axl rose

After several failed projects—including AXL, Rose, L.A. Guns, and Hollywood Rose—Rose formed Guns N' Roses in 1985 with Stradlin and several fellow musicians. The final lineup consisted of Rose, Stradlin, lead guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. During these years, Rose lived with several band members in a run-down drug den known as the Hell House. To raise money, Rose had relationships with strippers and offered himself up for medical experiments. In 1986, Guns N' Roses independently released the EP Live?!*@ Like a Suicide. That same year, the band signed a recording contract with the major label Geffen Records. In order to sign the contract with his chosen name, Rose officially changed his name from William Bruce Rose to W. Axl Rose—the abbreviation W. because, according to him, he did not want to use the same name as his biological father and Axl after his first band.