboard and harmonica work. After trying out ex-Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie, Slash settled on rhythm guitarist Kerry Kelly, who had previously worked with Warrant and Ratt.

The new Snakepit played some gigs together and in the spring of 2000 completed a new album, which was originally slated to be released on Interscope/Geffen. However, feeling that a more traditional guitar rock album would get lost in the promotional shuffle, Slash moved over to Koch, which finally released Ain't Life Grand in October 2000. 

A few years later, Slash teamed up again with McKagan, Matt Sorum, and Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland to form the supergroup Velvet Revolver, who released their first album in 2004. Velvet Revolver released a second album called Contraband in 2007 and fell apart not long afterward. Slash regrouped by releasing his memoir in 2007 and cutting his eponymous first solo album, drafting a bunch of friends -- including Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, and Fergie -- to sing lead vocals.

 For the supporting tour, Slash had Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy sing lead. This union proved strong, as Kennedy was the only singer on Slash's second album, 2012's Apocalyptic Love, which hit number four in the American album charts upon release. Two years later, Slash released World on Fire, his second album with Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators; it debuted at number ten on the U.S. charts upon its September 2014 release.

On October 10, 1992, Slash married model-actress Renée Suran in Marina del Rey, California. They divorced in late 1997 after five years of marriage. Slash married Perla Ferrar on October 15, 2001 in Hawaii. They have two sons, London Emilio (born August 28, 2002) and Cash Anthony (born June 23, 2004)  In August 2010, Slash filed for divorce from Ferrar, but the couple reconciled two months later. The family lives in Los Angeles, California.

In an article published by Us Weekly, Slash called himself a "proud dual citizen" of the United Kingdom and the United States. A British national since his London birth, he has resided in Los Angeles since 1971 but did not acquire American citizenship until 1996. He said in an interview for The Telegraph in 2010 'I do consider myself British. I have very strong feelings about my British heritage. My first years were there, I went to school there, and I have seemingly endless family on that side of the pond. So I’ve always felt most comfortable in England.’

In 2001, at the age of 35, Slash was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a form of congestive heart failure caused by his many years of alcohol and drug abuse. Originally given between six days and six weeks to live, he survived through physical therapy and the implantation of a defibrillator.Slash has been clean and sober since 2005, which he credits to his wife Perla. In 2009, following his mother's death from lung cancer, he quit smoking.

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)

With Slash's Snakepit

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (1995)

Ain't Life Grand (2000)

With Velvet Revolver

Contraband (2004)

Libertad (2007)

Solo

Slash (2010)

Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

Apocalyptic Love (2012)

World on Fire (2014)