Slash

Who is Slash?

Slash is a British-American musician, the former lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He achieved international success and fame with the band and also formed the side project Slash's Snakepit while he was still involved with the band. Born as Saul Hudson in London to an inter-racial couple, he developed an early interest in music and started playing the guitar as a teenager. He had a troubled childhood as his parents separated while he was very young and he was primarily raised by his father with whom he had a difficult relationship. His parents eventually reunited and separated again, adding to his mental distress. He grew up to be a rebellious teen, full of bitterness towards the way he was raised. He disliked school, but was drawn towards music and was inspired by a teacher to pursue music as a profession. As a teenager he tried to form a band with a friend and even though the band did not materialize, the experience helped in his development as a guitarist. He became involved with the band Guns N' Roses in the mid-1980s and achieved worldwide success with them as their lead guitarist. Eventually he left the band to form the supergroup Velvet Revolver and later on embarked on a solo career

Career

Slash embarked on his professional career in the early 1980s. He joined his first band in 1981 and two years later, he formed his own band with his friend, Steven Adler. However the band was not successful and was disbanded quickly.

He, along with Adler joined the newly founded band Guns N’ Roses in 1985. Initially they played at nightclubs and opened for bigger bands, and by the end of 1986 they began recording their debut album.

Guns N' Roses released their debut album ‘Appetite for Destruction’ in 1987 which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, on the strength of the hit ‘Sweet Child o' Mine’—their only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the next few years, Slash found widespread fame and success with the band which released several successful albums including ‘Use Your Illusion I’ (1991), ‘Use Your Illusion II’ (1991), and ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’ (1993).

By the mid-1990s, Slash realized that he no longer wanted to be a part of Guns N’ Roses and quit the band in 1996.

He later formed a supergroup, Velvet Revolver, with his former band mates Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner and Scott Weiland. The group achieved considerable success with their debut album, ‘Contraband’ which debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. chart and sold two million copies. After a successful stint with the group, Slash left Velvet Revolver in 2008.

Eventually he decided to embark on a solo career, and released his debut solo album, ‘Slash’, in 2010. It featured the hit songs ‘Beautiful Dangerous’, ‘Back from Cali’, ‘Nothing to Say’, and ‘Starlight’. The album was a huge commercial hit and re-established Slash as a successful performer in his solo career.

He began working on his much-anticipated second album in 2011 and released the album ‘Apocalyptic Love’ in 2012. The album, noted for its stripped down hard rock sound, debuted at No. 2 on the Canadian Albums Chart.