1995.02.DD - The O-Zone (BBC One) - Interview with Slash

Transcript:
---------------

Voice-over: Guns N’ Roses recent top-ten hit, Sympathy For The Devil, may have sparked a rift in the band. Lead guitarist Slash said this week that he disagreed with Axl Rose’s decision to record the song, used in the hit movie Interview With A Vampire, and reveals he even hated the film itself.

Slash: Tom Cruise? As Lestat? I don’t think so. I think it’s going to be pretty lousy. But I went to go see the screening anyway, as a favor, and the Stones version was in there at the time and I thought it was fine, because the movie bored me to tears. Axl, of course - always being my nemesis, right? – went and saw it, and loved it. So he goes, “Let’s do the song.” I thought it would be a great vehicle to get everybody’s creative juices flowing and sort of start getting geared towards the next Guns record. Then Axl went on to go do the vocals, and he brought another guitar player with him. It was a guy that’s from Indiana, who I can’t stand; and he sort of added a little rhythm guitar there. They also put little answers on my guitar solo, my first one – there’s two solos in the song. The first one, if you listen to it, you’ll hear my guitar, and then there’s little teeny little thing in the background; so that fucked me off. As a result, we ended up doing another cover song, of a song that didn’t need to be covered, for a lame movie and it didn’t do anything for the band. So it was an effort made, but an effort that was wasted, too.

Voice-over: Watch the O-Zone next week to hear about Slash’s solo album and whether he thinks he has a future in Guns N’ Roses.

[Footage from the Freddie Mercury Tribute, Wembley Stadium, April 1992]

Voice-over: Lead guitarist Slash has taken a break from Guns N’ Roses and set up his own band, Snakepit. But what exactly motivated his decision?

Slash: Just because I’m restless and, you know, after two and a half years of touring, everybody went their own individual ways, either vacation or Axl and his lawsuits or whatever, and I just took off on the side. It’s not anything that’s gonna compete with Guns N’ Roses’ status or anything like that. It’s just that I’m having fun, and by the time that’s finished, I’ll have a different outlook on Guns, and I’ll be able to come back and go, “Okay, wo what are we going to do?”

Interviewer: Has Axl showed any seal of approval towards your new project?

Slash: When I first got into this thing, there were certain songs he wanted back, like he thought anything – like any time that I apply this hand and this hand with a guitar in between, it’s supposed to be designated Guns N’ Roses material, Guns territory, which wasn’t the case.

Voice-over: So what was it like for lead singer Eric to work with such a rock icon?

Eric Dover: I don’t look at it like that. I just – that’s the public’s perception or the media’s or whatever. To me he’s Slash, and we have a good time together and we’ve become good friends. So I (?).

Voice-over: Besides the band’s shared tastes in music and hairstyles, another thing they had in common was a love of Absolutely Fabulous.

Slash: I’m Patsy. I’m sorry, she’s my hero (laughs).

[Clip from the BBC TV series Absolutely Fabulous]

Slash: This whole record was written under the influence of the Ab Fab. The entire record though.

Interviewer: “Sweetie.”

Slash: “Sweetie.”

Interviewer: (laughs)

Slash: “Darling” (laughs)

(Laughter)

Interviewer: To set the record straight, Slash, for all the millions of the Guns N’ Roses here in Britain, are you leaving Guns N’ Roses?

Slash: Guns is fine. I learned from other people’s mistakes to not get so egotistical or so self-involved that you quit your band because you can’t get along with one of the other guys in the band.

Interviewer: So the main thing is, when they’re back with a new single, Guns N’ Roses, will you be the lead on that?

Slash: I’ll be the lead guitar player, yeah. Unless I’m fired (laughs).