VELVET REVOLVER - SLASH: 'AXL'S LIES NEARLY RUINED VELVET REVOLVER'

VELVET REVOLVER feared they were going to lose their guitarist SLASH after AXL ROSE began spreading rumours of a GUNS N' ROSES reunion. Slash, who is now part of rock outfit Velvet Revolver with other former Guns N' Roses members Duff MCKagan and Matt Sorum, quit Rose's band in 1996 but his bandmates were convinced the rumours were real. Slash says, "I was sitting at home writing songs when I heard Axl had put out a press release saying in so many words that I was going back. There had been a lot of s**t going around, stories about me and Axl, but what made this so bad was that it seemed so factual. The guys were worried, angry even. "I had to sit them down and tell them it wasn't true. They were still a bit skeptical as it seemed so detailed. We got through it but it was an unexpected bump in the road. I didn't expect to go there with something that was so much part of my past".