Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash spoke to Classic Rock Magazine and talked about the band’s frontman Axl Rose joining AC/DC for one of their tours. The guitarist revealed whether he had a problem with Rose fronting another band by sharing how he got ready for the shows.
AC/DC released their sixteenth studio album entitled ‘Rock or Bust’ on November 28, 2014, and it was Stevie Young’s first album after he replaced Malcolm Young, who had retired from the band because of his health problems. Then, as a part of promoting the album, they started their Rock or Bust World Tour on April 10, 2015, at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and ended on September 20, 2016, in Philadelphia.
It could be said that the tour was really challenging because of Young’s retirement, Phil Rudd’s conviction with eight months of home detention, and lastly the lead singer Brian Johnson’s health issue. In the middle of the tour, Johnson’s doctors ordered him not to perform for a while due to his hearing loss, and he took the advice. Thus, AC/DC canceled or rescheduled some of their shows until they found a temporary replacement.
Thus, Stevie Young, Chris Slade, and Axl Rose joined Angus Young and Cliff Williams in the band’s 2015-2016 Rock or Bust tour. During his interview, his bandmate Slash recalled when Rose gave the news about his tour with AC/DC as their lead vocalist, saying that he felt a little bit different in the beginning. However, Slash was proud of his friend and highlighted that Axl Rose worked very hard to get ready and do his best in the concerts.
Slash said in his interview the following:
“Not at all. It was AC/DC, man! The fact that he got asked to do that was very cool, and he worked his ass off doing it, too. He really adhered to the whole AC/DC regimen and pulled it off. At the moment, when it first came up, it was a little jarring, I have to say.
I was super-proud that he was doing it, but how that was gonna happen and go right into the Guns thing, I really didn’t know but anyway, it worked out. So it wasn’t like a big deal.”
As it can be understood from Slash’s words, he didn’t have any problems with Axl Rose joining AC/DC for a while, even though he considered how he could adapt to both the legendary band and Guns N’ Roses in a short time. Also, it seems that the guitarist will happily accept that kind of an offer if it comes from a band like AC/DC.
