LOS ANGELES, April 11 (Reuters) – Axl Rose, the mercurial
front man for rockers Guns N’ Roses, has declined his induction
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week saying he does not
feel wanted or respected at the ceremony.
In an open letter made available on Wednesday by Rose’s
spokeswoman, he said other members of the L.A. band were welcome
to attend and be honored at Saturday’s event, but not the lead
singer of the band that gained fame in the late 1980s with smash
hit album “Appetite for Destruction.”
“I won’t be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction
as a member of Guns N’ Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,”
Rose wrote in the letter.
“I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and
please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be
permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf,”
he said.
“Appetite for Destruction,” with songs like “Sweet Child O’
Mine” and “Paradise City,” was a mega-sized hit of 1987, and it
propelled Rose, guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff
McKagan and drummer Steven Adler, to global rock stardom.
But by the early 1990s, drug abuse had taken hold of several
band members and Rose and Slash openly feuded. By the middle of
that decade, the original lineup was no more.
Rose eventually gained the right to use the band’s name,
released a long-awaited album “Chinese Democracy” in 2008, and
still tours with a group of the same name but none of the
members are original, except for himself.
“When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to
be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and
with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that
somehow this would be a good thing,” Rose wrote in his letter.
“Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N’ Roses were
to be inducted it’d be somewhat of a complicated or awkward
situation,” he added.
Rose goes on to write that over the past few months, he has
met with members of the Hall of Fame’s board, spoken with its
president, and read in the media what fans and other members of
the band had said.
He describes his efforts to find a way to appear as being
“polite, courteous, and open” but adds, “no offense meant to
anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn’t appear to
be somewhere I’m actually wanted or respected.”
A representative for the Hall could not immediately be
reached for comment late on Wednesday. The Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame induction ceremony takes place on Saturday, April 14, in
Cleveland, Ohio.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte, Editing by Jill Serjeant)
