Axl Rose - Rose Apologises To Cleveland, Fans For Hall Of Fame Snub

Rose declined the induction into the Cleveland museum and announced he would not be attending the annual gala on Saturday (14Apr12) in a letter to officials last week (ends13Apr12).

And now he has penned another lengthy essay to "Cleveland, Ohio, Guns N' Roses Fans and everyone who's shown support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame" and posted it on the band's official website.

In the open letter, he writes, "I seriously didn't plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I'm truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved!

"To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn't want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if it's only rock and roll."

Rose insists it took "a lot of focus and soul searching to be sincere and informative while making a genuine effort to be somewhat diplomatic".

He adds, "I would like to apologize to Cleveland, Ohio for not apologizing to them beforehand for not attending (the ceremony) in their city. I think they know how much I genuinely love performing there."

And he concludes by congratulations the other artists in the Class of 2012 - including The Faces, Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers.